UK Secondment Worker Visa: Apply from Canada
The UK Secondment Worker visa is a part of the global business mobility routes of UK visa that permits overseas employers to transfer their Canadian workers to their UK-based overseas business for the purpose of working a high-value contract-eligible job at the UK company.
If you have questions regarding the secondment worker visa route, please contact us at +1 844 290 6312, or online via our live chat, seven days a week.
Page Contents
- Who Is Eligible For A Secondment Worker Visa?
- What Is Permitted As A Canadian Citizen As A Visa Holder?
- What Is The Process Of The Secondment Worker Visa Application?
- What Are The Supporting Documents For The Secondment Worker Visa?
- How Long Is A UK Secondment Worker Visa Granted?
- What Are The Fees Associated With The Secondment Worker Visa?
- Can Dependents From Canada Join The Permit Holder In The UK?
- How Total Law Can Help?
- Frequently Asked Questions
Who Is Eligible For A Secondment Worker Visa?
Overseas workers from Canada that are keen to obtain a UK secondment worker visa must meet first meet the following eligibility criteria for entry clearance: The Canadian citizen must be an existing employee of an employer overseas while maintaining a high-value contract with their valid UK sponsor.
The UK sponsor and their overseas business must already be approved by the Home Office to sponsor temporary workers under the Secondment Worker Visa route. The Canadian citizen secondment worker has worked for their overseas employer outside of the UK for at least 12 months prior to the UK visa application.
The Canadian visa applicant has been granted a Certificate of Sponsorship which highlights what work they, as the temporary worker, will do while in the UK. A Canadian citizen coming to the UK to do work in an eligible job, with an eligible, high-value contract, that is on the Eligible Occupations List.
Must meet the minimum salary requirement from their UK employers. Canadian citizens have to have sufficient funds to support themselves while in the UK.
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What Is Permitted As A Canadian Citizen As A Visa Holder?
Secondment Workers on this UK visa are permitted to:
- Work in the designated job role described in their Certificate of Sponsorship
- Study
- Volunteer with charitable organizations
- Travel abroad freely in and out of the UK
Oppositely, Secondment Worker visa holders are not permitted to:
- Apply for or access public funds or the State Pension
- Change jobs without updating their visa
- Apply for Indefinite Leave to Remain
- Work a second job
What Is The Process Of The Secondment Worker Visa Application?
Canadian Secondment worker visa applicants must do their apply online for their secondment work visa. This application can be done up to 3 months before the intended start date for work in the UK. The application process is indeed something we at Total Law can support you with.
Once you complete your online visa application, submit supporting documents, pay the visa application fee, and provide proof of identity through the ‘UK Immigration: ID Check app on your phone, your application package will be determined within 3 weeks, if you’re outside the UK. If the visa application is made from inside of the UK, the visa application will likely be processed within 8 weeks.
What Are The Supporting Documents For The Secondment Worker Visa?
As part of the application package for a UK secondment worker visa, skilled workers will be asked to include a number of supporting documents. These must be submitted in either English or Welsh, with no exceptions.
These supporting documents are:
- Your valid certificate of sponsorship reference number – given to you by your UK sponsor
- A valid passport or another identity document that shows your identity and nationality
- Your job title from the UK employer and your job’s most appropriate occupation code
- The name of your UK licensed sponsor and their sponsor license number
- Proof that you have enough personal savings to support yourself in the UK such as bank account details
- Evidence of your relationship with your partner and/or dependent family members, if they’re applying with you
- Canadian citizens are not required to provide their tuberculosis test results
You may be asked for evidence to prove you’ve worked for your employer for one year. If you are asked for this, you will need to provide the following:
- Printed payslips
- Online payslips supported by a letter from your sponsor signed by a senior staff member
- Bank or building society statements
- A valid ATAS certificate if your job involves researching a sensitive subject at PhD level or above
You’ll require a blank page in your Canadian passport for your UK visas.
