Sharp rise in security guards’ right‑to‑work failures

Thousands of security guards have had their licences revoked after officials found they no longer had the right to work in Britain, with new figures revealing a sharp rise in visa‑related breaches across the private security industry.

Data released under freedom of information laws shows that more than 20,000 licences have been cancelled since the start of 2023, with the Security Industry Authority (SIA) confirming almost 22,000 revocations linked to right‑to‑work failures over the past three years. The number has risen dramatically: just 734 licences were revoked in 2022, compared with 7,740 in 2025, and a further 4,244 in the first seven months of 2026.

The SIA requires all licence holders to have valid permission to work in the UK, but many guards subsequently lost that status because visas expired, conditions changed or immigration routes were misused. A wider dataset covering January 2022 to August 2026 shows that 90% of all licence cancellations — 22,526 out of 24,969 — were due to right‑to‑work issues, far outweighing revocations linked to criminality.

The largest groups affected were Pakistani nationals (9,625 revocations), Indian nationals (7,861) and Nigerian nationals (2,898), together accounting for more than 90% of all right‑to‑work cancellations. Officials have raised concerns that some migrants arriving on social‑care or student visas have taken up security roles in breach of visa conditions.

Shadow home secretary Chris Philp said the figures showed “basic checks are failing”, adding that illegal working should lead to removal from the UK. He urged the Home Office and SIA to tighten vetting so licences are not issued to people whose immigration status is likely to lapse.

Security guards are deployed across shops, pubs, clubs, warehouses, cash‑in‑transit operations and hospitals, and contractors warn that sudden licence revocations can leave venues without adequate staffing. Industry analysts say most cases stem from administrative lapses — missed visa renewals, expired biometric residence permits or changes to visa rules — rather than deliberate wrongdoing.

The surge in SIA enforcement comes amid wider Home Office action on visa compliance, including record‑high revocations of Skilled Worker sponsor licences. Employers are being urged to carry out more frequent right‑to‑work checks to avoid abrupt workforce losses.