Sole representative of an overseas business visa – what’s changed?

There is a reassuring comfort when dealing with a visa application under this category. It is reminiscent of times gone by when life was by far simpler when it came to UK Immigration applications.

There are many advantages to the Sole Representative Visa making it a desirable entry route to the UK for those seeking to expand into UK markets.

However, recent UK Government announcements aim to reshape the landscape of our immigration system with the roll out of the Global Business Mobility Visa route in Spring 2022:

The Global Business Mobility route will include the existing provisions for intra-company transferees, subject to this report’s recommendations; the existing arrangements implementing the UK’s trade commitments in respect of contractual service suppliers and independent professionals; any new provision to accommodate import and export-related secondments; and finally (and most importantly for this section), any arrangements for employees of an overseas business assigned to the UK to establish a branch or subsidiary of that business. Existing rules which restrict the route to a single representative per sending business will be relaxed depending on, for example, the size of the investment in the UK.

There is much yet to be established and the devil will be in the detail, which will follow in a flurry of further ‘Statements of Changes’ to the Immigration rules.

But for now, to recap on the operation of the Sole Representative Visa category (which is to be preserved, albeit tightened) the main requirements are that the applicant or employee:

• must be recruited and employed outside of the UK by a company which is based outside of the UK;
• have extensive experience and knowledge of the relevant industry;
• hold a senior position within the company and have the authority to make decisions on behalf of the company but not be a major shareholder;
• establish the company’s first commercial presence in the UK (branch or wholly owned subsidiary)
• must not engage in self employment or engage in work for any other business ;
• have sufficient funds to support themselves;
• meet the required level of English language ability.

These conditions being satisfied the applicant will be granted an initial stay of three years, which can be extended for a further two years before being granted indefinite leave to remain.

As a sign of things to come, the Secretary of State amended the requirements for indefinite leave to remain under this category in the last round of Statement of Changes on the 10^th September 2021 ( HC 617 ).

These will take effect on the 6 October 2021 and will apply retrospectively to all applicants under this category (see pages 56-58).

The validity and suitability requirements under the previous rules remain unaltered - but the eligibility requirements for indefinite leave to remain have significantly changed and applicants must show that throughout the five year period that:

• the overseas business that they represent has been active and trading with its headquarters and principal place of business remaining outside the UK;
• they remain employed, working full-time for the overseas business they represent (or for that business’s UK branch or subsidiary)
• they have not engaged in any self employed activity nor undertaken work for any other business;
• they have not held a majority stake in, or otherwise owned or controlled a majority of the overseas business they represent, by means of a shareholding, partnership agreement, sole proprietorship or any other arrangement;
• they have established and supervised the registered  branch or wholly owned subsidiary of the overseas business they represent in the UK and that branch or subsidiary was actively trading in the same type of business as the overseas business;
• they are still required by their employer to continue in the role for which their last period of permission was granted.

Specified documents will also be required, including:

1. evidence of the salary paid by their employer in the 12 months immediately before the date of application and details of their remuneration package;
2. a letter from their employer confirming that they still require the representative to work for them, and that the representative will be required for the foreseeable future;
3. evidence of business that has been generated, principally with firms in the UK, on behalf of their employer since the representative’s last grant of permission, in the form of accounts, copies of invoices or letters from businesses with whom they have done business, including the value of transactions;
4. either a copy of the share register or a letter from the overseas business’s accountant confirming that the UK business is wholly owned by the overseas business;
5. a letter from their employer confirming that they have operated and supervised the UK branch or subsidiary since the last grant of permission.

If you need expert help with your visa application, or guidance on the approach your business should take on immigration matters, please get in touch and we’ll support you every step of the way. Further information on this visa type is available in our fact sheet here.