Mergers & Acquisitions: Corporate Immigration Compliance

Published date05 January 2023
Subject MatterCorporate/Commercial Law, Immigration, M&A/Private Equity, General Immigration, Work Visas
Law FirmHerrington Carmichael
AuthorUsof Shah

In nearly all corporate transactions, a business needs to take action to remain compliant as a sponsor to avoid the risk of having your sponsor licence being downgraded or even revoked which can have a devastating impact on a business and their sponsored migrants who can have their visas curtailed to 60 days. In addition to the compliance duties, the organisation must also consider its obligations under the prevention of illegal working regime. In this article, Usof Shah provides an overview into the steps to take when a corporate transaction takes place to avoid risk of compliance action or being fined for employing individuals who do not have the right to work in question.

How will a corporate transaction impact your sponsor licence?

Sponsor licences are not transferrable between organisations. How a corporate transaction will impact your sponsor licence will depend on whether:

  • there is a change in direct ownership
  • you sell all or part of or the controlling number of shares in your business
  • you are partly or wholly taken over by another business
  • the business is being split into separate legal entities

If a business is sold as a going concern, resulting in a change of ownership, its sponsor licence will either be revoked or made dormant if sponsored workers have been transferred to the new employer's sponsor licence.

How will a corporate transaction impact your sponsored migrants?

As a result of a corporate transaction sponsored migrants do not need to submit a new visa application and the new employer does not have to assign a new Certificate of Sponsorship to them, provided appropriate action has been taken by the business unless the move involves migrants who...

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