Permit For UK Business Visits

The UK offers various UK business permit categories to attract overseas business people to come and invest in the country. Here are some important ones:

STANDARD VISITOR PERMIT

To visit the United Kingdom for business, you must apply for a Standard Visitor Permit. This is a 6-month UK business permit that can be applied for up to 3 months before your departure date.

If you’re visiting the UK for these reasons, you can apply for this permit.

• Attending a conference, meeting, or training
• Taking part in a sports activity
• Looking for funding to start, are over, join or run a UK based business
• Other business activities

The main activities that you can do in the UK on a standard visitor permit are as follows:

• Attend seminars and conferences
• Give a one-time or short series of non-commercial, non-profitable talks and speeches
• Negotiation of deals and contracts
• Attend trade shows solely for promotional purposes
• Conduct assessments and site tours
• Obtain information for their overseas jobs

Staying in the UK

The UK business permit enables holders to remain in the UK for up to 6 months on a one-time or longer-term basis.

UK startup Permit

As a non-EEA and non-Swiss citizen, you can apply for a UK Start-Up permit to start a business in the UK.

The most important criterion is that you must be supported by a recognized entity, such as a UK higher education institution or a business association with a track record of helping UK entrepreneurs.

Staying in the UK

You can stay in the UK for up to 2 years on the UK Start-Up permit.

 UK Sole Representative visa

You can apply for the Sole Representative or the Representative of an Overseas Business permit if you are not from the European Economic Area (EEA) or Switzerland. You must meet at least one of the following requirements:

• You are the sole representative of an international corporation planning to open a branch in the United Kingdom or a wholly owned subsidiary for an international parent company.
• You are a long-term assignment in the UK as an employee of an overseas medium such as a newspaper, news agency, or broadcasting organization.

Staying in the UK

This permit allows you to remain in the UK for a maximum of 3 years. You can then apply for a 2-year extension. You may apply for settlement after 5 years in the UK.

UK Entrepreneur visa (UK Tier 1 visa)

This permit category exclusively caters to entrepreneurs with high potential who are starting a business for the first time.

Eligibility requirements include:

• You aren’t a citizen of the EEA and Switzerland
• You wish to set up a business in the UK
• Your business idea must be endorsed by a higher education institute in the UK or a business organization that supports UK entrepreneurs
• There’s no requirement for an initial investment
• You must be at least 18 years old
• You must fulfil English language requirements
• You must have enough funds to support their stay in the UK

Staying in the UK

• You can stay for up to 2 years on this permit and can bring your spouse or partner and unmarried children under the age of 18 to stay with you.
• You can do work outside your business to fund your stay.
• You cannot extend your permit after 2 years. However, you can apply for the innovator permit to extend your stay and develop your business.

UK  business visa requirements

• Personal details
• Salary and financial details
• Travel itinerary and travel history
• Proof that you can fund your stay adequately
• Proof that you can pay for your air travel to and from the UK
• Proof that you will leave the UK at the end of the visit
• Proof of the business activities you will be doing in the UK