Applying for a Sponsor Licence for the Global Business Mobility Visa UK Expansion Worker Route

Immigration solicitors are not known for being nostalgic but some business immigration lawyers are starting to look back fondly on the old sole representative visa when assessing its replacement, the UK expansion worker route under the global business mobility visa. Our Sponsorship Licence lawyers take a look at the new sponsor licence application requirements for the UK expansion worker route.

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For advice on business immigration and sponsor licences call the expert London immigration lawyers at OTS Solicitors on 0203 959 9123 or contact us online.

The global business mobility visa UK expansion worker route

The UK expansion worker route replaces the sole representative visa but, unlike its predecessor, a sponsor licence is required.

The UK expansion worker route requires the worker to have a UK sponsor and the sponsor needs to be a branch or wholly-owned subsidiary of an established overseas business. However, the UK branch or subsidiary can't have started trading in the UK because if it has then the visa applicant won't meet the eligibility criteria. Instead, other visa options would need to be considered such as the new senior or specialist worker route under the global business mobility visa ( the old intra company transfer visa) .

The length of the expansion worker UK entry clearance

Overseas businesses rightly want to know how long their senior employee will be able to stay in the UK to set up the UK branch or subsidiary before the parent company decides to invest in a sponsor licence and in the UK branch set up costs.

New immigration rules say an expansion worker will get UK entry clearance for one year. The expansion worker can apply to extend the visa for an additional year – so there is a two year maximum stay. Most business owners know it can take a long time to set up a successful branch office and many companies want continuity beyond a two year expansion worker visa.

This dilemma can be resolved by the expansion worker applying to switch visa before the end of their two year entry clearance. For example, the expansion worker could apply to switch to a skilled worker visa. This work visa can lead to a settlement application provided the worker meets the general eligibility criteria for an indefinite leave to remain application as well as the residence requirement (normally a minimum of five years). However, Sponsorship Licence lawyers warn that the UK branch would need a sponsor licence to sponsor skilled worker visa applicants if the expansion worker is to be able to apply to switch to the skilled worker visa.

Workers to set up the UK branch or subsidiary of the overseas parent company

One of the criticisms of the old sole representative visa was that the immigration rules only allowed one person to secure a visa to set up the UK branch or subsidiary and often one person did not have the breadth of skills needed to quickly set up a successful trading company.

With the UK expansion worker route, the rules allow the sponsorship of a number of workers provided the workers are genuinely needed to set up the business. There is a maximum number of five. The five workers need to be highly competent and speedy as the Home Office expects them to establish a UK trading presence within two years and, if they fail, they cannot expect the Home Office to permit continued sponsorship.

The requirements to apply for sponsor licence to sponsor workers on the global business mobility visa 

The Home Office has issued guidance on the requirements that sponsor licence applicants need to meet if they want to sponsor workers on any of the global business mobility visa routes plus the extra requirements for UK  expansion worker sponsorship, namely:

• The business can offer employment which meets the skill criteria and the vacancy is genuine.
• The UK expansion worker will be paid at or above the minimum salary threshold. For the expansion worker route, it is £42,400 per year, or the specified going rate for the job (whichever is higher).
• The company has appointed key personnel to manage the sponsor licence.
• There is credible evidence that the company intends, and is able, to establish a new UK branch or wholly-owned subsidiary of the established overseas business.
• The overseas company has a UK ‘footprint’ and can provide evidence of UK business premises and evidence that the business is registered with Companies House as either an overseas company branch or a new company that is a subsidiary of the overseas linked business.
• The overseas business expanding into the UK is active and trading overseas and, unless the company falls within an exception, is able to demonstrate the company has been active and trading for at least three years before the date of sponsor licence application.
• The overseas business has been trading overseas throughout the twelve month period immediately prior to the sponsor licence application.
• The overseas business has a credible expansion plan to show the company genuinely intends and is able to expand into the UK and set up a UK trading presence within two years. (The Home Office will want to see evidence of business planning and finances. It should be noted that the planned expansion must be in the same type of business that the overseas parent company carries out overseas, and cannot be a new type of business venture by the company).
• The UK business must be either wholly owned by the overseas business or part of the same legal entity.

Overseas business exceptions

If you aren’t sure that your overseas based company meets all the sponsor licence eligibility criteria it is worth checking with Sponsorship Licence lawyers to see if any exceptions apply. For example:

• If your company is trying to establish a UK branch or subsidiary of a Japanese business under the UK-Japan Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement, you don’t have to have been trading in Japan for three years, provided the company can show it is genuinely trading overseas and is capable of credible expansion to the UK.
• You won’t normally have to produce evidence of overseas trading or ability to expand into the UK if the expansion to the UK is supported by the Department for International Trade, the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, or by another government department, and the department confirms the viability of the planned expansion.

Key personnel and sponsor licences to sponsor UK expansion workers

The immigration rules say you need to appoint key personnel to manage the sponsor licence and to name an authorising officer, key contact and level 1 user in the sponsor licence application. For general information on the role of key personnel take a look at our article on Sponsor Licences and Rules on Appointment of Key Personnel.

With the UK expansion worker route, you may not have staff in the UK so the rules on key personnel say the authorising officer can be a worker who is already based in the UK and will be overseeing your expansion to the UK or, if there is no one suitable in the UK, a senior employee of the overseas business who will be assigned to the UK to oversee the expansion. However, the authorising officer must be the most senior person in the company responsible for the recruitment of migrant workers and in ensuring sponsor licence duties are met.

If the authorising officer named in the sponsor licence application is an employee of the overseas business, the authorising officer must also be the level 1 user. If the sponsor licence application is granted, the authorising officer must assign a certificate of sponsorship to themselves (as the expansion worker) so that they can then apply for a global business mobility visa under the UK expansion worker route.

The authorising officer can appoint different people to the key personnel roles once they are legally resident in the UK and the company has obtained its sponsor licence.

The Home Office guidance on the appointment of key personnel for a sponsor licence application to sponsor a UK expansion worker is pretty tortuous reading because, unlike the old sole representative visa, the overseas company is being asked to make a sponsor licence application and appoint key personnel in circumstances where the UK company isn’t active (and if the UK branch or subsidiary was then it would not meet the eligibility criteria for a sponsor licence application).

How can the Sponsorship Licence lawyers at OTS Solicitors help?

The Home Office guidance on sponsor licence applications to sponsor UK expansion workers  reads like double speak because of the new requirement for sponsorship. Sponsorship Licence lawyers therefore say it is best to let expert business immigration solicitors advise your overseas based business on the complexities of the sponsor licence application process so you can focus on ensuring that your UK business venture is successful.

UK Online and London Based Immigration Solicitors and Sponsorship Licence Lawyers  

For advice on sponsor licence applications and management call the immigration and Sponsorship Licence lawyers at OTS Solicitors on 0203 959 9123 or contact us online.