Business Visas UK
Whether you’re self-employed or in the process of doing a start-up, there is an extensive number of UK Business Visas you may be able to apply for, depending on your given situation, even though the UK government has recently implemented certain restrictive reforms that affect certain categories of foreign entrepreneurs.
Contact Total Law’s immigration lawyers at +44 (0) 333 305 9375 if you wish to find out more about the UK business visa application process, or if you seek immediate assistance.
What are the UK Business Visas?
The UK offers lots of opportunities for employers and investors who wish to establish in the country, though they’re constantly updating the conditions and types of business visas available.
Currently, these are the business visas the UK government offers:
- Innovator visa
- Global Talent visa
- Business Visitor visa
- Global Business Mobility visas
In recent times, on the eve of the UK’s exit from the European Union, the UK Home Office decided to stop issuing Tier 1 Entrepreneur or Investor visas, even though these are still listed on the gov.uk website. The decision was grounded on alleged “security concerns”. Current holders of these scrapped visas may still be able to apply for an extension, an indefinite leave to remain, or family reunification.
The documents that are commonly required in all applications are the following:
- Current passport or valid travel ID
- Tuberculosis test results if you come from a country that requires it
- Bank statements evidencing that you held at least £1,270 in savings in your bank account for a period of 28 consecutive days before the application
- Documentary proof that you meet the English language requirement (not needed if you’re from an English-speaking country)
Apart from the aforementioned documentation, you may also need to provide other documents according to the nature of the visa you’re applying for.
The usual approval period is of 3 weeks if you submit your request from outside the UK and 8 weeks from inside the UK, though it’s possible to abbreviate the timeframe by choosing “priority service” (wherever applicable), in which case you’ll have your visa petition settled within 5 business days for a fee.
Throughout the length of this short guide, we’ll also touch upon the UK visa sponsorship for employers and the prerequisites for obtaining a Certificate of Sponsorship for foreign employees.
UK Innovator Visa: Eligibility, Cost, and Renewal
The UK Innovator visa is granted to investors who aim to set up a business or to continue running a business in the UK. It will allow you to stay in the country for 3 years and it’s subsequently extendable for further 3-year periods.
Those who initially wished to submit a Tier 1 Entrepreneur visa request will now have to opt for the Innovator or Start-up visas. This move was made in an attempt to provide an ambitious investment route and presumably improve the UK’s economy in the process.
Certain requirements have to be met to be eligible for an Innovator visa, such as:
- You want to run an innovative business in the UK that is entirely different from anything else on the market
- The business or business idea has to be approved by an endorsing or “authorizing” body, such as those listed here
Apart from the requisites listed above, you should also be at least 18 years old, possess enough funds to sustain yourself during your stay, and have a B2 level of English. Additionally, every member of your team must have at least £50,000 in investment funds and present pertinent records to prove this.
With regards to the business idea, it must be new (you shall not join an already-existing business) innovative (different from any other available), and with a proven potential for success and growth.
Summary of the application fees for Innovator visa:
| Fees | Amount |
|---|---|
| Innovator Founder Visa Fee | £1,274 (outside UK) |
| Innovator Founder Visa Fee | £1,590 (inside UK) |
| Personal Savings Requirement | £1,270 |
| Biometric Fee | £19.20 |
| Endorsement Fees | £2,500 – £4,000 |
Business Visitor Visa
The UK Business Visitor visa allows holders to come to the UK for periods of time up to 6 months and perform certain business activities.
You will not be able to take on any paid work while in the UK with this visa.
Permitted activities include the following. You can:
- Attend interviews, meetings, conferences and seminars
- Negotiate and sign deals and contracts
- Attend trade fairs to promote your business
- Get work-related training if you’re employed overseas and the training is not available in your home country
- Give a one-off or short series of talks as long as they’re not for profit or a commercial event
- Carry out site visits and inspections
- Oversee the delivery of goods and services provided by a UK company to your overseas company or organisation
- Deliver training or share knowledge on internal projects with UK employees of the company you work for overseas
- Install, dismantle, repair, service or advise on equipment, computer software and hardware, if your overseas company has a contract with a UK company or organisation
To be eligible for this visa, you must be from a visa-required country and meet all the basic eligibility criteria for visitors coming to the UK.
Global Business Mobility Visas
Overview
Global Business Mobility visas are a category of business visas that allow foreign businesses to trade, expand and work in the UK through various routes.
They comprise five different visa routes, each targeting a specific purpose or type of worker.
Global Business Mobility visas each cost £319, except for the Senior or Specialist Worker visa, which costs between £769 and £1,751, depending on your circumstances.
