Relocation Guidance

A Business Visitor visa allows you to visit the UK for business and work-related reasons for a maximum continuous period of 6 months. Our expert immigration consultants can help you or your employees get the visa you need to seize business opportunities in the UK.

It’s important to seek legal advice before you make any travel arrangements. The country you’re from will determine whether you need to apply for a business visitor visa before coming to the UK. There are also restrictions on the type of work and business activities that you can carry out.

Our consultants will get to know your situation to make sure you get the right visa for your business needs. We’ll explain how any restrictions affect you and advise how to stay compliant.

Unlike Tier 2 visas, they don’t need formal sponsorship from a UK-based sponsor but any mistakes on your application could cause disruptive delays. Our experienced consultants can make sure you get your visa in good time for your business trip, so you can focus on what’s important.

We can even help if your visa gets rejected or if you’ve had immigration problems in the past. If you can’t travel on a Business Visitor visa, we’ll advise on other options.

For advice and help with making an application, call us on +44 (0) 203 961 0062 or contact us online and we’ll get back to you.

It can take between 3 to 12 weeks to get your visa once you’ve applied – if you filled in the application correctly.

The Home Office checks all applications closely and any mistakes can cause delays. That’s why it’s important you get the application right the first time round. We can help you apply, so you don’t need to worry about making any errors.

If you urgently need a visa, the Home Office offers a Priority Service where they make a decision within 5 working days. A Super Priority Service is also available, where they decide within 24 hours. Both services are available at an additional cost – contact us today to find out more.

To qualify you must:

• Have a genuine intention to leave once you’ve carried out your permitted activities your job
• Not make the UK your home by visiting regularly
• Have enough money to support yourself during your visit
• Not receive payment for any extra activities carried out in the UK unless it is a “permitted paid engagement”
• Not engage in prohibited activities, such as setting up a business in the UK or charging members of the public for services or goods received
• Not intend to take on any other work in the UK, outside of what you’ve travelled for.

You can apply online and will have to provide supporting documents and evidence that proves you’re planning to travel only for business purposes.

You’ll also have to:

• Pay an application fee
• Attend an appointment at the visa office to submit your supporting documents
• Provide relevant biometric information (fingerprints and digital photographs).

We have years of experience completing and submitting visa requests for businesses and individuals. We’ll advise on whether you qualify, how to prove it, and make sure all your documents are in order.

We’ve worked with many businesses and employees with complicated immigration issues. Our consultants are experienced with UK immigration law and take their time to understand your situation before giving any legal advice.

We’ve been submitting visa applications for years and can advise you whether your planned business activity is suitable for a Business Visitor visa. If it is, we’ll help you with the application process and can challenge the Home Office if you’re unfairly rejected. If it isn’t, we can suggest alternatives so you can continue with your plans.

We know that applying for a visa can be stressful, so we work to reduce that stress for you. We’ll offer advice and explain things in plain English so you understand what we’re doing and are always kept in the loop at each stage.

We’re known for being one of the top law firms in the UK by legal guides Chambers & Partners and Legal 500. With offices across the country, we can help you wherever you’re based.

Contact Us

Get in touch with our team today to discuss how we can help you – call us on +44 (0) 203 961 0062 or get in touch online.

This category caters for medium and highly skilled workers immigrating to the UK. To make an application under the Tier 2 General category, applicants must have a confirmed offer of employment from a licensed UK employer/sponsor and a valid certificate of sponsorship.

Tier 2 visa holders have a 6 years time maximum, but residential settlement is possible after 5 years.

Two new visa categories have replaced the Tier 1 Entrepreneur and Tier 1 Graduate Entrepreneur routes.

These categories are for applicants seeking to establish a business in the UK for the first time.

• Applicants will not need to have secured initial funding for the Startup.
• The Innovator will need £50,000.
• English Language and maintenance requirements must be met.
• Startup visa will be issued for 2 years and 3 years for Innovator.
• A maximum period of 2 years is permitted under the Startup visa, and this category does not lead to a residential settlement. Applicants can, however, switch to the Innovator category
• The Innovator category may lead to residential settlement after 3 years if the applicant can demonstrate that they meet at least two criteria (covering investment, innovation, business growth and job creation).

