Work in the UK for your overseas employer
Work in the UK for your overseas employer
A work visa allows foreign citizens to live and work in the UK for a certain period of time. However, in order to apply for a British work visa, you must meet the requirements and provide the necessary documents. Find out more about the types and main requirements for obtaining work visas in the UK. In order to obtain permission to work in the UK, you need to meet a number of requirements for obtaining a work visa: Get a valid job offer. First of all, to obtain a visa, you need to find a British company willing to employ you and get a valid job offer from them. Your employer must also have a Sponsorship License to hire foreign personnel. Obtain a valid Sponsorship Certificate. You need to obtain a valid CoS from your employer. This virtual certificate specifies the position you plan to take, how long you intend to work, and so on. Be sufficiently qualified and have enough money. To be considered a skilled worker, you must have skills that at least meet level 3 RQF. You will also need to prove that you have enough money, at least at the initial stage. Have a good knowledge of the English language.
Work in UK
Senior or Specialist Worker visa (Global Business Mobility)
A Senior or Specialist Worker visa allows you to come to or stay in the UK to do an eligible job at your employer’s UK branch. This visa has replaced the Intra-company Transfer visa, previously the Tier 2 (Intra-company Transfer) Long-term Staff visa. To qualify for a Senior or Specialist Worker visa, you must:
- be an existing employee of an organisation that’s been approved by the Home Office as a sponsor
- have a ‘certificate of sponsorship’ from your employer with information about the work you will do in the UK
- do a job that’s on the list of eligible occupations
- be paid at least £48,500 per year
You can stay in the UK with a Senior or Specialist Worker visa for whichever is shorter of:
- the time given on your certificate of sponsorship plus 14 days
- 5 years
You can apply to extend your visa or apply for another one as many times as you like up to the maximum total stay. If you’re already in the UK with an Intra-company visa or a Tier 2 (Intra-company Transfer) Long-term Staff visa you can apply to extend your stay as a Senior or
Specialist Worker. The maximum total stay allowed for a Senior and Specialist Worker visa is:
- 5 years in any 6 year period if you’re paid less than £73,900 a year
- 9 years in any 10 year period if you’re paid £73,900 a year or more
Any time you spend in the UK on one of the following visas will be included in your maximum total stay:
- Intra-company Graduate Trainee visa
- Intra-company Transfer visa
- Graduate Trainee visa (Global Business Mobility)
- Secondment Worker visa (Global Business Mobility)
- Senior or Specialist Worker visa (Global Business Mobility)
- Service Supplier visa (Global Business Mobility)
- UK Expansion Worker visa (Global Business Mobility)
You can stay in the UK for as long as your employer is sponsoring you if you’ve been in the UK since 6 April 2011 on any of the following visas:
- Tier 2 (Intra-company Transfer) Long-term Staff visa
- Intra-company Transfer visa
- Senior or Specialist Worker visa (Global Business Mobility)
There is no maximum stay.
How you apply depends on whether you’re:
- outside the UK and are coming to the UK
- inside the UK and you want to extend your stay as a Senior or Specialist Worker
- inside the UK and switching from a different visa
Your partner and children can apply to join you or stay in the UK as your ‘dependants’ if they’re eligible.
With a Senior or Specialist Worker visa you can:
- work for your sponsor in the job described in your certificate of sponsorship
- study
- bring your partner and children with you as your ‘dependants’, if they’re eligible
- do voluntary work
- travel abroad and return to the UK
You cannot:
- apply for most benefits, public funds, or the State Pension
- change jobs unless you are eligible and you update your visa
- have a second job – unless you’ve previously had an Intra-company Transfer visa or a Tier 2 (Intra-company Transfer) Long term Staff visa
- apply to settle permanently in the UK (also known as ‘indefinite leave to remain’)
Overseas Domestic Worker visa
You can apply for a visa to visit the UK with your employer if you:
- live outside the UK
- are a domestic worker in a private household
- have worked for your employer for at least one year
- meet the other eligibility requirements
Domestic workers include:
- cleaners
- chauffeurs
- cooks
- those providing personal care for the
- employer and their family
- nannies
How long you can stay
You can use this visa to visit the UK with your employer for up to 6 months. You must return home at the end of the 6 months. You cannot extend an Overseas Domestic Worker visa.
You can:
- travel abroad and return to the UK to complete your stay
- change employers to another job as a domestic worker in a private household – only if you do not stay longer than the 6 months
You cannot:
- work except as a domestic worker in a private household
- live in the UK for long periods of time through frequent visits
- get public funds
Graduate Trainee visa (Global Business Mobility)
A Graduate Trainee visa allows you to come to or stay in the UK to work for your employer in their UK branch.
