Articles | UK Immigration

We recently had the pleasure of working with a film distribution company from the United States. They wanted to set up a branch in the UK, from which they can engage with the UK and European market. They had identified a member of staff who would move to the UK to represent the company.  They needed our help to assist them through the process of applying for a Representative of an Overseas Business visa. 

Belonging to part of the rules which predates the UK points-based system, the sole rep visa for the UK allows a company to send a senior member of their team to the UK to set up a commercial presence such as a registered branch or UK subsidiary, to operate in the same type of business activity as the overseas headquartered business. 

The visa can also be used for overseas media employees, employed by an overseas newspaper, news agency or broadcasting organisation to be posted and based in the UK under long-term assignment. This includes journalists, front-of camera personnel, producers and news camera operators. 

The visa enables an employee to come to the UK, set up the business or to be based in the country on long-term assignment. It is initially granted for 3 years and can be renewed for a further 2 years, totalling 5 years overall. Following completion of 5 years of residence in the UK, the sole rep can apply to settle in the UK. Sole representatives can also bring their family: a partner and their children. 

​The current immigration rules mean that most people who want to get a visa to come and live in the UK must show that can support themselves, or be supported by someone else, who can afford to ‘maintain and accommodate’ the person they are bringing in, or sponsoring. This is so you can demonstrate you will not require government support.

We’ll walk you through the main ways you can meet these requirements and give you some tips on how to get prepared. 

For most of my time as a UK visa consultant, I'd rarely had cases from EU, EEA or Swiss nationals about what, if anything, needed done either before coming to or once in the UK.

To be honest, aside from some initial worker registration documents for citizens of the 2004, 2007 and 2008 Accession countries for a period of time, or perhaps those bringing non-EU/EEA family members, there was not really anything that necessarily had to be done.

You simply arrived, started studying or working or set up a business or settled down with your significant other - or all of these over a period of time - and you went on from there.  For the vast majority of people, no-one thought about paperwork and no-one was compelled to do anything.