Read more>>

Tier 2 Intra-company Transfer Visa (ICT) enables skilled workers in a foreign country to transfer to a job in the UK branch if they have a minimum of one year’s work experience in that company. To apply for this visa, candidates require a job offer from the UK branch of their current employer. Also, the employer must issue a certificate of sponsorship and hold a valid Tier 2 Intra-company Transfer sponsorship license.

The maximum time allowed in the UK as a long-term Tier 2 transfer is up to 5 years (or 9 years if the employee’s salary is above a certain threshold) but no residential settlement.

This category is for someone who is setting up a branch or subsidiary of an overseas company in the UK for the first time.

• Must be a senior employee and not a majority shareholder
• No representative already in the UK
• English language and maintenance requirements

The visa holder can apply for settlement after 5 years.

This visa category is for talented and promising individuals in specific sectors wishing to work or do business in the UK.

The Global Talent Visa replaced the Tier 1 (Exceptional Talent) visa on 20 February 2020.

To be considered for entry under the Global Talent Visa, applicants must gain an endorsement from one of six endorsing bodies authorized by the UK Home Office. The applicants applying for approval must work in the fields of science, digital technology, engineering, medicine, the social sciences, or the humanities or research roles.

The Global Talent visa allows successful applicants to work in the UK for up to 5 years without a sponsor or entry requirements. They can apply for residential settlement after 5 years.

This will help applicants consider immigration options. Western Partners will provide professional and courteous assistance to each applicant.

One UK visa will allow an individual to pursue a full-time educational course, another offers employment with a contracted UK sponsoring employer, and another gives admission to an entrepreneur intending to start a UK business or those wanting to invest funds in the UK. Also, the UK visitor rules allow certain nationals to visit visa-free for up to six months in a year.

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PSW visa stands for ‘Post-Study Work’ visa. PSW visas had been abolished by the UK government in 2012. However, the visa has effectively been re-introduced under a new name – the Graduate Immigration Route, which opens from 1 July 2021.

Higher education providers in the UK have welcomed the re-introduction of the PSW visas to enhance the appeal of UK academic institutions among international students.

For employers, the visa also offers opportunities to recruit recent graduates on a temporary basis without the need to invest in the employment sponsorship process.

Under this new route, international undergraduate students and post-graduate students completing UK degrees from this summer will be able to apply for a PSW visa to stay on in the UK for a fixed period of either two or three years after the completion of their degree studies, depending on their level of study. Any student who completed their studies earlier than July 2021 will not be eligible for the new visa.

The PSW visa allows:

• International students completing an undergraduate degree or a Master’s degree at a qualifying institution to stay on in the UK to work or look for work for a fixed period of two years after they have completed their studies.
• International students completing a PhD at a qualifying institution to stay on in the UK to work or look for work for a fixed period of three years after they have completed their studies.

Graduates staying on in the UK under a PSW visa will not need to be sponsored, either by an education institution or an employer, nor will they need a Certificate of Sponsorship. Once a graduate switches onto a PSW visa, they are no longer sponsored as a student by their education institution.

Graduates on the PSW visa will not be able to work as a professional sportsperson, and while you are allowed to undertake supplementary study while you are in the UK on a PSW visa, the supplementary study cannot be at any institution that sponsors students for the purposes of their Tier 4 General student visa.

Family members already living in the UK lawfully as dependants of a student visa holder will be allowed to stay on as dependants when the main visa holder switches to the PSW visa. However, apart from children born in the UK, new dependants will not be able to join the PSW visa holder in the UK from overseas.

The visa is non-extendable and the time spent in the UK under the Graduate Immigration Route will not count towards settlement in the UK. We explore options to remain in the UK after the PSW visa later in this article.

The Doctorate Extension Scheme that allows students who have completed their PhD to stay on in the UK for 12 months will be closed when the Graduate Immigration Route is formally introduced.

In order to be eligible for a PSW visa the student will have to attain 70 points under the points-based immigration system. Points are awarded in respect of successful completion of a qualifying course of study in the UK.

