The Court of Appeal handed down judgment on 29 October 2026 in a Home Office appeal on procedural fairness when the Secretary of State revokes a Skilled Worker sponsor licence, affecting sponsors and employers.
The Court of Appeal (Civil Division) handed down TJ Trading Express Limited, R (on the application of) v Secretary of State for the Home Department [2026] EWCA Civ 1368 on 29 October 2026. The appeal was heard on 20 October 2026 before Lady Justice Asplin, Lord Justice Arnold and Lady Justice Elisabeth Laing. The judgment was delivered by Lord Justice Arnold.
Lord Justice Arnold describes the principal issue as the ambit of the common law duty of procedural fairness in the system for approving employers to sponsor migrant workers.
Background. TJ Trading Express Limited runs a petrol station and attached convenience shop. It applied for a Skilled Worker sponsor licence on 21 July 2022, and the licence was granted on 27 September 2022. On 15 November 2023 its director, who was also its level 1 sponsorship management system (SMS) user, assigned a Certificate of Sponsorship (CoS) for a "Petrol Station Manager" role under Standard Occupational Classification code 1190. The worker was the director's brother-in-law, and this was not noted on the CoS.
The decision under challenge. On 6 March 2024 the Secretary of State revoked the licence. The decision relied on two grounds in Annex C1 of Part 3 of the sponsor guidance (version 03/23): ground C1(o), which covers a CoS assigned to a close relative, including a brother-in-law, and ground C1(z), which covers a role believed not to be genuine. It stated that each ground alone was sufficient to revoke, and that there was no right of appeal.
Earlier proceedings. TJ Trading Express Limited brought judicial review. Hill J upheld the challenge and quashed the decision in a judgment dated 22 May 2025. The Secretary of State appealed with permission granted by Dove LJ.
Legal framework. The judgment records that it is common ground that, even where a mandatory ground in Annex C1 applies, the Secretary of State has a residual discretion not to revoke. It also sets out principles on sponsor licences from earlier cases, including R (Prestwick Care Ltd) v Secretary of State for the Home Department [2025] EWCA Civ 184.
The source text available to us ends at paragraph 27, during the court's discussion of the duty of procedural fairness. This item therefore does not report the court's conclusion or the outcome of the appeal.
Sources
- TJ Trading Express Limited, R (on the application of) v Secretary of State for the Home Department [2026] EWCA Civ 1368, Court of Appeal (Civil Division), 29 October 2026
