UK grants visa‑sponsorship rights to Islamic Centre of England amid Iran‑link probe

The Home Office has kept the Islamic Centre of England on its register of licensed sponsors, allowing the charity to issue certificates of sponsorship for skilled workers and religious ministers to apply for UK visas. The centre is the subject of a Charity Commission investigation over its governance and alleged connections to the Iranian regime. As part of the inquiry, it removed a rule that required a board member to represent Iran’s Supreme Leader.

The charity has faced scrutiny after a community bazaar sold merchandise bearing symbols of Iran’s regime and Hezbollah, and after it held a candlelit vigil for the late IRGC commander Qassim Soleimani. Director and imam Seyed Hashem Moosavi has described anti‑regime protesters as “soldiers of Satan”. Security experts and politicians, including former adviser Lord Walney, have called the continued visa‑sponsor status “alarming” and urged a review of the licence. The Home Office notes that no workers have been sponsored by the centre since 2022.