# UK Visa Sponsor Licence Check: Skilled Worker Register (`accountable_eel/uk-visa-sponsor-licence-check`) Actor Check whether a UK employer holds a Home Office sponsor licence: rating, routes (Skilled Worker and others) and location, read from the weekly register of licensed sponsors. A miss is never charged. - **URL**: https://apify.com/accountable_eel/uk-visa-sponsor-licence-check.md - **Developed by:** [Adriana Voss](https://apify.com/accountable_eel) (community) - **Categories:** Jobs, Lead generation - **Stats:** 1 total users, 1 monthly users, 100.0% runs succeeded, 0 bookmarks - **User rating**: No ratings yet ## Pricing from $5.00 / 1,000 sponsor matcheds This Actor is paid per event. You are not charged for the Apify platform usage, but only a fixed price for specific events. Since this Actor supports Apify Store discounts, the price gets lower the higher subscription plan you have. Learn more: https://docs.apify.com/actors/running/actors-in-store.md#pay-per-event ## What's an Apify Actor? An Actor is a serverless cloud program that runs on the Apify platform. It has two run modes. In Batch mode, an Actor accepts a well-defined JSON input, performs an action which can take anything from a few seconds to a few hours, and optionally produces a well-defined JSON output, datasets with results, or files in key-value store. In Standby mode, an Actor provides a web server which can be used as a website, API, or an MCP server. Apify vocabulary and the platform model are defined once, in the agent quickstart at https://apify.com/agents.md. ## How to integrate an Actor? If asked about integration, you help developers integrate Actors into their projects. You adapt to their stack and deliver integrations that are safe, well-documented, and production-ready. Do not guess an integration path. Every one of them is in the agent quickstart at https://apify.com/agents.md: the Apify MCP server, Agent Skills with the Apify CLI, the JavaScript and Python clients, the REST API, and the account-free path for an agent with no human to sign in. It also carries the rule on stating cost before the first paid run. For examples already wired to this Actor's own input schema, see the [API](#api) section below. Each client library has reference documentation the quickstart does not restate: [JavaScript/TypeScript](https://docs.apify.com/api/client/js/docs.md) (`npm install apify-client`) and [Python](https://docs.apify.com/api/client/python/docs.md) (`pip install apify-client`). # README ## UK Visa Sponsor Licence Check: Skilled Worker Register **Find out whether a UK employer is a licensed visa sponsor, in seconds, straight from the Home Office register.** Paste employer names and get one row each: whether the organisation holds a sponsor licence, its rating (A or B), every route it is licensed for (Skilled Worker, Global Business Mobility, Charity Worker and others), and its town. The answer is read from the weekly Register of licensed sponsors: workers on GOV.UK, so it is as current as the Home Office's latest publication, and every row says which one. **Who uses it:** recruiters and sourcing teams checking a client or candidate's employer before promising sponsorship, relocation and immigration advisers screening employers in bulk, job boards and HR tools that flag "can sponsor a visa" on listings, and international job-seekers shortlisting companies. **A miss is free.** An employer that is not on the register comes back as a row with `"found": false` and is never charged. So does a name that is too generic to answer (hundreds of unrelated organisations share it). ### How to use 1. **In the Apify Console.** Open the actor page and click **Start** — the `employers` field is already pre-filled with a working example. Results land in the run's dataset as soon as each item is found. 2. **Via the API.** Call it directly with a POST request — no Console needed once you have an API token: ```bash curl "https://api.apify.com/v2/acts/accountable_eel~uk-visa-sponsor-licence-check/run-sync-get-dataset-items?token=" \ -X POST \ -H "Content-Type: application/json" \ -d '{"employers":["AaruvikA Limited","Tesco"]}' ``` 3. **On a schedule.** Save this actor as an Apify **Task** with the input you want, then add a **Schedule** (hourly, daily, weekly) so it runs on its own — no server of your own required. ### Input ```json { "employers": [ "AaruvikA Limited", "Tesco" ] } ``` One employer per line, as the registered company name ("Tesco Stores Limited"). Case, punctuation and Ltd/Limited are ignored. A shorter name such as "Tesco" finds every registered sponsor whose name starts with it. Accepted formats: Tesco Stores Limited, Barclays Bank PLC, Deloitte LLP. Put one employer per line. Names are compared ignoring case, punctuation, "&" versus "and", a leading "The" and the legal form (Ltd, Limited, PLC, LLP). The register lists **registered legal names**, so a brand or trading name can come back not found even though the company behind it is licensed under a different legal name. When that happens, try the legal name from the company's own filings. ### How matching works The register is a list of organisations, not a search index, and a sponsor check is only useful if a "yes" can be trusted. So matching is deliberately strict, and the row always says how it matched (`matchType`): - **exact**: the same name, including the legal form (Tesco Stores