Visas For Work Business Investment

Employers must hold a Sponsorship Licence from the Home Office if they wish to recruit or retain the services of non-resident skilled workers.

The Skilled Worker visa category of the Points Based System replaced the Tier 2 (General) work visa - applicants in the predecessor category should now be applying through this route for an extension of stay.

The Senior or Specialist Worker visa (Global Business Mobility) is aimed at UK based employers who hold a Sponsorship licence and wish to relocate their overseas workers to the UK who are employed through a connected entity to work on projects for periods of time.

The UK Expansion Worker visa is for overseas businesses wishing to set up a branch in the UK when the overseas company does not have an existing presence here.

The Secondment Worker – Global Business Mobility visa introduced on 11 April 2022, is a new visa category enabling businesses to second personnel temporarily from on overseas organisation to work on a ‘high value’ contract or investment.

The Global Business Mobility – Graduate Trainee route was introduced on 11 April 2022 as part of an overhaul of temporary migration routes for secondment workers to the UK and to assist UK businesses through simplifying processes.

The Service Supplier – Global Business Mobility route is for overseas workers who will come to the UK to work on a temporary basis

The Start-up visa replaced the Tier 1 Graduate Entrepreneur visa.

The Innovator visa category is for businesspeople seeking to establish a new business in the UK.

The Global Talent visa was created in February 2020 for highly talented individuals wanting to work in the UK. It replaced the Tier 1 Exceptional Talent and Tier 1 Exceptional Promise categories.

The aim is to attract highly educated individuals who have graduated

Please note this route was closed to new applicants on 17 February 2022

Please note this route was closed to new applicants on 17 February 2022

This category is now closed and was replaced by the Global Talent Visa - please follow the link to read further

The Tier 1 General visa has been closed to new applicants since 5 April 2011.

Please note the Tier 2 General Visa is no longer available.

If you have a job offer from an official sponsor in the UK within the creative, charity or religious sectors, an approved Government Exchange Scheme or are covered by an agreement through international law or as a seasonal worker.

On 1 July 2021, the Home Office introduced the Graduate visa enabling students to work in the UK following successful completion of their course.

If you are an overseas business and wish to establish operations in the UK and have no presence here, you can do so by sending a senior employee to open an office

If you are employed overseas you may be able to avoid having to submit a complex Skilled Worker visa application in order to enter the UK to perform basic tasks on behalf of your employer.