Archive · 1 Sep 2026
Over 20,000 UK Security Licences Revoked Over Work Rights
Security guards in Britain need a licence to work in many places.
The licence authority checks whether applicants are allowed to work in the country.
Nearly 22,000 licences were taken away because the holders no longer had the right to work.
The number of cancellations was much higher in 2025 than in 2022.
Many of the cancelled licences belonged to Pakistani and Indian nationals.
The SIA says people may have been allowed to work when they applied but lost that permission later.
A Conservative politician said illegal workers should be deported.
The SIA says it checks visa status and removes licences when permission expires.
Almost 22,000 security licences were revoked over right-to-work issues since the start of 2023.
A record 7,740 licences were cancelled in 2025, compared with 734 in 2022.
Pakistani nationals accounted for 9,625 revoked licences, Indian nationals 7,861 and Nigerians 2,898 since 2022.
The Security Industry Authority says licences are revoked when a holder’s visa or right to work expires.
The Conservatives called for illegal workers to be deported and urged the SIA to prevent ineligible applicants receiving licences.
- Who
- The Security Industry Authority, security licence holders, and Conservative politicians, including Chris Philp, are involved.
- What
- Almost 22,000 private-security licences were revoked over holders’ lack of a right to work in the UK.
- When
- Since the start of 2023; 7,740 licences were revoked in 2025, and 4,244 were revoked in the first seven months of the reported current year.
- Where
- Across Britain and the United Kingdom’s private-security industry.
- Why
- Licences were revoked because holders’ visas or other permissions to work had expired or otherwise ended.
Political Critics
Security Industry Authority
Whether checks are adequate
Political Critics
Chris Philp and the Conservatives questioned how people can be trusted to guard shops and buildings if right-to-work checks are not preventing ineligible workers from receiving licences.
Security Industry Authority
The SIA said it does not issue licences to people without the right to work and checks whether that permission is retained during the licence period.
What should happen to illegal workers
Political Critics
The Conservatives said anyone caught working illegally as a security guard should be deported immediately.
Security Industry Authority
The SIA’s stated role in the response was to revoke licences when a suitable visa or right to work expires; the article does not report a separate SIA position on deportation.
Why licences were revoked
Political Critics
Critics pointed to the sharp increase in revocations and linked the broader surge to increased post-pandemic net migration.
Security Industry Authority
The SIA said many people had the right to work when they applied but later lost it, including when a visa expired, they left the UK, or moved to a different visa type.
- Licences revoked since 2023
- Almost 22,000 over right-to-work issues
- 2025 revocations
- 7,740, a record figure reported by The Telegraph
- 2022 revocations
- 734 licences
- Largest nationality groups
- Pakistani nationals: 9,625; Indian nationals: 7,861; Nigerian nationals: 2,898
- Total security licence holders
- About 450,000 in Britain
- Licence validity
- Three years
- Licensing authority
- Security Industry Authority, a Home Office quango