Senior or Specialist Worker Visa
The Senior or Specialist Worker visa allows holders to come to the UK to carry out eligible work at their company’s UK branch.
To be eligible for this visa, you must be paid at least £48,500 a year, be an existing employee of a company that is a Home Office approved sponsor, work in an eligible job and have a certificate of sponsorship from your employer.
You can stay in the UK for up to 5 years in any 6 year period if you’re paid less than £73,900 a year, or 9 years in any 10 year period if you’re paid £73,900 a year or more.
Graduate Trainee Visa
The Graduate Trainee visa allows individuals on a graduate trainee program for a managerial or specialist role to come and work for their employer in their UK branch.
To be eligible for this visa, you must be paid at least £25,410 a year, have worked for your sponsor for at least 3 months and have a certificate of sponsorship from your employer.
Secondment Worker Visa
The Secondment Worker visa allows holders to be transferred to the UK to carry out work for a different organisation than their employer.
To be eligible for this visa, you must be an existing employee of an overseas organisation that has a high-value contract with your Home Office-approved sponsor, have worked for your overseas employer for at least 12 months outside the UK and have a certificate of sponsorship from your employer.
Service Supplier Visa
The Service Supplier visa allows holders to come and work in the UK if they are providing services to a UK company as an employee for an overseas company or a self-employed professional based overseas.
To be eligible for this visa, you must be providing a service to a UK business under a contract that is covered by a valid international trade agreement, have worked for your employer for at least 12 months, and have a certificate of sponsorship from your employer.
UK Expansion Worker Visa
The Expansion Worker visa allows holders to come to the UK to set up a branch of an overseas business that has not started trading in the UK yet.
To be eligible, you must already work for the overseas business as either a senior manager or specialist employee, meet the minimum salary requirements, work in an eligible role and have a certificate of sponsorship from your employer.
Global Talent Visa: UK Immigration for Skilled Professionals
This visa is granted to certain categories of people. Specifically, those who excel and can become potential leaders in the fields of academia, research, arts, culture, or digital technology.
As in the case of the other visas described, you must meet endorsement requirements. You can alternatively be eligible without endorsement if you have won an award among those listed on this page.
In contrast to other visa applications, you’ll not be asked to present bank statements when you apply for this specific visa. In case you won an eligible award, the Home Office will browse through publicly available information and will only request proof if they’re not able to find it by themselves.
A summary of Global Talent visa application fees:
| Application Stage | Who is Applying | Fee (£) |
|---|---|---|
| Stage 1: Endorsement Application | Main Applicant | £561 |
| Stage 2: Visa Application | Main Applicant | £205 |
| Dependants | £766 each | |
| Immigration Health Surcharge (IHS) | All Applicants | £1035 per year (or £776 for applicants under 18) |
How long you can stay
A Global Talent visa allows you to work and live in the UK for a period of 5 years, with the possibility of unlimited 5-year extensions provided that you still meet the conditions.
Extension for Tier 1 Investor Visa: Requirements and Costs
As disclosed earlier, Investor visas are no longer issued, and there is no indication so far as to when their issuance will be resumed, if at all. Nonetheless, if you’re already a Tier 1 (Investor) visa holder, you’re allowed to extend it for 2 years.
These are the conditions that must be attained if you wish to opt for an extension:
- You must hold at least £2 million in the UK
- You must have invested those funds in share capital or loan capital in active UK companies
- You ought to have invested that amount within 3 months of your “investor start date”
If you applied for your visa before November 6th, 2014:
- You must have had at least a £2 million investment in government bonds, share capital, or loan capital in active UK companies starting from April 6th, 2020
- You ought to have held at least £1 million in the UK before April 6th, 2020
- Within the first 3 months of your “investor start date”, you must have invested at least £750,000 in UK government bonds, share capital, or loan capital in active UK companies
Regulators define “investor start date” as the date you arrive in the UK or the approval date of your original Investor visa application or switch from a different visa category.
For this visa, apart from the documents outlined at the beginning of this guide, you must submit:
- A criminal records certificate issued by any country you have stayed in for 12 months or more during the past 10 years
- Investment portfolio reports from a UK-regulated financial institution showing you’ve met eligibility requirements and held your investments throughout the duration of your visa
The fee for each applicant is £1,884, plus a healthcare surcharge.
