UK Secondment Worker Visa: How to Apply
The UK Secondment Worker visa is reserved for overseas employers to transfer their American workers to their UK-based organization for the purpose of working an eligible job, so long it is for a high-value contract with the UK company.
This secondment worker visa is part of the Global Business Mobility scheme implemented by the UK government.
If you have any 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 A Home Office-Approved Employer?
- What Is Permitted As A Secondment Worker With A Secondment Worker Visa?
- What Is 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?
- What Is The Extension Process For A Secondment Worker Visa
- Can Dependent Family Members Join The Primary Visa Holders On The UK Secondment Worker Visa Route?
- How Total Law Can Help?
- Frequently Asked Questions
Who Is Eligible For A Secondment Worker Visa?
Overseas workers from America that wish to obtain a UK secondment worker visa must meet the following eligibility criteria:
The American citizen must be an existing employee of an overseas employer that maintains a high-value contract with a UK sponsor
The UK sponsor and their overseas business have been approved by the Home Office to sponsor temporary workers under the Secondment Worker Visa route
The American citizen secondment worker has worked for their overseas employer outside of the UK for at least 12 months prior to the visa application
The US visa applicant has been given a Certificate of Sponsorship, detailing the work which they, as the temporary worker will do while in the UK
The American citizen is coming to the UK to do work in an eligible job, with an eligible, high-value contract, that is on the Eligible Occupations List
The American citizen has sufficient funds to support themselves while in the UK.
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What Is A Home Office-Approved Employer?
Firstly, for a successful Secondment Worker visa application, the UK employer that is sponsoring you has to be approved by the Home Office to sponsor American overseas workers under the Secondment worker route.
UK employers approved by the Home Office to sponsor secondment workers must have an A-rated temporary worker sponsor licence- which is the highest rating a sponsor licence holder can have. If the employer does not already have a sponsor licence, they must apply online for a sponsor licence before any plans for an overseas transfer can be put into place.
Similarly, if the British employer has a sponsor licence, but does not have the correct permission to sponsor under the Secondment Worker visa route, they must seek authorisation to do so from the Home Office at the earliest possible convenience to begin proceedings and make the relevant bodies aware of their plans to accommodate a transfer.
What Is Permitted As A Secondment Worker With A Secondment Worker Visa?
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 Secondment Worker Visa Application?
Secondment worker visa applicants need to do their visa applications for their secondment work online. This application can be made up to 3 months before 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 American identity through the ‘UK Immigration: ID Check’ app on their phone.
What Are The Supporting Documents For The Secondment Worker Visa?
For a UK secondment worker visa, you will provide the following, supporting documents:
- Your valid certificate of sponsorship reference number – given to you by your UK sponsor
- A valid passport or other documents that shows your identity and nationality
- Your job title from the overseas employer and your job’s most appropriate occupation code
- The name of your UK licensed sponsor and their sponsor license number – found on the 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
- American citizens do not need to provide their tuberculosis results
You may be asked for evidence that you’ve worked for your employer outside the UK for the right amount of time, which is 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 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.
All documents submitted need to be in English or Welsh.
How Long Is A UK Secondment Worker Visa Granted?
With the secondment worker route, the visa-holder are allowed to live in the UK for up to one year initially, with the opportunity to extend their stay by up to one more year. Two years is the continuous period a visa-holder can stay in the UK as a secondment worker on the global business mobility visa.
Secondment Worker visas 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.
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 312.87 United States Dollars for the application fee
- The annual immigration health surcharge of £624, or 753.80 United States Dollars, per year
- Finances that can support yourself when you arrive in the UK, which is at least £1,270, 1,534.06 United States Dollars (unless you’re exempt)
What Is The Extension Process For A Secondment Worker Visa
American Secondment workers with valid secondment worker visas that wish to extend their Secondment Worker Visa are permitted to, so long they meet the following conditions:
- The US citizen is still working for the UK sponsor who gave them their current Certificate of Sponsor
- The US citizen continues to work on the same high-value contract, which must be between the US citizen and their valid UK sponsor
- The US citizen has not reached their maximum allowance for stay
Any applications for a Secondment Worker visa holder to extend, have to be submitted inside the UK. US applicants who filed for an extension are not allowed to travel outside the UK, Ireland, Channel Islands, or the Isle of Man until their application has been processed. If the primary visa holder does travel while it’s processing, their application will be withdrawn automatically.
Can Dependent Family Members Join The Primary Visa Holders On The UK Secondment Worker Visa Route?
The UK Secondment Worker visa permits the holder to be joined by their spouse, civil partner or unmarried partner and any dependent children to leave the States and move with them to the UK, so long they meet all of the relevant requirements.
Dependants must apply for their visa online, prove their identity, and provide their biometric information and their 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?
Total Law is here to help US citizens and residents obtain a Secondment Worker Visa to continue their employment. Our qualified team are experts in the global business mobility route and can help you to understand the complicated immigration system.
We can advise you on sponsorship obligations, UK business rules, minimum salary requirements, job skill level requirements and anything else you need support in!
Contact us today to get started on the UK secondment worker route. We are available seven days a week. Contact us either by phone or using our online chat function to speak with one of our client care agents.
If you have any 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.
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Related pages for your continued reading.
Frequently Asked Questions
While in the UK as a Secondment Worker, you are not permitted to change jobs, unless you apply to update your visa. Should you go ahead and change jobs and update your visa, you have to at least 3 months prior to the start date of your new job. You are allowed to continue working in your current job while the decision to update your visa is being made.
This UK Visas application normally takes 3 weeks to process after the application is filed online from outside the UK. If the applicant is made from inside of the UK, the visa application will be processed within 8 weeks.