BUSINESS IMMIGRATION
As a firm, we can provide excellent legal help at every stage of work visa application, including but not limited to entry clearance for work visa to switching to work visa from within the UK.
It is important to note that those within the UK under different categories may be able to switch their visa categories from ne to the other in so far as such switch is permitted under the rules. Also worthy of note is the fact that were an applicant desires faster response, they are able to pay an additional fee for priority or super priority services. Intended applicants are able to apply 3 months prior to their intended travel dates.
The core of most work visas is the sponsorship licence which was been granted to the employer by the home office. It is imperative to know that where an employer loses the sponsorship licence as in the case of revocation of the said licence, any employee who was granted leave to remain in the UK under the revoked licence will have their leave curtailed meaning that at the expiration of 60 days, where a fresh application has not been made using a new sponsor or a different route then the employee stands a risk of becoming illegal in the UK.
Please note that our services are chargeable (refer to our fees guide) and are different from the application fees payable to the home office.
Our services can be provided for the following UK work visa categories:
This visa allows a migrant (with their dependants) leave to enter and remain in the UK on the basis of setting up a business in the UK with funds between £50,000 to £200,000. This visa is in essence for people who are interested in investing funds in the UK economy.
It is pertinent to note that there are limited areas where these funds must be invested in. Where a person has or has had leave as a Tier 1 Graduate entrepreneur in the last 12 months, they can apply for a Tier 1 Entrepreneur visa with funds of not less than £50,000. This visa route allows those under it to apply for indefinite leave to remain in the UK after the completion of 5 years.
This route allows for highly skilled individuals in fields such as science and medicine, engineering, digital technology, humanities and arts and culture to enter the UK. Successful applicants can also bring their family into the UK as dependants (through an application process).
There are fewer restrictions in this category, as opposed to other work visas, those under this category are allowed to switch employers or to be self-employed without having to go through the rigours of obtaining authorisations.
Of importance is the fact that to apply under this category, an applicant must first obtain endorsement from the governing body of the relevant sector as either an exceptional talent or an exceptional promise.
To qualify, an applicant must be from one of the qualifying fields and must be from outside the EEA and Switzerland area. This visa allows an applicant to choose how long they want to remain in the UK up to a maximum of 5 years and 4 months from outside the UK and 5 years from within the UK, extension of this visa is also permitted.
An applicant under this route can apply for indefinite leave upon the completion of 3 years leave as an exceptional talent or 5 years leave as an exceptional promise.
This application is done in two stages; the endorsement stage which cost £456 and the visa application stage cost £152 or £97 for applicants from Turkey or Macedonia. Applicants are also expected to pay health surcharge.
This visa is for people willing to invest £2,000,000 or more into the UK economy. The fees for this application is £1,623 and an additional fee for health surcharge.
A grant of this visa allows the applicant to enter and remain in the UK for 3 years and 4 months and renewal prior to its expiration.
A person under this route can apply to settle in the UK upon the completion of 2 years if they invest £10 million, 3 years if they invest £5 million and 5 years when £2 million pounds is invested.
This visa route is for people who have been offered a skilled job role in the UK and are from outside the EEA area and Switzerland.
It is not enough to be offered a skilled job; the said employer must be licenced who in turn issues a certificate of sponsorship to the intended migrant employee before an applicant can make an application can made under this route.
This visa route cost £610 for those applying from outside the UK, a different fee of £555 is applicable to those applying from Turkey or Macedonia.
Where a person of Turkish or Macedonian nationality applies to extend or switch under this route from within the UK, the applicable fee is £649 and £704 for those from all other nationalities. Additional fees will be charged for dependant family members.
A migrant under this route is allowed to take a second job where certain conditions have been fulfilled and, in some cases, subject to a fresh application to change subsisting permission to stay in the UK.
This visa route is applicable to those outside the EEA and Switzerland who have been offered a job within a faith community in the UK, by a licenced employer.
An applicant under this category must be issued a certificate of sponsorship by the employer which will state the start date of the employment and how much the applicant will be paid. The certificate of sponsorship will also underline the duties which the applicant will be carrying out in the course of the employment.
The fees chargeable for this application route is £610 for those outside the UK (£555 for applicants from Turkey or Macedonia) and £704 to extend or switch from within the UK (£649 for Turkish and Macedonian nationals).
This visa route allows a granted applicant to remain in the UK for 3 years and a month or as stipulated by the certificate of sponsorship (depending on the shorter one), renewals are permitted under this route.
Applicants are also allowed to bring on their dependant family, subject to the payment of the application fee and a grant of their application.
A migrant under this category may be eligible to apply for indefinite leave to remain in the UK where such person has completed 5years leave to remain in the same category or in a combination of other categories so long as such combination is permitted under the rules.
