CQC Registration and UK Sponsor Licences for Care Employers

Care employers in England who want to sponsor overseas workers under SOC codes 6135 (care workers and home carers) or 6136 (senior care workers) must hold current CQC registration and be carrying out CQC-regulated activities. This is a hard eligibility requirement written directly into the Immigration Rules — not merely a CQC expectation.

Legal basis

The requirement sits in Immigration Rules Appendix Skilled Worker at SW 6.1B, last updated on gov.uk on 5 June 2026. Private households and individuals cannot sponsor under these SOC codes — only businesses carrying out regulated activities.

Salary protection on the ISL

Both SOC 6135 and 6136 currently sit on the Immigration Salary List with a removal date of 22 July 2028. Until then, the discounted £33,400 threshold is protected for these roles.

CQC registration must be active

"Applied for" is not sufficient. Registration must be current and reflect the actual regulated activities the sponsor is delivering. UKVI will check the CQC register directly during compliance visits.

CQC also requires…

• DBS checks for all relevant staff (Regulation 19, fit and proper persons employed)
• Oliver McGowan mandatory training on learning disability and autism (Regulation 18, mandated by the Health and Care Act 2022)
• Care Certificate completion — 16 standards as of the March 2025 update from Skills for Care