How Long Is A UK Secondment Worker Visa Granted?
The UK government offers the visa-holder with the secondment worker route, to live in the UK for one year initially, with an extension for one more year possible.
Two years is the continuous period max that a visa-holder can stay in the UK as a secondment worker on the global business mobility visa, as it is a temporary visa after all.
Secondment Worker visas are also subject to the maximum cumulative period, where the visa holder is only permitted to stay in the UK for 5 years in any 6-year period if they’ve spent time on any of the other Intra-Company routes or global business mobility routes.
The UK Secondment Worker visa does not lead to settlement in the UK, although overseas workers can possibly apply to remain in the UK through a different immigration route, provided they meet the eligibility requirements.
What Are The Fees Associated With The Secondment Worker Visa?
The fees for the secondment worker route are:
- The £259, or 403.37 Canadian Dollars for the application fee
- The annual immigration health surcharge of £624, or 971.83 Canadian Dollars
- Finances that can support yourself when you arrive in the UK, which is at least £1,270, 1,977.92 Canadian Dollars
Can Dependents From Canada Join The Permit Holder In The UK?
Not all UK visas offer this, but the secondment worker visa permits your partner, unmarried spouse and civil partner and children can apply to join you or to stay in the UK as your ‘dependants’ if they’re eligible. If their application is successful, their visa will end on the same date as yours.
To be considered an eligible dependant partner or child they must be:
- Your husband, wife, civil partner or unmarried partner
- Your child under 18 – including if they were born in the UK during your stay
- Your child over 18 if they’re currently in the UK as your dependant
You’ll need to provide evidence of your relationship when you apply and each dependent requires a specific amount of money available to support themselves.
This financial requirement is:
- £285 (443.86 Canadian Dollars) for your partner
- £315 (490.58 Canadian Dollars) for one child
- £200 (311.48 Canadian Dollars) for each additional child
How Total Law Can Help?
Total Law is here to help Canadian citizens in fulfilling their dreams of obtaining a Secondment Worker Visa to work and gather experience in the United Kingdom. We offer immigration advice sessions from our qualified team, who are certified by the solicitors regulation authority and are experts in the global business mobility route and secondment worker visa.
We can help with sponsorship obligations, UK business rules, minimum salary requirements, job skill level requirements and anything else.
Reach out to us today to get started on your application process for the UK secondment worker route. We are available for support seven days a week and you may reach us either by phone at 0333 305 9375, or online via our live chat, seven days a week or through our online chat function.
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Related pages for your continued reading.
Frequently Asked Questions
Canadian Secondment workers with a valid secondment worker visa who wish to extend their Secondment Worker Visa are allowed, so long they are eligible. These extension conditions are:
- The Canadian citizen is still working for the UK sponsor who gave them their current Certificate of Sponsor
- The Canadian citizen continues to work on the same high-value contract they started with
- The Canadian citizen has not reached their maximum allowance of stay in the UK
Any applications for a Secondment Worker visa holder to extend must be submitted in the UK. While waiting for the extension decision, Canadian applicants cannot travel outside the UK, Ireland, Channel Islands, or the Isle of Man, until their application has been processed.
This UK visa normally takes 3 weeks to process from outside the UK. If the Canadian applicant is applying for a Secondment Worker Visa from within the UK, the visa application will likely be processed within 8 weeks.
You are allowed to stay in the UK for a maximum of 5 years in any 6-year period if you’ve already spent time on any of the following visas:
- Intra Company routes
- Graduate Trainee visa (Global Business Mobility)
- Senior or Specialist Worker visa (Global Business Mobility)
- Service Supplier visa (Global Business Mobility)
- UK Expansion Worker visa (Global Business Mobility)
Your overseas employer must have an eligible contract with your UK sponsor that’s worth at least £50 million (approx 70 million CAD). If the contract is worth less you may be eligible for a different visa to work in the UK.