This visa route is for people who are employed outside the UK by employers with branches in the UK. Your employer must have offered you a role in the UK branch of the company. To qualify for grant under this category, the applicant must not be a national of any of the EEA countries or Switzerland.
The applicant must also be issued with a certificate of sponsorship by the employer and the appropriate salary must be on offer. Where an applicant is not being sponsored by a A-rated sponsor, the applicant must have £945 in his personal account for the continuous period of 90 days prior to the application date to show that they are able to support themselves. This visa category is made up of two types; Long-term Staff, which and Graduate Trainee. Application fees under this category is calculated based on the intended length of stay in the UK (up to 3 years and more than 3 years), applicants will also be required to pay the health surcharge.
This visa allows those who want to set up a business in the UK. Applicant must be endorsed by a UK higher education institution or a business organisation with a history of supporting UK entrepreneurs.
The applicant must be able to show that their business is new and innovative, the business must be different from businesses already in the market and must have potential for growth.
The cost of this visa is £363 from outside the UK and £493 to switch from within the UK. The cost is different for Turkish and Macedonian nationals. Applicant’s are also required to pay health surcharge fee.
A grant of this visa allows the applicant to enter and remain in the UK for 2 years, this visa cannot be extended but those under this route may be able to switch to a tier 1 visa upon the fulfilment of certain conditions.
This visa route is for persons who are elite sportspersons or qualified coaches. They must be recognised by the governing body of the sports to which they belong to at the highest level of their profession internationally.
The applicant must first receive an endorsement from the sport’s governing body and the aim of entering the UK must be to develop the said sport in the UK. A certificate of sponsorship must also be issued to the applicant.
The cost of this application type is £610 from outside the UK and £704 from within the UK, for either an extension or a switch. The application fee varies for applicants in and from Turkey or Macedonia. All applicants will be charged health surcharge fees.
Applicants under thus route are allowed to enter and remain in the UK for a period of 3 years and a further renewal of 3 years to a maximum of 6 years. Applicants may bring in their family members with them, this visa route prohibits a migrant from doing certain things such as starting or running a business.
Applicants will be expected to show the existence of the sum of £945 in their bank account for 90 days prior to the date of the application, except where applicant is being sponsored by ab A-rated sponsor or applicant is on a Tier 2 visa and is applying from within the UK.
Applicants from certain nationalities will be required to proof their knowledge of English language except in special circumstances.
This route is for people who intend to come to the UK as a representative of an overseas business.
A person not from EEA and Switzerland can enter the UK as the sole representative of an overseas company planning to set up a UK branch or a wholly owned subsidiary for an overseas parent company or an employee of an overseas newspaper, news agency or broadcasting organisation posted on a long-term assignment to the UK.
To be a sole representative, the intended applicant must be recruited and employed outside the UK by a company whose head quarters and principal place of business are outside the UK.
The applicant must also be knowledge in that industry and hold a senior position within (not a majority shareholder) the company and have full authority to make decisions on the company’s behalf.
The intention of the applicant must be to establish the company’s just commercial presence in the UK. This means that person might be eligible under this route if the company has a legal entity in the UK that does not employ staff of transact business. To apply under this route, the applicant must prove their knowledge of English and recognised by UK NARIC as being equivalent to a UK bachelor’s degree, master’s degree or PHD.
Applicants from certain countries are exempt from proven English language.
It is also important to note that applicants must prove that they are able to support themselves and family member (where applicable.)
This visa route cost £610 and an additional fee for health surcharge.
Where granted, a person can come to the UK for an initial period of three (3) years and a further extension of 2 years (multiple extension is allowed). Upon completion of 5 years In the UK under this route, a person can apply to settle permanently in the UK.
A person under this route is not allowed to be self employed or to work for any other business.
A person can apply under this route if they are a commonwealth citizen, are applying from outside the UK, are able to prove that one of their grandparents were born in the UK and that the applicant is able and planning to work in the UK. The application fees for this visa is £516 as well as health surcharge.
An applicant under this route can stay in the UK for five years and renew afterwards. This route will also lead to settlement in the UK, note that people already in the UK are unable to switch into this visa
if you are a domestic worker in a private household, have worked for your employer for at least one year and are from outside and Switzerland, you can apply to visit the UK with your employer on the basis that all requirements are met with.
The employer of a domestic worker must be British or an EEA national who usually lives outside the UK and who does not intend to remain in the UK for more than six months or a foreign national who is coming to the UK on a visit and who does not intend to remain for more than six months. The domestic worker must also be paid the UK minimum wage.
This visa is only valid for 6 months and can only be renewed where the current leave is less than 6 months.