Sponsor Licences to Sponsor Overseas Employees on Intra-Company Transfer Visas
With the UK in the grips of a pressing skills gap, and the consequent recruitment crisis, one way forward for multinational employers is to transfer existing employees based overseas to work in the UK branch of the international company. The issue for multi-national companies is that, with the end of free movement for EU nationals, only overseas employees who qualify for entry clearance can come to the UK to work. One work immigration route for both EU and non-EEA employees is the intra company transfer visa.
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For advice on applying for a sponsor licence or sponsor licence management call the Sponsorship Licence lawyers at OTS Solicitors on 0203 959 9123 or contact us online.
Sponsor licences and the intra company transfer visa route
The intra company transfer visa route is only suitable for international companies as a visa applicant must be an existing employee of the international company and one whose employment is being transferred from overseas to the UK.
The UK branch or subsidiary company requires a sponsor licence from the Home Office to sponsor the transfer of overseas employees to work in the UK on the intra company transfer visa.
The fact that the company has a sponsor licence to sponsor skilled worker visa applicants is not sufficient. However, a company can apply for a sponsor licence to sponsor both skilled worker visa applicants and intra company transfer visa applicants when making a first sponsor licence application. Alternatively, the company can apply for a sponsor licence to sponsor intra company transfer visa applicants if it has a sponsor licence to sponsor skilled worker visa applicants. The sponsor licence reporting and recording duties are similar, whether the business is sponsoring workers under the skilled worker or intra company transfer visa route.
Intra company transfer visa categories
The intra company transfer visa route has two categories:
- The intra company transfer visa and
- The intra company graduate trainee visa.
Sponsorship Licence lawyers emphasise that the intra company transfer visa route is for skilled workers or graduate trainees. Graduates need to be transferred to the UK as part of a structured graduate training programme to qualify for a intra company graduate trainee visa.
Alternates to the intra company transfer visa route to hire non-UK staff
If you are part of a multi-national company, you may not have the spare staff to move from your overseas based branches to the UK without recreating a staff shortage in the overseas countries. Alternatives to the intra company transfer visa route include:
- The skilled worker visa – the visa applicant cannot be an existing employee of the international company or
- The graduate visa – the visa applicant must be in the UK on a student visa to qualify for a graduate visa. With the graduate visa, the employer does not need to sponsor the graduate or to employ them in a job role that qualifies for the intra company transfer visa or skilled worker visa. The graduate visa therefore offers greater flexibility for the employer, but it is not a path to settlement in the UK.
What are the advantages of the intra company transfer visa route?
For UK employers there are four distinct advantages of the intra company transfer visa, instead of the skilled worker visa, namely:
- English language requirement - the visa applicant does not need to meet the English language requirement – a skilled worker visa applicant does.
- Moving surplus staff - if the international company has a surplus of staff in one country, or can easily recruit additional workers in one overseas country if their workers are transferred to the UK, this can resolve staff shortages in the UK.
- Opportunities for overseas based staff to work in the UK may be attractive to overseas employees or graduates when deciding whether or not to take up employment with a multi-national company.
- Best practice development - transferring an existing employee to the UK means the employee already knows the firm and they can bring some of their knowledge of best practices in the international company to their work in the UK.
What are the disadvantages of the intra company transfer visa?
Sponsorship Licence Lawyers recommend that work visa options are carefully considered as, whilst the intra company transfer visa has advantages over the skilled worker visa, there are also some disadvantages:
- Period of employment - the transferred employee must have worked for the international company for a minimum period before being eligible to apply for an intra company transfer visa unless they are classed as a ‘high earner’ paid at least £73,900 or more.
- Minimum salary threshold - there is a higher minimum salary threshold for the intra company transfer visa.
- Job eligibility - the jobs eligible for the intra company transfer visa are more limited than jobs with a standard occupation code suitable for the skilled worker visa.
The cost of sponsoring overseas based employees on intra company transfer visas
Recruitment through sponsorship comes at a cost but the cost has to be balanced against the cost of trying to recruit from within the UK or the cost of trying to train workers to meet the requirements of the job roles. The costs of sponsoring workers on intra company transfer visas include:
- Home Office application fee to apply for the sponsor licence – the sponsor licence only lasts four years and the sponsor licence renewal fee is the same as the application fee.
- Certificate of sponsorship fee – for an intra company transfer visa applicant to apply for a work visa they need a certificate of sponsorship. The certificate of sponsorship has to be allocated by the sponsoring employer and a fee has to be paid to the Home Office.
- Immigration skills charge – payable by the sponsor licence holder.
- Intra company transfer visa application fee and immigration health surcharge – this is payable by the applicant but with the intra company transfer visa, the fees are normally funded by the employer.
Length of the intra company transfer visa
Workers in the UK on the intra company transfer visa can normally stay in the UK for a maximum five years . Graduate trainees can stay for up to twelve months at time. A graduate trainee can't apply to extend their visa but they can make a second application after a short gap.
Sponsorship Licence Lawyers recognise that the intra company transfer visa isn’t the answer for all the recruitment needs of international companies with bases and subsidiaries in the UK but it can, for the right job roles, be the most effective work visa route, provided the international company has first secured its Home Office issued sponsor licence.
UK Online and London Based Immigration Solicitors and Sponsorship Licence Lawyers
For advice on applying for a sponsor licence or for help with managing your sponsor licence call the expert London immigration lawyers at OTS Solicitors on 0203 959 9123 or contact us online.