An In-Depth Look into the UK Expansion Worker Visa and What it can Mean for Your Business

Work visa

Acquiring a global business mobility visa UK isn’t as hard as you think.

The Global Business Mobility Visa is a much more streamlined and viable route for overseas businesses to form their trade operations in the UK. Companies planning to create a European presence in the United Kingdom, or have already established a contract with a foreign provider, or are looking to send specialised workers to complete, or oversee specific operations, are all perfect candidates for this visa.  

The new business mobility visa was primarily developed to help generate a multi-faceted sponsored methodology that helped reform and replace the following categories: 

  • Intra-Company visas.
  • Representative of an Overseas Business visa.
  • Temporary Work visas.
  • International Agreement route visas.

In addition, the new business visa also paved the way for foreign business workers to be transferred to the UK to extend the operations of the parent company, being high-value workers such as senior managers or partners.  

The Eligibility for the UK Global Visa for Overseas Businesses

There are five different options presented by the business mobility visa for overseas businesses: 

  • A senior partner/manager/worker who can use their unique skills to complete company objectives. 
  • Graduate trainees who want to attend corporate training programmes. 
  • Secondment workers to the UK who represent foreign companies to implement high-value contracts.  
  • Supply vendors who are authorised to deal in the UK as per the UK trade agreement.  
  • An expansion worker visa to enable a representative of a foreign company to establish a franchise.  

The top three categories are for businesses that already have a UK presence. The rest of the selections are for foreign companies that don’t have any UK presence.  

For a Company’s Senior Manager or Specialist 

The UK expansion visa is for overseas companies or skilled employees who desire to expand their operations/work experience in the UK on a short-term basis and for companies that wish to delegate vital business operations to specialist employees who will expand business operations within the country.  

This visa can be applied for through the Home Office’s website for overseas applicants and can only be used if the foreign business does not have any trading activities going on in the UK. If the foreign business has established trade in the UK, the company will have to use a different route. 

In light of this, here are some factors to consider: 

  • It is mandatory for the applicant to have a Certificate of Sponsorship, which is going to be approved by the UK Home Office.  
  • The applicant must be employed by the overseas company for at least 1 year. This is unless the applicant is a Japanese national or is being paid more than £73,900 per annum.  
  • The applicant’s salary in the UK must be at least £42,400 or an adequate salary fit for the job description.  
  • The applicant will also have to fulfil the necessary financial requirements such as his or her ability to maintain themselves in the UK without recourse to public funds.  

Bottom Line 

At TheOneWorld, we offer strategic methodologies for companies looking to expand in the UK and apply for the UK Expansion Worker visa. We help create highly effective business consultancy, offering international companies the opportunity to expand their trade in the UK. 

Start your business venture with OneWorld

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