Regulated by the Immigration Advice Authority · Ref No. F201700062
Work Visas
These routes cover temporary assignments in the UK for workers of an overseas business.
They are useful for the right situation, but they are temporary in nature and carry conditions that are worth understanding before you travel.
These routes are for people already working for an overseas business that has a UK link: transferring within a group, joining a structured graduate programme, establishing a UK branch, supplying contracted services, or being seconded under a high-value contract.
Your employer must hold the appropriate licence and assign a certificate, and you must usually have worked for the overseas business for a qualifying period first.
These routes are often faster and simpler than recruiting into a new UK role, but they do not lead to settlement and they limit total time in the route.
If you expect to stay in the UK long term, consider whether a Skilled Worker application is available instead, and take advice before the transfer rather than at the end of it.
Partners and children can normally apply as dependants and, in most cases, work in the UK. Their permission ends when yours does, so their long-term plans depend on your route as well.
What is actually needed depends on your circumstances. We confirm the list with you before anything is prepared.
We start with your history, your relationships, your work and your time in the UK. The right route follows from the facts.
We explain which route fits, what it requires and what the realistic alternatives are if it does not.
We work out what the Home Office will expect, what you already have and what needs to be obtained.
We prepare the application, explain anything that needs explaining and advise on what happens after submission.
This page is general information about UK immigration and is not advice on your individual circumstances. Requirements, guidance and procedures change. Please obtain advice before relying on anything published here.
We will tell you how UKU can assist, and what the realistic options are.
