Secondment Worker Visa
The UK Secondment Worker visa is a business immigration route under the Global Business Mobility visa umbrella. The UK Secondment Worker visa is reserved for overseas workers wanting to go to the UK on a temporary basis, as part of either a high-value contract or investment by their employer overseas.
Should you have any questions regarding the secondment worker visa, contact our expert team of immigration lawyers to discuss any concerns you may have. You may reach us at 0333 305 9375, 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 Secondment Worker With A Secondment Worker Visa?
- What Are The Employer Requirements?
- What Is The Secondment Worker Visa Application?
- What Are The Required 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 Join The UK Secondment Worker Visa Route?
- How Total Law Can Help?
- Frequently Asked Questions
Who Is Eligible For A Secondment Worker Visa?
Foreign nationals wishing to obtain a UK secondment worker visa are required to meet the following eligibility criteria:
- The foreign national is an existing employee of an overseas employer that maintains a high-value contract with a UK sponsor
- The UK sponsor and the overseas business have been approved by the Home Office to sponsor temporary workers under the Secondment Worker Visa route
- The foreign national has worked for their overseas employer outside of the UK for at least 12 months prior to the visa application
- The visa applicant has been given a Certificate of Sponsorship, detailing the work which the temporary worker will do while in the UK
- The foreign national is coming to the UK to do work in an eligible job, with an eligible contract, that is on the Eligible Occupations List
- The foreign national has the sufficient necessary to support themselves while in the UK
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What Is Permitted As A Secondment Worker With A Secondment Worker Visa?
Secondment Workers are permitted to:
- Work in the designated job role described in their Certificate of Sponsorship
- Study at various levels
- Volunteer with charitable organizations/do unpaid work
- 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 Are The Employer Requirements?
Any overseas employers that wish to have staff go to the UK under the Secondment worker route must:
- Have an eligible contract with a UK organization that will act as an eligible UK sponsor
- The contract between the overseas employer and UK sponsor is worth a minimum of £50 million pounds
- The UK organization acting as the sponsor is a valid Temporary Worker Sponsor license holder
The Home Office must not have reasonable grounds that the job is fake or has just been created for that applicant to obtain entry clearance or leave to remain in the UK.
What Is The Secondment Worker Visa Application?
Secondment worker visa applicants are permitted to apply for their secondment work online, up to 3 months prior to the intended start date for work in the UK. Applicants will need to complete an online application, submit the supporting documents, pay the fees for their UK visa application, and then provide proof of their identity.
You may need to provide biometric information at the nearest Visa Application Centre which will later be used to create a Biometric Residence Permit. Depending on the passport you hold, some people may be asked to provide proof of identity by scanning an identity document to the ‘UK Immigration: ID Check’ app on their phone.
What Are The Required Documents For The Secondment Worker Visa?
When applying to become a secondment worker, you need to provide the following information:
- Your certificate of sponsorship reference number – provided by your UK sponsor
- A valid passport or other documents that shows your identity and nationality
- Your job title from the overseas businesses and your job’s appropriate occupation code
- The name of your UK licensed sponsor and their sponsor license number – can be located on your certificate of sponsorship
- Proof that you have enough personal savings to support yourself in the UK such as bank statements
- Evidence of your relationship with your partner and/or dependent children if they’re applying with you
- Your tuberculosis test results (if applicable)
Depending on your circumstances, you might also need to give:
Evidence you’ve worked for your employer outside the UK. This can be given through 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 building society pass book
- A valid ATAS certificate if your job involves researching a sensitive subject at PhD level or above
You’ll need a blank page in your passport for your visa if you need to give your biometric information (fingerprints and a photograph) at a visa application centre. You’ll be told if you need to do this when you apply.
If your documents are not in English or Welsh already, you’ll also need to provide a certified translation.
How Long Is A UK Secondment Worker Visa Granted?
Should the secondment worker visa application be approved, the visa-holder can remain in the UK for up to one year initially, with the opportunity to extend their stay by up to one more year.
Please note that two years is the maximum continuous period a visa-holder can stay in the UK as a secondment worker on the global business mobility visa.
Secondment Workers are also subject to the maximum cumulative period, where one 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.
It is vital to know that The UK Secondment Worker does not offer settlement in the UK, although they may be able to apply for leave to remain under a different immigration route, provided they meet the eligibility requirements.
What Are The Fees Associated With The Secondment Worker Visa?
For the secondment worker route, there are a number of financial requirements associated.
They are:
- The £259 application fee
- The annual immigration health surcharge of £624 per year
- Money to support yourself when you arrive in the UK – you’ll usually need to have at least £1,270 available (unless you’re exempt)
Can Dependents Join The UK Secondment Worker Visa Route?
A UK Secondment Worker can be accompanied or joined by their partner, civil partner or unmarried partners and dependent children if they meet the relevant requirements.
Where eligible, dependants will be required to apply online, prove their identity, and provide their biometric information and any supporting documents.
They will also be required to pay an application fee and healthcare surcharge and may need to meet a financial requirement.
How Total Law Can Help?
As a qualified team of immigration lawyers that are certified by the solicitors regulation authority, Total Law are experts in helping you get your hands on a secondment worker visa immigration route to continue growing and excelling in your career. Our immigration team can properly advise you on sponsorship obligations, UK business rules, high-value contract, job skill level requirements and anything else you need support in!
Please reach out today so we can discuss your specific case and ways to obtain the UK secondment worker visa. We are open seven days a week and can be reached by phone or by using the online chat function to speak with one of our client care agents.
You may reach us at 0333 305 9375, or online via our live chat, seven days a week.
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Related pages for your continued reading.
Frequently Asked Questions
If a business is looking to sponsor an overseas worker, they will need a license to sponsor that category of worker, for example, as a Skilled Worker or as a worker under one of the new Global Business Mobility routes.
The cost of sponsoring an overseas worker varies but can include a sponsor license fee, a fee for issuing a Certificate of Sponsorship and even an Immigration Skills Charge, although these costs will depend on the sponsored immigration route in question.
After completing the secondment worker visa application, they take 3 weeks to process after the application is filed online from outside the UK and the applicant has submitted all the necessary documents along with paying all appropriate visa fees. If the applicant is applying for a Secondment Worker Visa from within the UK, the visa application will be processed within 8 weeks.
The visa holder cannot:
- Apply for most benefits (public funds), or the State Pension.
- Change jobs
- Have a second job
- Apply to settle permanently in the UK (also known as ‘Indefinite Leave to Remain’).
Secondment workers are able to bring family members with them to the UK by applying for a dependent visa. To be eligible, the family must be:
- A spouse, civil partner, or unmarried ‘de facto partner
- Unmarried children under the age of 18
- Unmarried children who are over the age of 18 but are dependent on their parents
Family members can stay in the UK for the same period of time as the primary visa holder. Both the primary visa holder and dependent family members will need to submit proof of relationship evidence. Proof of a relationship can include a civil partnership or marriage certificate, birth certificates for children, adoption certificates, etc.