Sole Representative of Overseas Business - Lead to British Citizenship

With Sole Representative Visa, international companies can set up their branch offices or representative offices in the UK. The Visa is uniquely designed for overseas businesses required to expand their operations in the UK in just three weeks. Sole Representative of an Overseas Business Visa is granted for an initial period of 3 years and in due process may be able to extend visa for another 2 years. After the applicant has been in the UK for 5 years, he or she can apply for Indefinite Leave to Remain ILR in the UK and eventually qualify for British Nationality.

You can apply as a representative of an overseas business if you’re either:

• the sole representative of an overseas business planning to set up either a UK branch or wholly owned subsidiary
• an employee of an overseas newspaper, news agency or broadcasting organisation posted on a long-term assignment to the UK
• and you must also meet the other eligibility requirements.

What can do during stay in the UK:

• Work for the business
• Bring the family (‘dependents’) to the UK
• Extend the visa multiple times
• Apply to settle in the UK after 5 years legal residence in the UK

Eligibility

In order to be eligible for Sole Representative of an Overseas Business Visa, you must must:

• have enough money to support yourself without help from public funds
• meet the English requirement
• be recruited and employed outside the UK by an active and trading business (whose headquarters and principal place of business are, and will remain, outside the UK)
• have the skills, experience and knowledge to do the role
• hold a senior position within the business (but do not own or control the majority of it) and have full authority to make decisions on its behalf
• intend to establish the overseas business’s first commercial presence in the UK, either as a registered branch or a wholly owned subsidiary

You may also be eligible if the business has a legal entity in the UK that does not employ staff or do any business. If your employer has been working to establish a UK branch or subsidiary, but it is not yet set up, you can replace a previous sole representative.

Employees of Newspaper, News agency or Broadcast

If you are an employee of an overseas newspaper, news agency or broadcasting organisation, you can come to the UK if you’re being posted in the UK on a long-term assignment.

Business Plan Requirement

A business plan is a must document accompanying other necessary documents. In a projected plan, you outline in details your overall strategy of how your company intend to start the sole representative office in the UK, how the UK market is relevant to your business idea, how will you implement your idea, how you plan to invest your monetary resources, and so on.

Knowledge of English

You may need to prove your knowledge of the English language when you apply. You can prove your knowledge of English by either:

• passing an approved English language test with at least CEFR level A1 in speaking and listening
• having an academic qualification that was taught in English and is recognised by UK NARIC as being equivalent to a UK bachelor’s degree, master’s degree or PhD

Detail Required about Applicant

• Complete details of applicant’s activities in the UK
• Applicant’s remuneration and job description
• Complete and descriptive business plan for the planned UK establishment

Sole Representatives As Investors And Shareholders In The Parent Company

A majority shareholder in the parent company cannot not apply for sole representative visa. It is deemed that the centre of operation of the main company is being moved to the UK. However, a sole representative who does not have the major shares in the parent company can apply for this UK visa category.

Sole Representatives As Investors And Shareholders In The Parent Company

A majority shareholder in the parent company cannot not apply for sole representative visa. It is deemed that the centre of operation of the main company is being moved to the UK. However, a sole representative who does not have the major shares in the parent company can apply for this UK visa category.

Sole Representatives As A Proxy Or Agent

A sole representative must be delegated full authority to make decisions and run the overseas establishment without the assistance of the parent branch. He or she should be fully dedicated in establishing a commercial presence of its parent company in the United Kingdom. It should be noted that a sole representative should not take a secondary employment or work on behalf or in interest of any other company apart from the parent company.

Spouse and Dependents Children

The applicant’s family members (‘dependents’) can go to the UK as Sole Representative Dependents by making separate application/s. A ‘dependent’ is your husband, wife children under 18 years. The family members must pay the healthcare surcharge as part of their application.

Length of Stay

You can live and work in the UK for up to 3 years at a time. There is no limit to how long you can stay in the UK in total, but you will need to get extend your visa before it expires. Each extension can last from 1 to 5 years.

Key Advantage of Sole Representative Visa

UK Residency Card upon Arrival:
This Visa allows you to live and work anywhere within the UK for the duration of the visa.

Indefinite Leave to Remain (Permanent Residency)

You may be able to get indefinite leave to remain so you can settle in the UK after 5 years, depending on your circumstances. This gives you the right to live, work and study here for as long as you like, and apply for benefits if you are eligible.

British Citizenship

After obtaining the Indefinite Leave to Remain in the UK (Permanent Residency), you may be eligible to apply for Naturalisation as a British Citizen as per the UK Visa & Immigration Rules and then British Citizenship.

Bring Your Family

This Visa allows you to keep your family together. You can bring your spouse and any children under the age of 18 with you to the UK.

Favourable Economic Conditions

After a period of generally disappointing growth in 2011 and 2012, the UK economy has shown clear signs of recovery during 2013 which is expected to continue in 2018-19. The good news is that this is spread between all major industry sectors and regions which are all now showing positive growth trends.

The Home Office will carefully scrutinise an application for any long term or temporary work visa. If it does not consider that the visa application is a genuine or if it considers that any of the other requirements have not been met, the application will fall for refusal. It is therefore essential that the application is prepared thoroughly and carefully.