Extension for Tier 1 Entrepreneur Visa: Requirements and Conditions
Tier 1 Entrepreneur visa applications have also been suspended until further notice. Just as with Investor visas, if you hold an already-issued Entrepreneur visa, you can ask for an extension if:
- You registered as self-employed or as a director within 6 months after your original Tier 1 (Entrepreneur) visa was approved
- You can provide evidence that you’ve been self-employed, enrolled in a partnership, or have been working as a business director 3 months before the application
- You created at least 2 full-time jobs in existence for 12 months minimum
- You prove you’re still able to support yourself
- You have invested an amount ranging from £50,000 to £200,000 into UK businesses, depending on the level of funds that underpinned your original application
A summary of Tier 1 Entrepreneur visa application fees:
| Application Location | Fee |
|---|---|
| Inside the UK | £1,486 |
| Outside the UK | £1,191 |
UK Visa Sponsorship for Employers: Requirements for Hiring International Workers
If you are running a business inside the UK and need to employ someone from outside the UK to work with you, you need to obtain a sponsor license. You can bypass the license requirement if you hire:
- Irish citizens
- People with indefinite leave to remain in the UK
- People under the EU Settlement Scheme (applicable to workers who are from the EU, Switzerland, Norway, Iceland, or Liechtenstein)
To be eligible for a sponsor license, you must not:
- Have unspent criminal convictions on account of immigration infringements and relevant offenses such as money laundering or fraud
- Had a sponsor license revoked in the 12 months prior to the new license petition
Moreover, you’ll have to implement a system capable of monitoring sponsored employees and endow people within your organization with sponsorship management duties.
Assigning a Certificate of Sponsorship (CoS) for Skilled Workers
Each foreign worker must then be assigned a Certificate of Sponsorship, each carrying a specific number. After you assign the certificate, they must use it to apply for their respective Worker visas within a period of 3 months. The certificates are classified as follows:
- Defined certificates: For Skilled Worker visa applicants who are submitting their request outside the UK. These must be obtained via the sponsorship management system (SMS)
- Undefined certificates: For Skilled Worker visa applicants who are inside the UK, as well as applicants on all the other visas. The immigration bureau will request that you declare the estimated number of undefined certificates you’ll necessitate during the first year
The costs for each certificate vary according to the type of worker you’re hiring:
| Type of Worker | Certificate of Sponsorship Cost |
|---|---|
| Skilled Worker (general) | £525 |
| Temporary Worker | £55 |
| International Sportsperson (CoS over 12 months) | £525 |
| International Sportsperson (CoS less than 12 months) | £55 |
For Skilled Worker or Senior or Specialist Worker visa applicants, apart from the costs mentioned above, you must also pay a immigration skills charge. The amount of this additional charge depends on the size of your venture;
- Small sponsors, as well as charitable organizations, must pay £364 for the first 12 months, and £182 for each additional 6-month assignment
- Medium sponsors ought to pay £1000 for the first 12 months and £500 for each additional 6-month assignment
To qualify as a small sponsor, you must meet two of the following criteria:
- The total worth of your global assets must be equal to or inferior to £5.1 million
- You must have 50 employees or fewer
- You ought to have an annual turnover of £10.2 million or less
How Total Law can help with UK Business Visa Applications
British immigration laws can be difficult to navigate through. The UK is generally very welcoming to investors and business-minded foreigners, but they must first go through a thick compliance filter and choose the visa program that best fits their particular interests and those of their destination.
Total Law’s business immigration lawyers are qualified to handle your visa application and sift out any possible errors in your request to make the process as smooth as possible and elude any potential setbacks. They’re also available to offer immediate assistance and guidance at any stage.
You can contact us by calling us at +44 (0) 333 305 9375 or filling out the quick online inquiry form.
Advice Package
Comprehensive immigration advice tailored to your circumstances and goals.
Application Package
Designed to make your visa application as smooth and stress-free as possible.
Fast Track Package
Premium application service that ensures your visa application is submitted to meet your deadline.
Appeal Package
Ensure you have the greatest chance of a successful appeal. We will represent you in any case.
The Advice Package
During this untimed Advice Session with our professional immigration lawyers in London, you will receive our comprehensive advice, completely tailored to your needs and your situation.
The Application Package
With our Application Package, your dedicated immigration lawyer will advise you on your application process and eligibility. Your caseworker will then complete and submit your forms to the Home Office on your behalf.
The Fast Track Package
Our Fast-Track Application Package is a premium service for those who need to submit their application in time with their deadlines. Your case will become a top priority for our lawyers and you will benefit from our highest-quality services.
The Appeal Package
By choosing our Appeal Package, you can rely on our lawyers’ legal knowledge and experience to ensure you have the highest chance of a successful appeal. We will also fully represent you in any hearings/tribunals.