This means applicants must:

• Be holding a valid student visa at the time of their application for a PSW visa from a UK higher education provider on the list of registered sponsors “with a track record of compliance”.
• Complete their studies in summer 2021 or later. Students who completed their studies in early 2021 and whose visas expire before 1 July 2021 will not be eligible.
• Have successfully completed their degree at undergraduate level or above.
• Have stayed in the UK for the duration of their study. The only exemptions to this are if the student studied abroad as part of a ‘study abroad’ programme, or was forced to study from home for reasons relating to Covid-19. However, even if you were forced to study at home because of disruption caused by the global pandemic, you must return to the UK by 6th April, 2021 if you are due to graduate in summer 2021, in order that you complete your final semester in the UK. If you are not due to graduate in summer 2021, then you will still be allowed to apply for a PSW visa when you eventually do complete your studies, even if you spent all of the 2020/21 academic year studying remotely in your home country.
• Not have previously been granted the PSW visa.
• Pass security, identity and criminality checks.
• Pay the application fee andImmigration Health Surcharge.

If you are studying in the UK on a scholarship from the government of your home country then there is an additional requirement, namely, that your government must have given its permission for you to remain in the UK under a PSW visa.

There is no English language or financial requirement for the PSW visa applicant to meet.

To be eligible, applicants must have completed a course awarding either:

• A UK bachelor’s degree.
• UK postgraduate degree, including PhD and Masters’ degree.
• A Graduate Diploma in Law (GDL) conversion course, as validated by the Joint Academic Stage Board in England and Wales.
• The Legal Practice Course (LPC) in England and Wales, the Solicitors Course in Northern Ireland, or a Diploma in Professional Legal Practice in Scotland.
• The Bar Practice Course (BPTC) in England and Wales, or the Bar Course in Northern Ireland.
• A foundation programme in Medicine or Dentistry.
• A postgraduate Certificate in Education (PGCE) or Postgraduate Diploma in Education (PGDE).
• A professional course required to study at the UK bachelor’s degree level or above in a profession with reserved activities that is regulated by UK law or UK public authority.

The degree course that you are completing has to be the same which relates to your Confirmation of acceptance for Studies (CAS). In addition, your sponsoring higher education provider must confirm that you meet this requirement.

The PSW visa application should be made online from within the UK.

The exact cost of the PSW visa has not been published yet, but the figure is expected to be in the high hundreds of pounds. Applicants will also need to pay the Immigration Health Surcharge, which is currently £624.

After the two or three years of your PSW visa have expired, you will need to make an application for a new type of visa or leave to remain, in order to stay in the UK with lawful status.

Your visa options to remain the UK could, for example, include a work visa or family-based visa, and will depend on your specific circumstances.

If you are employed in a skilled role, you may be eligible to apply to remain under the Skilled Worker visa route, provided all of the requirements are met to switch into this category.

The Skilled Worker route replaced the previous Tier 2 visa in December 2020. In order to qualify as a Skilled Worker, you must be in an eligible job, working for an employer that is licensed by the UK Home Office to sponsor skilled migrant workers. The Home Office publishes a list of registered sponsors on the .gov website.

In addition, you must meet the minimum salary requirements. You must be paid at least £25,600, or the ’going-rate’ for the job if it is higher. The UK Home Office has published a list of the going-rates for jobs, along with a list of the eligible jobs for the Skilled Worker visa. In some situations, such as if your job is in a shortage occupation, you may still qualify if you are paid less than £25,600.

The Skilled Worker route also provides a path to settlement in the UK, i.e. indefinite leave to remain. If you have five years of continuous lawful residence in the UK under a Skilled Worker visa, then you may be eligible to apply for settlement.

An alternative to the Skilled Worker visa, if you wish to set up your first business in the UK, is the Start-up route, which replaced the previous ‘Tier 1 Graduate Entrepreneur’ route.

In order to qualify for this route, you must be endorsed by an authorised body, which involves developing a comprehensive business plan for your venture. The Start-up visa lasts for two years, after which you may look to apply for further leave on the Innovator route which is for established migrant business owners in the UK.

Another option could be to make an application based on your relationship with a UK settled person, such as a partner visa.

Western Partners UK immigration specialistscan advise both employers and graduates on Home Office applications such as the new post study work visa. For advice, please contact us.