Self-Sponsoring Your Skilled Worker Visa
One of the drawbacks of the Skilled Worker Visa is that you must have a job offer before applying for the visa. That can be off-putting if you don’t fancy working for a major company and want to be your own boss.
Our Immigration Solicitors specialise in global migration for entrepreneurs and can help you secure a Self-Sponsorship Visa or advise you on your Business Visa options, such as the Innovator Founder Visa or UK Expansion Worker Visa under the Global Business Mobility route.
UK Online and London-Based Immigration Solicitors and Sponsorship Licence Lawyers
For immigration advice call OTS Solicitors on 0203 959 9123 or contact us online.
The Skilled Worker Visa
The Skilled Worker Visa is the UK’s most popular Work Visa but visa applicants need a skilled and qualifying job offer from an employer with a sponsor licence before they can apply for their Work Visa. The alternative of a Graduate Visa is only suitable if you studied in the UK on a Student Visa. Whilst, with the Graduate Visa, you don’t need a job offer and there are no restrictions on the work you can do, the drawback is the visa length of two or three years. Also, the Graduate Visa doesn’t lead to UK settlement.
These Work Visa rules mean many entrepreneurs rule out a Work Visa as a viable UK entry clearance route but it is possible to self-sponsor under a Skilled Worker Visa.
The Innovator Founder Visa
If you are more of an entrepreneur than an employee the Innovator Founder Visa may be a visa route to consider. The Innovator Founder Visa is for entrepreneurs looking to set up a business in the UK. It replaced the old Innovator Visa and Start-up Visa.
The drawback of the Innovator Founder Visa is that your business requires endorsement from an endorsing body before you can apply to the Home Office for your Innovator Founder Visa. To secure endorsement your business must be shown to be innovative, scalable and viable. To move from an Innovator Founder Visa to UK settlement with an Indefinite Leave to Remain application your business needs to have met specific growth criteria.
Many entrepreneurs are put off applying for an Innovator Founder Visa because their business idea isn’t totally innovative. However, most things have been thought of and all you need is a business idea with a twist or an idea of how to use tech and develop it a bit further than current practices.
Before you write off the Innovator Founder Visa it is best to speak to our Immigration Lawyers in London to explore if this Business Visa will meet your needs and if you can accept the requirement for endorsement and monitoring. If you can, it means your business won't need a sponsor licence from the Home Office unless you intend to recruit other people from overseas on Skilled Worker Visas to help grow your business.
The Global Business Mobility route and UK Expansion Worker Visa
If you have an overseas business and want to expand into the UK then the UK Expansion Worker Visa allows your overseas-based business to transfer existing people to the UK to set up the UK branch or company. However, the company requires a sponsor licence to do so.
Up to five people can be sent to the UK under this route but your business must be new to the UK and not have traded in the UK. However, unlike the Innovator Founder Visa, the business idea doesn’t have to be innovative. A drawback with the UK Expansion Worker Visa is that it does not lead to UK settlement but it is possible to switch to the Skilled Worker Visa or another visa that will allow you to apply for Indefinite Leave to Remain once you have met the residence requirement.
The Self-Sponsorship Visa
To some entrepreneurs, the most suitable visa option is the Self-Sponsorship Visa as it allows you to work for yourself without the endorsement and business growth criteria requirements that come with the Innovator Founder Visa or the talent and skill requirements that come with the Global Talent Visa.
Like the Innovator Founder Visa, there is a two-stage application process. However, with a Self-Sponsorship Visa, the stages are applying for a sponsor licence for your new UK business and then applying for your Skilled Worker Visa.
You will need to maintain the sponsor licence for the duration of your Skilled Worker Visa but our Sponsorship Licence Lawyers can apply for the sponsor licence on your behalf and can then manage the sponsor licence for you through our Sponsor Licence Management Service.
You may decide to retain the sponsor licence long-term if you recruit and retain workers from overseas to help you grow your company. Some companies don’t find sponsor licence management unduly onerous if they have the right HR team whilst others prefer to delegate management responsibility to Sponsorship Licence Lawyers. There is also the middle ground of regular Immigration Law Training for your HR staff and ad hoc sponsor licence advice.
Can you apply for a Self-Sponsorship Visa?
When Business Immigration Solicitors explore visa options with entrepreneurs, they ask about your skill set and business plans because they need to know that you will qualify for a Self-Sponsorship Visa. Otherwise, you will waste time setting up a company in the UK and applying for a sponsor licence.
Plenty of jobs qualify for the self-sponsored Skilled Worker Visa. You should not be deterred from inquiring about a Skilled Worker Visa just because you are not a graduate or don’t have formal qualifications. You can get a Skilled Worker Visa based on your skills or industry experience and ability to do a job that qualifies for a UK Skilled Worker Visa.
The jobs available for a Self-Sponsorship Visa are not just on the entrepreneurial tech, IT or digital side. Some managerial, sales or other roles will also qualify. The key point is that your company must have a sponsor licence and have offered you genuine employment at an appropriate skill level by allocating you a certificate of sponsorship.
Some entrepreneurs are concerned that they will not be allowed to run their company if they are classed as an employee on a Skilled Worker Visa even though they are self-sponsored. However, under the immigration rules you can be a director and shareholder in the company provided you are doing the job stated on your certificate of sponsorship. You can draw an income through dividends but as you are on a Self-Sponsorship Visa you will need to also receive a salary from your company. The salary must equal or exceed both the general salary threshold and the ‘going rate’ for the occupation. The going rate is based on the standard occupational classification code for your job.
Our Sponsorship Licence Lawyers can advise on company formation and sponsor licence applications as the first steps in your Self Sponsorship Visa application. We will guide you through each step in the application process.
Online and London-Based Immigration Solicitors and Sponsorship Licence Lawyers
For immigration and Self-Sponsorship Visa advice call OTS Solicitors on 0203 959 9123 or contact us online.
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