Representative of an Overseas Business visa (Sole Representative)
This form of visa is used by employees of businesses and companies alike, in order to establish a presence in the United Kingdom. There are two forms of representatives; the sole representative of an overseas business and an employee of an overseas newspaper. This blog is focused on the former.
The sole representative of an overseas business visa is an option for senior and experienced workers to gain an initial 3-year visa to establish a UK branch or wholly owned subsidiary of an overseas company.
The basic requirements are as follows;
- the applicant must be recruited and employed outside the UK by a company whose headquarters and principal place of business are outside the UK. There is no minimum terms of employment, but the Entry Clearance Officer will usually look for someone that is already employed or if taken on specificially for this role, should have relevant experience in setting up a branch or subsidiary
- the employee should have extensive related industry experience and knowledge
- the employee should hold a senior position within the company (but not be a major shareholder) and have full authority to make decisions on its behalf
- the employee should intend to establish the company’s first commercial presence in the UK, for example a registered branch or a wholly owned subsidiary; this means that a company can only send one person as a sole representative. If more than one representative needs to come, then an alternative route, such as innovator should be considered.
- Meet maintenance requirements – menaing have enough money to support yourself in the UK.
- Meet English language requirements – level A1. This is the lowest language level in any category and therefore this route is suitable for businesses where there might be a toss up between the start up or innovator visa or the sole representative visa, but the employee in question doesn’t speak English that well yet.
Apply from outside of the UK
The earliest you can apply is 3 months before you travel. Hereafter, you should get a decision on your visa within 3 weeks. The fee for applying whilst outside of the UK is £610.
Apply from within the UK
If you are already in the UK you will get a decision within 8 weeks, providing everything is in check. What you’ll need to pay in this instance is £704 for the visa and £19.20 to have your biometric information (fingerprints and a photo) taken.
As part of your application, you must also pay the healthcare surcharge which equates to £624 per year of the visa. For a 3 year visa this is £2184 due to the initial grant being slightly over 3 years.
As stated, this type of visa lets you stay in the UK for an initial period of 3 years. After this, you may be able to extend your visa for another 2 years. After you’ve been in the UK for 5 years you can apply for settlement, meaning you have the right to live, work and study here for as long as you like, and apply for benefits if you’re eligible. You can then use your settled status to apply for British citizenship.
Whilst you’re here on a sole representative visa you can bring your family with you to the UK, ‘family’ meaning your husband, wife or partner and children under 18. Your husband, wife or partner cannot come to the UK if they own or control a majority of the overseas business you will be representing.
There are some things that you will not be able to do whilst here on a sole representative visa, namely;
- work for yourself or any other business
- stay in the UK if the sole representative arrangement is ended by your employer
- switch to this visa from any other visa category
- get public funds
If you would like more information on this area of immigration or would like help with an application, please do not hesitate to contact us by selecting ‘contact’ at the top of the page.