International businesses looking to expand their operations into the UK must comply with immigration and sponsorship requirements, including getting a visa for key personnel assigned to set up the UK entity.
The UK Expansion Worker visa is one practical immigration pathway that aids global mobility and allows international firms to test the market and establish their footprints.
This article discusses the Expansion Worker visa and provides a guide on how businesses can take advantage of it to break into the UK market.
What is the UK Expansion Worker Visa?
The Expansion Worker Visa is one of five immigration routes under the UK’s Global Business Mobility (GBM) scheme, introduced to support international businesses looking to establish a presence in the UK.
This visa specifically enables overseas companies without an existing UK operation or trading presence to send their senior managers or specialist employees to the UK to set up a branch or subsidiary.
Unlike other UK work visas, such as the Skilled Worker and Innovator Founder visas, the Expansion Worker Visa is about setting up new operations rather than filling existing vacancies or creating original, scalable business ideas.
Requirements for the Expansion Worker Visa
To take advantage of the Expansion Worker Visa, an overseas organisation must first obtain a sponsor licence from the Home Office. The UK sponsor licence is a document that allows businesses to hire foreign workers.
If you are a business owner applying for a sponsor licence, you must:
- Not have any unspent criminal convictions for immigration offences or certain other crimes, such as fraud or money laundering
- Not have had a sponsor licence revoked in the last 12 months
- Have appropriate systems to monitor sponsored workers and people to manage their sponsorship duties.
Afterwards, you must ensure that the employee to be sent to the UK through the Expansion Worker route meets the following requirements:
- Receives a Certificate of Sponsorship from you
- Has worked for you outside the UK for at least 12 months, unless:
○ They currently earn over £73,900 or
○ They are Japanese or Australian, and your company is domiciled in Japan or Australia.
- Do a job that’s on the list of eligible occupations
- Be paid £48,500 per year or the ‘going rate’ for your job, whichever is higher.
- Have at least £1,270 to support themselves in their first month in the UK
Obtaining a Sponsor Licence
There are two types of sponsor licences: the Worker and Temporary Worker licences. To sponsor an Expansion Worker, you should obtain a Temporary Worker licence.
You must appoint key personnel to manage sponsorship responsibilities within your organisation, such as:
- An authorising officer responsible for the use of the Sponsorship Management System (SMS)
- A key contact who will liaise with the UK Visas and Immigration (UKVI) on your company’s behalf
- A level 1 user whose task is the daily use of the SMS.
You should visit the UK government website to begin your application. Once you’ve completed the online application form, pay the application fee. Afterwards, send your business documents and the application submission sheet to the email address indicated on the submission sheet.
Applying for the UK Expansion Worker Visa
Once your application for a sponsor licence is approved, you can assign a Certificate of Sponsorship (CoS) to the key personnel you intend to send to the UK. With an assigned CoS, your employee will have 3 months to apply for their Expansion Worker Visa.
The visa application process is online via the UK government website. The employee must complete the online application form and upload supporting documents such as their passport, bank statements, and evidence of employment.
As part of the application process, applicants must verify their identity. They can do so by submitting their biometric information at a UK visa application centre in their home country or by scanning their identity documents using the ‘UK Immigration: ID Check’ app. Before submitting the online application, they must pay the application fee.
Cost and Processing Timelines
Here is a breakdown of the costs associated with the UK Expansion Worker visa:
- Temporary worker sponsor licence fee: £574
- Cost of assigning a Certificate of Sponsorship: £55
- Visa application fee: £319
- Immigration healthcare surcharge: £1,035
- Biometric enrolment fee: £19.20
The UK Expansion Worker Visa is typically processed within 3 weeks, while sponsor licence applications can take up to 8 weeks. It’s essential to consider these timelines in your business expansion plan to ensure that your key personnel can arrive in the UK and begin setting up operations without undue delay.
With the Home Office priority processing services, you can get a faster decision on the sponsor licence and Expansion Worker visa applications. Note that these services cost at least £500 per application.
Validity of the Expansion Worker Visa
The UK Expansion Worker visa is a temporary work visa for a maximum stay of two years in the UK.
If your employee’s application is approved, their visa length will be either 12 months after the start date of the job stated on the CoS or the time given on their CoS, plus 14 days, whichever is shorter. If they intend to stay longer in the UK, they can apply to extend their visa for an additional 12 months.
After 2 years in the UK on an Expansion Worker visa, they must return to their home country or switch to another visa route for which they are eligible.
Conclusion
The United Kingdom has a strong economy, which makes it an ideal location for global businesses seeking new market opportunities. With the Expansion Worker visa, you can test your business’s presence in the UK. Through this pathway, key employees can dedicate their efforts to setting up your business’s UK branch, laying the groundwork for future operations and potential job creation.
Consult an immigration lawyer if you need help with business mobility plans, including getting a sponsor licence, applying for the Expansion Worker or other Global Business Mobility visas, or relocating your company to the UK.