An Immigration Lawyers Guide to Setting up a Branch of an Overseas Business in the UK
Whilst there are pessimists writing about the threat of UK recession and inflationary pressures, others see Brexit as offering exciting opportunities to set up a branch or subsidiary of their overseas business in the UK.
In this article, our immigration solicitors run through the basics of what you need to know about the global business mobility visa and UK expansion worker route.
Contact our team of London immigration lawyers today on 0203 959 9123 if you aren’t sure whether your overseas employees require a UK work visa to enable you to progress your UK expansion plans.
Does a business need clearance to set up in the UK?
Most companies don’t need clearance to expand their business into the UK. However, if your head office is based overseas, the likelihood is that you will want to send experienced senior overseas based staff to the UK to get the UK branch office up and running.
It is relatively rare for an overseas business to have a suitable British citizen, or person with settled status in the UK, ready and able to return to the UK and get the business expansion plans underway. That’s why immigration lawyers are increasingly getting involved with overseas company expansion plans because, with the end of free movement for EU nationals, there is a smaller pool of candidates who can work in the UK without needing a work visa.
Contact our team of London immigration lawyers today on 0203 959 9123 if you aren’t sure whether your proposed senior worker requires a UK work visa to enable you to progress your business expansion plans.
The UK expansion worker visa or sole representative visa
If you have researched your visa options and were pondering on whether to proceed with the setting up of a branch or subsidiary in the UK you may be planning to apply for a sole representative visa. Immigration lawyers advise that the sole representative route is closed. The new route for businesses looking to set up shop in the UK is the UK expansion worker route under the global business mobility visa.
The overseas business requirements for the UK expansion worker visa
In addition to the eligibility criteria for the individual UK expansion worker visa applicants, the overseas company must also meet some eligibility criteria, namely:
- It must have been established and trading overseas for at least three years
- The company must be operated from overseas and plan to continue to have its centre of operations based outside the UK – this is about the expansion of a business, not a total transfer to the UK
- The business must genuinely intend to expand into the UK and have what is referred to as a ‘footprint’ in the UK
- The company must have a Home Office issued sponsor licence so that it can sponsor the employment of the individual UK expansion worker visa applicants
What is a footprint in the UK?
The idea of an overseas business having a footprint in the UK sounds a bit odd but all it means, in essence, is that there are business plans afoot. For example, a business plan, the registration of a subsidiary company and all the forward planning necessary to move forward with a UK expansion plan.
Key overseas employees may need to travel to the UK to progress the basics and, depending on their nationality, they may require a standard visitor visa to enable them to undertake permissible business activities whilst on a short term visa.
Contact our team of London immigration lawyers today on 0203 959 9123 if you need a business visa to progress your UK expansion plans.
Sponsor licence application for the UK expansion worker route
The old sole representative visa was an unsponsored route. That’s no longer the case. There has been criticism that the UK expansion worker route requires sponsorship when some argue that it is best to make it as easy as possible to allow an overseas based business to expand into the UK. Whilst Sponsorship Licence lawyers can understand those frustrations, they think it best to focus on securing a sponsor licence as soon as feasible, so expansion plans are not unduly delayed.
Eligibility criteria for the UK expansion worker visa
Under the global business mobility visa UK expansion worker route, up to 5 workers can come to the UK to help set up the subsidiary or branch of the overseas company. This is a significant advantage to the old sole representative visa where only one visa holder was able to come to the UK to get the business trading in the UK without the additional ‘on the ground’ support of colleagues from overseas.
One of the main eligibility criteria for the UK expansion worker route is that the transferring employee must have worked for the overseas based company outside of the UK for at least 12 months. However, immigration lawyers point out that this rule does not apply if an employee is paid at least £73,900.
There is a minimum salary threshold for the UK expansion worker visa. It is not less than £42,400 per year or the going rate for the job role that the worker will be undertaking, whichever is the higher.
The timing of the arrival of UK expansion workers
If a business wants to bring up to 5 expansion workers to the UK, they need to get their timings right. The immigration rules say that the UK company has to remain dormant until all the 5 planned workers have relocated so you cannot send each worker over to the UK, when needed.
If all 5 employees are not sent over to the UK before the company starts trading in the UK, then Sponsorship Licence lawyers say there is a potential solution. The UK branch of the overseas company can apply to the Home Office for a sponsor licence to sponsor new overseas based employees under skilled worker visas or existing overseas employees under senior or specialist worker visas. There are no limits to the number of new or existing employees who can work in the UK on the skilled worker visa or the senior or specialist worker visa, provided the company can allocate a certificate of sponsorship to the workers and each worker meets the visa eligibility criteria.
UK Online and London Based Immigration Solicitors and Sponsorship Licence Lawyers
For advice on UK expansion plans and immigration law call the expert London immigration lawyers at OTS Solicitors on 0203 959 9123 or contact us online.