Country Profiles

United Kingdom

March 2011

This summary is intended for informational purposes only and should not be considered an authoritative guide on how to obtain work authorization in the United Kingdom. The intent is to give the reader a general overview of the process only. Procedures and requirements may have changed since the writing of this article or may have been inaccurately characterized in it. For current and detailed information regarding the topics below, as well as documentary requirements, processing times, post-arrival and departure requirements, penalties for non-compliance, allowances for accompanying family members, and any other information pertaining to your specific needs, please contact your Pro-Link GLOBAL immigration professional.

BUSINESS VISITOR

Permitted Activities - Business visitors must generally limit their activities to the following:

  • Meetings, conferences, site visits, signing contracts, interviews;
  • Attending Trade Fairs provided this is restricted to promotional work and does not involve selling direct;
  • Those delivering goods and passengers from abroad such as lorry drivers and coach drivers provided they are genuinely working an international route;
  • Tour group couriers who are contracted to a firm outside the UK, who are seeking entry to accompany a tour group and who intend to leave with that tour group;
  • Representing computer software companies by coming to install, debug or enhance their products;
  • Representing foreign manufacturers by coming to service or repair their company's products within their initial period of guarantee;
  • Representing foreign machine manufacturers by coming to erect and install machinery too heavy to be delivered in one piece, as part of the contract of purchase and supply;
  • Interpreting or translating for visiting business persons provided the interpreter/translator is employed by the overseas company and is coming solely to provide this service for the visiting company member;
  • Training in techniques and work practices employed in the UK, provided the training received is confined to observation, familiarization and classroom instruction only;
  • Visiting as an adviser, consultant, trainer or troubleshooter, provided the visitor is employed abroad, either directly or under contract, by the same company (or group of companies) to which the client firm belongs.

Type of Business Visas – The Visa type will depend on the nationality of the traveler. The following are examples of the types of business visa that are available to the business traveler.

  1. Visitor Visa

Basic Requirements –

  1. Intention of a genuine visit for business and not for paid employment;
  2. Good health and character;
  3. Evidence that there are no restrictions on his or her traveling to the UK;
  4. No intention to permanently reside in the UK;
  5. A ticket for onward travel from the UK.

Estimated Processing Times – This varies by diplomatic post and country.

Maximum Time On Visa - This visa allows business people to make a short business visit to the UK for up to six months during the visa validity period. Visas cannot be extended in country.

Typical Documents Required –
All travelers need to present the following documents to officers in immigration clearance:

  • a valid passport or other acceptable travel document and in some cases
  • a valid visa or authority to enter the UK

EMPLOYMENT AUTHORIZATION

Basic Requirements - The UK immigration system has several categories for corporate immigration.  The most commonly used category for temporary employment in the UK is the Tier 2 (Intra Company Transfer) category.

Who is this visa for? - This visa is for employers who would like to transfer foreign nationals to a UK branch. To qualify, the foreign national employee must have at least 12 months' experience in the sending company, which must be linked by common ownership to the UK entity.

 

Note that Tier 2 (ICT) Certificates of Sponsorship are "unrestricted"; that is; are not capped under the quota system effective from 6 April 2011. However, there are significant changes to Tier 2 (ICT) as follows:

1) The position to be filled must be listed on the Graduate Occupation List (see Appendix A of this report)

2) Salary will determine duration of stay, as follows:

a. Where salary is between 24K and 40K, duration of stay will be limited to 12 months, after which the individual must leave the UK and will not be permitted to re-enter until a period of 12 months has elapsed, unless the salary has been increased to40K or more during the period of the initial assignment, in which case a new out of country application can be made to return as a long term ICT (see b. below)

b. Where salary is over 40K, duration of stay can be granted for up to 3 years, with the possibility of renewing for a further 2 years. Renewals beyond 5 years will not be permitted, and individuals who have spent 5 years in the UK as an ICT will not be able to return to the UK as an ICT until a period of 12 months has elapsed since their last leave as an ICT expired.

Process Overview - The process for obtaining a Tier 2 intra-company transfer work authorization, provided the sponsor company is registered as a sponsor under the Points Based System, involves a two step process summarized below.

  1. Certificate of Sponsorship - submitted online to the UK Border Agency.
  2. Entry Clearance - applied for at the British consulate or Embassy in the applicant's country of residence or nationality.  Before this application, the employee and all accompanying family members aged 5 and over must give biometric data (fingerprints). Depending on the country of residence, this will either be done at the time of entry clearance application, or at an entry clearance Application Support Centre.

Estimated Processing Time – four to six weeks.

Validity periods - With this visa you can employ overseas workers for an initial period of up to 3 years, depending on salary (see note above)

Family Members -Secondary/ family dependants are permitted to work.