Jump to content

Home Office - UK Visas and Immigration

Accessibility statement for Sponsor Management System

This accessibility statement applies to the Sponsor Management System (SMS), which can be accessed at https://www.points.homeoffice.gov.uk/gui-sms-jsf/home/SMS-003-Home.faces.

This website is run by the Home Office. We want as many people as possible to be able to use this website. For example, that means you should be able to:

  • navigate most of the website using just a keyboard
  • navigate most of the website using speech recognition software

We’ve also made the website text as simple as possible to understand.

AbilityNet has advice on making your device easier to use if you have a disability.

How accessible this website is

We know some parts of this website are not fully accessible. You can see a full list of any issues we currently know about in the Non-accessible content section of this statement.

Feedback and contact information

You can find information about this service at https://www.gov.uk/uk-visa-sponsorship-employers.

If you need assistance in using this service, you can find ways to get help at https://www.gov.uk/assisted-digital-help-online-applications.

Reporting accessibility problems with this website

We’re always looking to improve the accessibility of this website. If you find any problems not listed on this page or think we’re not meeting accessibility requirements, contact:

Read tips on contacting organisation about inaccessible websites.

Enforcement procedure

The Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) is responsible for enforcing the Public Sector Bodies (Websites and Mobile Applications) (No. 2) Accessibility Regulations 2018 (the ‘accessibility regulations’). If you’re not happy with how we respond to your complaint, contact the Equality Advisory and Support Service (EASS).

If you are in Northern Ireland  and are not happy with how we respond to your complaint you can contact the Equalities Commission for Northern Ireland who are responsible for enforcing the Public Sector Bodies (Websites and Mobile Applications) (No. 2) Accessibility Regulations 2018 (the ‘accessibility regulations’) in Northern Ireland.

Contacting us by phone

Find out how to contact us at https://www.gov.uk/uk-visa-sponsorship-employers/apply-for-your-licence.

Technical information about this website’s accessibility

The Home Office is committed to making its website accessible, in accordance with the Public Sector Bodies (Websites and Mobile Applications) (No. 2) Accessibility Regulations 2018.

Compliance status

This website is not compliant with the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) 2.2 (w3.org) AA standard. The non-compliances are listed below.

Non-accessible content

The content listed below is non-accessible for the following reasons.

Non-compliance with the accessibility regulations

Text and content issues:

  • For some links, the link text does not describe where the link goes without reading surrounding text. This fails WCAG 2.4.4 Link Purpose (A)
  • Some text has a contrast ratio which falls below 4.5:1. This fails WCAG 1.4.3 Contrast Minimum (A)
  • Text in the location breadcrumbs is very small. This fails WCAG 1.4.4 Resize Text (AA)
  • Zooming in to the text creates a scrollbar to move left and right – text does not wrap when zoomed. This fails WCAG 1.4.10 Reflow (AA)
  • Text does not respond properly to browser high contrast settings. This creates issues that fail WCAG 1.4.3 Contrast Minimum (A)
  • All labels to all form elements. Some labels for form elements are absent, screen reader users do not know the input data expectations. Screen readers cannot programmatically determine information about input objects without an established label relationship (or redundant text serving as a label).
  • Fix Form element, use the label element and an explicit association using the for and id attributes. Failed as some reference elements do not exist, or references elements are empty, or element has no title attribute and some element have no placeholder attribute.

Issues with form fields:

  • Clicking the mouse on the label of form fields does not cause the field to become focused if the field is for date entry or radio buttons. This fails WCAG 2.4.7 Focus Visible (AA)

Using the SMS without a mouse:

  • The order of focus for fields on the screen does not match the implied visual order for some buttons. This fails WCAG 2.4.3 Focus Order (A)

We plan to resolve these issues by April 2025.

Disproportionate burden

At this time, we have not made any disproportionate burden claims.

Content that’s not within the scope of the accessibility regulations

At this time, we have not identified any content that is not within scope of the accessibility regulations.

Preparation of this accessibility statement

This statement was prepared on 3rd October 2024. It was last reviewed on 3rd October 2024.

This website was last tested on 23rd September 2024.

Testing was carried out internally by the Home Office.

We tested the service based on a user's ability to complete key journeys. All parts of the chosen journeys were tested, including documents. Journeys were chosen on a number of factors including usage statistics, risk assessments and subject matter.

Back to top