Your job must be eligible and part of a graduate training programme for a managerial or specialist role.
This visa has replaced the Intra-company Graduate Trainee visa, previously Tier 2 (Intra-company Transfer) Graduate Trainee visa. To qualify for a Graduate Trainee visa, you must:
- be an existing employee of an organisation that’s been approved by the Home Office as a sponsor
- have worked for your sponsor outside the UK for at least 3 months immediately before you apply
- have a ‘certificate of sponsorship’ from your employer with information about the work you will do in the UK
- do a job that’s on the list of eligible occupations
- be paid at least £25,410 per year
You cannot apply to change (‘switch’) to a Graduate Trainee visa from inside the UK.
How long you can stay
You can stay in the UK with a Graduate Trainee visa for whichever is shorter of:
- the time given on your certificate of sponsorship plus 14 days
- 12 months
You cannot extend your visa, but you can apply for another Graduate Trainee visa from outside the UK.
You can only stay in the UK for a maximum of 5 years in any 6 year period if you’ve spent time on any of these visas:
- Intra-company Graduate Trainee visa
- Intra-company Transfer visa
- Graduate Trainee visa (Global Business Mobility)
- Secondment Worker visa (Global Business Mobility)
- Senior or Specialist Worker visa (Global Business Mobility)
- Service Supplier visa (Global Business Mobility)
- UK Expansion Worker visa (Global Business Mobility)
You must have been working for your sponsor outside the UK for at least 3 months immediately before the date you apply.
You must apply online from outside the UK.
Your partner and children can apply to join you or stay in the UK as your ‘dependants’ if they’re eligible.
With a Graduate Trainee visa you can:
- work for your sponsor in the job described in your certificate of sponsorship
- study
- bring your partner and children with you as your ‘dependants’, if they’re eligible
- do voluntary work
- travel abroad and return to the UK
You cannot:
- apply for most benefits (public funds), or the State Pension
- change jobs
- do a second job
- apply to settle permanently in the UK (also known as ‘indefinite leave to remain’)
Secondment Worker visa (Global Business Mobility)
Apply for this visa if your overseas employer is transferring you to the UK to do an eligible job for a different organisation.
Your overseas employer must have a high-value contract with the UK organisation.
Your employer will tell you if their contract makes you eligible for a Secondment Worker visa.
To be eligible for a Secondment Worker visa, you must:
- be an existing employee of an overseas organisation that has a high-value contract with your UK sponsor that has been approved by the Home Office
- have worked for your overseas employer for at least 12 months outside the UK
- have a ‘certificate of sponsorship’ from your sponsor with information about the work you will do in the UK
- do a job in the UK that’s on the list of eligible occupations
How long you can stay
You can stay in the UK with a Secondment Worker visa for whichever is shorter of:
- 12 months after the start date of the job detailed in your certificate of sponsorship
- the time given on your certificate of sponsorship plus 14 days
If you want to stay longer in the UK, you can extend your visa by 12 months. The maximum time you can stay in the UK on a Secondment
Worker visa is 2 years.
If you’ve spent time in the UK on a Secondment Worker visa or another visa before
You can only stay in the UK for a maximum of 5 years in any 6 year period if you’ve spent time on any of these visas:
- Intra-company Graduate Trainee visa
- Intra-company Transfer visa
- Graduate Trainee visa (Global Business Mobility)
- Secondment Worker visa (Global Business Mobility)
- Senior or Specialist Worker visa (Global Business Mobility)
- Service Supplier visa (Global Business Mobility)
- UK Expansion Worker visa (Global Business Mobility)
How you apply depends on whether you’re:
- outside the UK and are coming to the UK
- inside the UK and extending your current visa
- inside the UK and switching from a different visa
Your partner and children can apply to join you or stay in the UK as your ‘dependants’ if they’re eligible.
With a Secondment Worker visa you can:
- work for your sponsor in the job described in your certificate of sponsorship
- study
- bring your partner and children with you as your ‘dependants’, if they’re eligible
- do voluntary work
- travel abroad and return to the UK
You cannot:
- apply for most benefits (public funds), or the State Pension
- change jobs unless you update your visa
- apply to settle permanently in the UK (also known as ‘indefinite leave to remain’)
- do a second job
Service Supplier visa (Global Business Mobility)
You can apply for a Service Supplier visa if you have a contract to provide services for a UK company, either as:
- an employee for an overseas company
- a self-employed professional based overseas
To be eligible for a Service Supplier visa, you must:
- be an employee of an overseas business, or a self-employed service provider based overseas
- be providing a service to a UK business under a contract that is covered by a valid international trade agreement
- be doing an eligible job – if your job is not eligible you may still qualify if you have relevant qualifications and experience
- have a ‘certificate of sponsorship’ from your UK sponsor with information about the work you’ll be doing in the UK
- have worked for your employer for at least 12 months outside the UK, or have at least 12 months’ professional experience if you’re a self-employed service provider
How long you can stay
How long you can stay in the UK depends on the type of trade agreement you’re providing services under.