Ltd finds Tesco Stores Limited). - **legal-form-ignored**: the same name once Ltd/Limited/PLC/LLP is dropped on either side ("Tesco Stores" finds Tesco Stores Limited). Check `organisationName` if the legal form matters to you. - **starts-with**: your input is the whole-word start of the registered name ("Tesco" finds Tesco Stores Limited and Tesco Personal Finance plc). All matches are in `matches`, best first, and `matchCount` says how many there were. If more than 25 organisations start with your input, it is too generic to answer and the row is a free miss. There is **no typo-tolerant matching**: "Deloite LLP" is not reported as licensed. A not-found row lists up to three close registered names in its `message` so you can retry, but they are never returned as a match. ### Output One row per employer found, for example: | query | found | status | licensed | organisationName | town | county | holdsSkilledWorkerLicence | rating | licenceTypes | routes | licences | matchType | matchCount | matches | registerDate | registerFileUrl | sourceUrl | scrapedAt | | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | | AaruvikA Limited | true | OK | | | \ | | | | | | \ | | | | | | | 1970-01-01T00:00:00.000Z | A miss comes back as a row with `"found": false` and a `message` that says why (not on the register, or too generic). It is never charged. Values the register does not give are `null`, never `0` or an empty string. An example row for `AaruvikA Limited`: ```json { "query": "AaruvikA Limited", "found": true, "status": "OK", "licensed": true, "organisationName": "AaruvikA Limited", "town": "Edinburgh", "county": null, "holdsSkilledWorkerLicence": true, "rating": "A", "licenceTypes": ["Worker"], "routes": ["Skilled Worker"], "matchType": "exact", "matchCount": 1, "registerDate": "2026-10-09", "registerFileUrl": "https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/6ac8b5bfab368efeb4c93428/SP_-_Worker_and_Temporary_Worker_Web_Register_-_2026-10-09.csv", "sourceUrl": "https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/register-of-licensed-sponsors-workers", "scrapedAt": "2026-10-11T18:27:01.154Z" } ``` (`licences` and `matches` carry the per-licence detail and are left out here for length.) An example `found: false` row: ```json { "query": "Zzzzqq Holdings Limited", "found": false, "status": "NOT_FOUND", "message": "No organisation named \"Zzzzqq Holdings Limited\" is on the Home Office register of licensed sponsors (Worker and Temporary Worker licences) published 2026-10-09. A trading name often differs from the registered legal name. Source: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/register-of-licensed-sponsors-workers", "scrapedAt": "2026-10-11T18:25:19.463Z" } ``` ### Pricing Billed per employer matched: **$10 per 1,000** at the standard rate, less on higher Apify plan tiers (down to $5 per 1,000 at the top tier), plus a $0.004 start fee per run. Misses, too-generic names and errors are never charged. There is no key to bring and no proxy to pay for. Pay-per-event. A flat per-run fee covers session/proxy warmup; you're billed per item only when data is actually found and returned — see `.actor/pay_per_event.json` for exact prices. A miss is never charged. ### What the register covers - The Home Office Register of licensed sponsors: workers lists organisations licensed under the **Worker** and **Temporary Worker** categories, with their rating and route. It is published as a weekly CSV, and this actor reads the newest one every run. `registerDate` in each row is the publication it came from. - `holdsSkilledWorkerLicence` is `true` only when the Skilled Worker route is among the organisation's licensed routes. An organisation on the register for another route only (for example Charity Worker) is returned with it `false`. - The register does not include the Student sponsor list, and it shows only organisations that are licensed today: a sponsor whose licence was revoked is removed from it. A licence is not a guarantee of a job or of sponsorship for any particular role. - The register names organisations, not people. ### Example runs Paste any of these into the Input tab and press Start. All three return rows with no key, no token and no account of your own beyond an Apify login. **Two employers: one exact, one by short name.** The default shape. ```json { "employers": ["AaruvikA Limited", "Tesco"] } ``` **A shortlist of banks and consultancies, Skilled Worker status in each row.** ```json { "employers": ["Barclays Bank PLC", "HSBC Holdings plc", "Deloitte LLP", "Marks and Spencer"] } ``` **A bulk screen where only licensed sponsors should come back.** ```json { "employers": ["Tesco Stores Limited", "Deloitte LLP", "Zzzzqq Holdings Limited"], "onlyFound": true } ``` ### Use it from Clay, n8n, Make, or an AI agent This actor runs synchronously over plain HTTP — call it directly from a script, a workflow tool, or an AI agent, no Apify Console needed once you have an API token. ```bash curl "https://api.apify.com/v2/acts/accountable_eel~uk-visa-sponsor-licence-check/run-sync-get-dataset-items?token=" \ -X POST \ -H "Content-Type: application/json" \ -d '{"employers":["AaruvikA Limited","Tesco"]}' ``` **n8n.** Add an HTTP Request node: Method `POST`, URL `https://api.apify.com/v2/acts/accountable_eel~uk-visa-sponsor-licence-check/run-sync-get-dataset-items?token=`, Body Content Type `JSON`, JSON Body `{"employers":["AaruvikA Limited","Tesco"]}` (swap in an expression from an earlier node for a real value). **Clay.