Brexit has happened and COVID-19 is happening. The UK Government has indicated in its recent Budget that it accepts that visas will be an important part of its response to these seismic events: in a changing world, the UK will have to reach out to a wider range of countries overseas to ensure that it maintains its reputation as a global centre for business and to aid its recovery from its current problems.
UK visa options
Which UK visas are currently available for overseas business people and highly skilled individuals? Here are some of the main options:
Investor visa route:
· The investment must be £2m or more.
· It is necessary to make the investment in share capital or loan capital in active UK companies – not in UK Government bonds.
· It is normally possible to apply for Indefinite Leave to Remain after 5 / 3 / 2 years with an investment of £2m / £5m / £10m.
· It is then normally possible to apply for British citizenship one year later.
· The key requirement is the investment funds. Clearly the required amount is substantial. The main other requirements that sometimes cause difficulties are source of funds, location of funds and having a UK bank account for the investment funds.
· You can find some basic information about this visa route (including some of the necessary documents) here: https://www.gov.uk/tier-1-investor
Innovator visa:
· The key requirements are to have at least £50,000 in investment funds, for a business idea that is innovative, viable and scalable and that has received an endorsement from an official endorsing body.
· The main barrier is generally obtaining the endorsement, as there are few endorsing bodies and they typically have restrictive criteria.
· There are no specific requirements for an applicant’s experience. The point is that s/he needs to be a credible applicant – so for example if s/he has no experience in tech and wants to set up a tech company, it is unlikely that s/he will receive an endorsement.
· It is normally possible to apply for Indefinite Leave to Remain after 3 years.
· As for most other visas, the applicant will need to be able to show that s/he can support her/himself and any dependants.
· It is now easier to apply for visas, including this visa, in the UK. However, there are limits – for example, it is not generally possible to apply for this visa if you are in the UK on a visit visa.
· You can find some basic information about this visa route here: https://www.gov.uk/innovator-visa
Global Talent visa:
· This route is for leaders or potential leaders in academia / research, arts and culture, or digital technology. It is therefore clearly limited in scope. I will in any case set out the main features here:
o It is necessary to obtain an endorsement from an official endorsing body.
o The criteria are not easy to meet – this route is for leaders or potential leaders.
o It is not necessary to have a job offer.
o It is normally possible to apply for Indefinite Leave to Remain after 3 or 5 years.
o You can find some basic information about this visa route here: https://www.gov.uk/global-talent
Representative of an Overseas Business visa:
· This enables an overseas company to send an employee to the UK to set up their first commercial presence here.
· The employee would need to have a salary from the company and be a senior executive, enabling her/him to make operational decisions for the company.
· S/he will need relevant experience.
· It is necessary to provide clear information on the ownership of the company.
· It is normally possible to apply for Indefinite Leave to Remain after 5 years.
· You can find some basic information about this visa route here: https://www.gov.uk/representative-overseas-business
Skilled worker visa:
· This is for employees of UK based businesses which have a sponsor licence from the Government enabling them to employ foreign nationals.
· The main barrier is generally obtaining the sponsorship – i.e. finding a company that is able and willing to sponsor. However, highly skilled people are in principle good candidates.
· The salary needs to be at a sufficient level. This depends on the precise nature of the job in question, but generally it should be no lower than £25,600 per year.
· It is normally possible to apply for Indefinite Leave to Remain after 5 years.
· You can find some basic information about this visa route here: https://www.gov.uk/skilled-worker-visa
Intra-company visa route:
· This is for employees of international companies who are transferred to the UK to work in existing branches of those companies in the UK.
· As with the Skilled Worker visa, the employer needs to have a sponsor licence.
· The salary needs to be at a sufficient level.
· This does not provide a route to Indefinite Leave to Remain.
· You can find some basic information about this visa route here: https://www.gov.uk/intracompany-transfer-worker-visa
Conclusion
Clearly, no visa route is simple. However, there are some options for highly skilled people. In the recent Budget, the Government also announced that it plans to introduce visa reforms for highly skilled migrants, including: a new unsponsored visa for international talent in science, research and tech; improved visa processes for scale-ups and entrepreneurs; and simplified bureaucracy for high skilled visa applications. It remains to be seen whether this will be enough for the UK to remain a global centre for business and to aid its recovery.
by Usman Sheikh
Ansar London Ltd.
Collaboration Partner – The Brooke Consultancy
Winter 2021