You can stay for whichever is the shorter of:
- 6 months or 12 months – this depends on the trade agreement you’re providing services under
- the time given on your certificate of sponsorship plus 14 days
The maximum you can stay on a Service Supplier visa is 6 or 12 months depending on the type of trade agreement you’re providing services under. If you’ve spent time in the UK on a Service Supplier visa or another visa before. You can only stay in the UK for a maximum of 5 years in any 6 year period if you’ve spent time on any of these visas:
- Intra-company Graduate Trainee visa
- Intra-company Transfer visa
- Graduate Trainee visa (Global Business Mobility)
- Secondment Worker visa (Global Business Mobility)
- Senior or Specialist Worker visa (Global Business Mobility)
- Service Supplier visa (Global Business Mobility)
- UK Expansion Worker visa (Global Business Mobility)
- How you apply depends on whether you’re: outside the UK and are coming to the UK, inside the UK and extending your current visa, inside the UK and switching from a different visa
If you want to change your job or employer, you must apply to update your visa. Your partner and children can apply to join you or stay in the UK as your ‘dependants’ if they’re eligible.
You can:
- work for your sponsor in the job described in your certificate of sponsorship
- study
- bring your partner and children with you as your ‘dependants’, if they’re eligible
- do voluntary work
- travel abroad and return to the UK
You cannot:
- apply for most benefits (public funds), or the State Pension
- change jobs unless you update your visa
- apply to settle permanently in the UK (also known as ‘indefinite leave to remain’)
- do a second job
UK Expansion Worker visa (Global Business Mobility)
A UK Expansion Worker visa allows you to come to the UK to set up a branch of an overseas business that has not started trading in the UK yet.
You must already work for the overseas business as either a senior manager or specialist employee.
To be eligible for a UK Expansion Worker visa you need to:
- have a valid certificate of sponsorship from your employer
- have worked for your employer outside the UK
- do a job that’s on the list of eligible occupations
- be paid the minimum eligible salary required for your job
How long you can stay in the UK
You can stay in the UK with a UK Expansion Worker visa for whichever is shorter of:
- 12 months after the start date of the job on your certificate of sponsorship
- the time given on your certificate of sponsorship plus 14 days
If you want to stay longer in the UK, you can extend your visa by 12 months. The maximum time you can stay in the UK on a UK Expansion Worker visa is 2 years.
If you’ve spent time in the UK on this or another visa, you might not be able to stay on a UK Expansion Worker visa for as long. You can only stay in the UK for a maximum of 5 years in any 6 year period if you’ve spent time on any of these visas:
- Intra-company Graduate Trainee visa
- Intra-company Transfer visa
- Graduate Trainee visa (Global Business Mobility)
- Secondment Worker visa (Global Business Mobility)
- Senior or Specialist Worker visa (Global Business Mobility)
- Service Supplier visa (Global Business Mobility)
- UK Expansion Worker visa (Global Business Mobility)
With a UK Expansion Worker visa you can:
- work for your sponsor in the job described in your certificate of sponsorship
- study
- bring your partner and children with you as your ‘dependants’, if
- they’re eligible
- do voluntary work
- travel abroad and return to the UK
You cannot:
- apply for most benefits (public funds), or the State Pension
- change jobs unless you are eligible and you update your visa
- have a second job
- apply to settle permanently in the UK (also known as ‘indefinite leave to remain’)
Representative of an Overseas Business visa
You can apply as a representative of an overseas business if you’re an employee of an overseas newspaper, news agency or broadcasting organisation posted on a long-term assignment to the UK.
If you’re a representative of an overseas business planning to set up its first UK branch, apply for a UK Expansion Worker visa (Global Business Mobility) instead.
How long you can stay
The visa lets you stay in the UK for an initial period of 3 years.
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 permission to settle permanently in the UK.
You can:
- work for your employer, full time
- bring your family (‘dependants’) with you to the UK
- apply to extend your visa
- apply to settle in the UK after you’ve been here for 5 years
- switch to this visa from inside the UK
You cannot:
- work for yourself or any other business
- get public funds