** Add an "HTTP API" column: Method `POST`, URL `https://api.apify.com/v2/acts/accountable_eel~uk-visa-sponsor-licence-check/run-sync-get-dataset-items?token=`, Body `{"employers":["{{employer}}"]}`, mapping the row's employer into the `employers` array. **MCP.** In Claude, Cursor, or any MCP client with the Apify MCP server, ask for "uk visa sponsor licence check" — the agent will find and run this actor. # Actor input Schema ## `employers` (type: `array`): One employer per line, as the registered company name ("Tesco Stores Limited"). Case, punctuation and Ltd/Limited are ignored. A shorter name such as "Tesco" finds every registered sponsor whose name starts with it. Accepted formats: Tesco Stores Limited, Barclays Bank PLC, Deloitte LLP. You're only charged for the ones we actually find — a miss costs nothing. ## `testRun` (type: `boolean`): Turn this on to test your input on a small sample before running the full list. Turn it off to process everything. ## `onlyFound` (type: `boolean`): Only keep rows where something was actually found. Misses are always free, whether or not you show them here. ## `includeKeywords` (type: `array`): Optional. Only keep results that mention at least one of these words (e.g. a job title, a city, a product name). Leave empty to keep everything. ## `excludeKeywords` (type: `array`): Optional. Drop any result that mentions one of these words. Leave empty to skip nothing. ## `maxResults` (type: `integer`): Optional. Stop the run once this many results have been found — useful for a quick, cheap sample. Leave blank for no limit. ## `columns` (type: `array`): Choose which pieces of information to include in each result row. All are included by default. ## `maxConcurrency` (type: `integer`): Parallel requests. Keep conservative — this target has no browser fallback, so getting blocked costs more than slow-and-steady. ## `proxyConfiguration` (type: `object`): Apify Proxy config. This target is a free public API that needs no proxy — defaults to off, but you can turn one on if you prefer. ## Actor input object example ```json { "employers": [ "AaruvikA Limited", "Tesco" ], "testRun": false, "onlyFound": false, "includeKeywords": [], "excludeKeywords": [], "columns": [ "licensed", "organisationName", "town", "county", "holdsSkilledWorkerLicence", "rating", "licenceTypes", "routes", "licences", "matchType", "matchCount", "matches", "registerDate", "registerFileUrl", "sourceUrl" ], "maxConcurrency": 5, "proxyConfiguration": { "useApifyProxy": false } } ``` # Actor output Schema ## `results` (type: `string`): No description # API You can run this Actor programmatically using our API. Below are code examples in JavaScript, Python, and CLI, as well as the OpenAPI specification and MCP server setup. ## JavaScript example ```javascript import { ApifyClient } from 'apify-client'; // Initialize the ApifyClient with your Apify API token // Replace the '' with your token const client = new ApifyClient({ token: '', }); // Prepare Actor input const input = { "employers": [ "AaruvikA Limited", "Tesco" ], "includeKeywords": [], "excludeKeywords": [] }; // Run the Actor and wait for it to finish const run = await client.actor("accountable_eel/uk-visa-sponsor-licence-check").call(input); // Fetch and print Actor results from the run's dataset (if any) console.log('Results from dataset'); console.log(`💾 Check your data here: https://console.apify.com/storage/datasets/${run.defaultDatasetId}`); const { items } = await client.dataset(run.defaultDatasetId).listItems(); items.forEach((item) => { console.dir(item); }); // 📚 Want to learn more 📖? Go to → https://docs.apify.com/api/client/js/docs ``` ## Python example ```python from apify_client import ApifyClient # Initialize the ApifyClient with your Apify API token # Replace '' with your token. client = ApifyClient("") # Prepare the Actor input run_input = { "employers": [ "AaruvikA Limited", "Tesco", ], "includeKeywords": [], "excludeKeywords": [], } # Run the Actor and wait for it to finish run = client.actor("accountable_eel/uk-visa-sponsor-licence-check").call(run_input=run_input) # Fetch and print Actor results from the run's dataset (if there are any) print(f"💾 Check your data here: https://console.apify.com/storage/datasets/{run.default_dataset_id}") for item in client.dataset(run.default_dataset_id).iterate_items(): print(item) # 📚 Want to learn more 📖? Go to → https://docs.apify.com/api/client/python/docs/quick-start ``` ## CLI example ```bash echo '{ "employers": [ "AaruvikA Limited", "Tesco" ], "includeKeywords": [], "excludeKeywords": [] }' | apify call accountable_eel/uk-visa-sponsor-licence-check --silent --output-dataset ``` ## MCP server setup ```json { "mcpServers": { "apify": { "type": "http", "url": "https://mcp.apify.com/?tools=fetch-actor-details,accountable_eel/uk-visa-sponsor-licence-check" } } } ``` The hosted server signs you in with OAuth on first connect, so no API token belongs in this config. Clients without OAuth support can send an `Authorization: Bearer ` header instead, using a token from API & Integrations in Apify Console (https://console.apify.com/settings/integrations). ## OpenAPI specification Download the OpenAPI definition: https://api.apify.com/v2/actors/5VpBLaO5vDJEM6xje/builds/FlGL2yfrr5pxbYVP1/openapi.json