OVERSEAS BUSINESS REPRESENTATIVE VISA
An Overseas Business Representative visa has closed to new applications.
An Overseas Business Representative visa allows an individual employed by an overseas company to come to the UK to set up a UK branch or subsidiary on behalf of his overseas employer. This UK branch or subsidiary will be expected to operate the same type of business activity as its overseas parent.
The individual who will represent the company in the UK as the Overseas Representative must hold a senior position as an employee in that overseas company. The overseas company may recruit an individual specifically for this role but they would have to be recruited overseas and have a track record of setting up branches for other companies. The Overseas Representative cannot be a majority shareholder in the overseas company but must be senior enough to have full authority to make key decisions in respect of the UK branch or subsidiary activity.
The overseas company must not already have a representative in the UK and it’s principal place of business must remain outside the UK.
You may also come to the UK as the Representative of an overseas medical organization if you are employed at a newspaper, news agency or broadcasting organization and posted on a long-term assignment to the UK.
Your Representative of an Overseas Business visa will be granted for 3 years, after which you may be able to extend it for 2 years. Once you have reached your 5-year qualifying period on this visa, you may be eligible to settle in the UK.
You must have been recruited as an employee outside the UK by an active and trading business, whose headquarters and principal place of business are, and will remain, outside the UK. The overseas company must not have a commercial presence in the UK, and it must intend to set up its first registered branch or wholly-owned subsidiary in the UK with the intention to operate the same kind of business activity as the overseas company.
You must have the relevant skills, experience and knowledge to take up the full-time role of the Representative of the overseas business in the UK. This may mean that you already hold a senior position in the overseas business or that you have a proven track of establishing and running branches for other companies.
Your overseas employer must grant you the full authority to make operational decisions on behalf of the business in the UK.
However, you must not be the majority shareholder of the overseas company, whose branch or subsidiary you will represent in the UK.
Finances
It is expected that the overseas company would provide the required capital for setting up and running its overseas branch or wholly-owned subsidiary. Therefore, as an individual, you will not need to show these funds.
You still have to prove that you have a sufficient amount of money available to you for your maintenance in the UK. If you are applying with your dependent family members, you will need to show additional maintenance funds.
Other requirements
As with most visa categories, you must be at least 18 years old to apply and meet the English Language requirement..
Once you receive your Representative of an Overseas Business visa, you should note that the following conditions will apply to your stay in the UK in this category.
You will be permitted the following activities on your Representative of an Overseas Business visa:
- Work for your overseas employer full-time
- Bring your dependent family members
- Extend your Representative of an Overseas Business visa
- Settle in the UK after completing 5 years on your Representative of an Overseas Business visa
You will not be able to do the following in the UK on your Representative of an Overseas Business visa:
- Take up another employment or engage in self-employment
- Switch to the Representative of an Overseas Business visa in the UK (you must make your initial application from outside the UK)
- Stay in the UK on the Representative of an Overseas Business visa if your employment with your overseas employer ends
- Claim public funds (most benefits)
Fairmont Lawyers can help set up and run your Overseas Business branch or subsidiary and provide you with professional legal assistance every step of the way to obtain a Representative of an Overseas Business visa.
FAQ
You should be able to provide evidence in the form of an employment contract (or alternative document) to show that you hold or have been hired to hold a senior position within the overseas company and that you have authority to take operational decisions for the overseas company’s branch in the UK.
Your overseas company employer must be a genuine commercial enterprise with no trading presence in the UK. To prove this, it should provide documents to show its turnover, registered offices and the type of business that it is operating. We can guide you and your overseas company employer through the required evidence to apply for your Representative of an Overseas Business visa.
You can still apply for the visa as long as you are not a majority shareholder in the company.
There are no prescribed working hours or salary minimum for this category; however, these are expected to be in line with your position of authority. Your salary must be sufficient to support you and any of your dependents in the UK without recourse to public funds (most state benefits).
The current visa application fee for a Representative of an Overseas Business visa (from October 2021) is £610 for applications made outside the UK and £704 for applications inside the UK (plus £19.20 foe biometric enrolment if you are in the UK). The Immigration Healthcare Surcharge (IHS) is £624 per each year of the visa unless you are exempt. The fees are the same for your dependents. The Home Office reviews its fees and these may be subject to increase in the future.
It takes around:
- 3 weeks if you apply from outside the UK
- 8 weeks if you apply from inside the UK
However, some delays may occur depending on your individual circumstances or the Home Office/UKVI.
You may be able to choose Priority Service, subject to availability. You will need to pay an additional fee to use this service, and the cost depends on the visa center.
You may be able to choose Priority Service, subject to availability. You will need to pay an additional fee to use this service, and the cost depends on the visa center.