With self-sponsorship increasingly attracting the Home Office’s ire, we examine the alternative options available to those business leaders looking to make a permanent move to the UK.
We regularly receive immigration queries from overseas business leaders who are looking to move to the UK, often as part of an expansion of their business into the UK market.
In particular, recent changes to immigration policy on the other side of the Atlantic have rendered the US a less attractive prospect for expansion for many of our clients and contacts. Meanwhile, other policy changes have prompted some current US residents to consider a move abroad, with the UK proving a popular destination due to its shared language and some cultural similarities.
Below, we have set out some of the specialist visa routes available for overseas business leaders, enabling them to live and work in the UK.
Skilled Worker and Global Business Mobility – Senior or Specialist Worker
Applications for visas under the Skilled Worker or Global Business Mobility – Senior or Specialist Worker routes will be appropriate for some individuals, but their business must be established in the UK with a sponsor licence.
Skilled Worker visa holders can settle after five years in the UK. Those with visas under the various Global Business Mobility routes are not eligible for settlement and so must switch to another visa, such as the Skilled Worker visa, to accrue time towards settlement. The Global Business Mobility licence also requires there to be a business which remain overseas, and which is linked to the UK entity by common ownership and control.
We are aware of some immigration advisers touting “self-sponsorship” services for the Skilled Worker visa, which involves a business owner using their UK business to sponsor their own visa entry into the UK. There will be circumstances where this is entirely justifiable, but we understand that many of these self-sponsorship schemes are used to circumvent the immigration rules.
The Home Office take significant precautions to ensure the genuineness of sponsor licence and work visa applications and are now particularly on the lookout for attempts to self-sponsor. Applications that fail for this reason may prejudice the applicants’ future applications.
More recently, the Home Office has also confirmed that investments made by a Skilled Worker into their sponsor employer will be viewed as deductions from their salary for the purposes of determining whether the worker meets the salary threshold for their visa and occupation code. This change may make it difficult for shareholders to self-sponsor, as the salary they receive would have to exceed their investment (by at least the salary threshold) during their visa term.
This appears to paint a grim picture for business leaders looking to settle in the UK – but the good news is that there are alternative options, all of which allow applicants to bring their dependant family members with them.
Global Talent
The Global Talent visa is for individuals who are leaders or potential leaders in their field. It is only available in respect of certain sectors relating to the sciences and arts, including architecture, digital technology, fashion, film, engineering, and medicine, among others, and therefore may not be suitable for all business leaders.
If an individual has an “eligible award”, then they will automatically qualify for the route. The lists of eligible awards for each sector can be found here.
The alternative is to obtain an endorsement from a designated endorsing body, verifying that the individual is either a leader or potential leader in their field. Generally, the individual will need to demonstrate that they have received recognition from others in their field, and that they have made significant contributions to the sector. The application fee for an endorsement is relatively cheap, meaning that it is often worth an individual applying even where they are not sure that they will qualify, given the minimal investment required.
Once an endorsement is in place, the visa application fees are also comparably low, making the Global Talent route one of the cheapest routes to settlement. An applicant who qualifies as a leader in their field can apply for settlement after just three years, while potential leaders can do the same after five years.The Global Talent route is therefore a quick and cost-effective route to settlement, which will be particularly suitable for those working in the arts, sciences, or product-led tech.
Innovator Founder
To apply as an Innovator Founder, an individual must demonstrate that they are planning to set up and run an innovative business in the UK which is “different from anything else on the market”, as part of an application to an approved endorsing body.
The business must also be viable and scalable, meaning that there must be potential for growth and evidence of plans and the potential to create jobs. When applying for an endorsement under the Innovator Founder route, the focus of the endorsing body will be on the business idea in addition to the suitability of the applicant. The applicant must show sufficient funding for their business, and their commitment to the growth of the business.
While the Global Talent endorsement does not generally need to be managed or retained on an ongoing basis (save where an eligible award is revoked, for example), the position is somewhat different under the Innovator Founder route. Recipients of the visa are expected to meet with the endorsing body every 12 months, to demonstrate that they are making progress with their business. The endorsing body can revoke an Innovator Founder visa if the individual does not attend these meetings or if they determine that the business no longer warrants an endorsement. The role of these bodies is to provide guidance and open avenues for collaboration with other business leaders, rather than trying to directly influence the business themselves.
The Innovator Founder route is more expensive than Global Talent, though it also leads to settlement after just three years. This route can be a good alternative for leaders from a wider variety of sectors – though the annual check-ins with the endorsing body may be off-putting for some.
Global Business Mobility – UK Expansion Worker
The Expansion Worker route is intended for individuals coming to the UK to assist in setting up a new branch of an overseas business. This route differs from those mentioned above, as it requires the business to first apply for an Expansion Worker sponsor licence – only once this is in place can the individual apply for a visa under the Expansion Worker route.
As part of the Expansion Worker licence application, the individual must provide evidence of their overseas trading presence, their planned expansion into the UK (including a detailed business plan and evidence of funding), and proof of a “UK footprint” (e.g. registration of a limited company in the UK on Companies House, a lease for premises, etc.). Once the sponsor licence is in place, the individual must then apply for the Expansion Worker visa.
However, the crucial issue with this visa is that the individual must later switch to an alternative visa to settle in the UK, once their business is established. This potentially raises issues of self-sponsorship (as mentioned earlier), and prior consideration may need to be given to how funding of the business will proceed if the individual switches to the Skilled Worker route.
The Expansion Worker route is the most expensive and longest route to settlement. These factors are likely to be off-putting to some business leaders, although the fact that there is no need to obtain an endorsement may make it the only suitable option in certain circumstances. Still, the lack of an endorsement stage should not be read as making the Expansion Worker option “easier” than the alternatives, as there is still a significant evidential burden involved in applying for the sponsor licence.
Conclusion
While all three routes offer a path to settlement in the UK, the Global Talent and Innovator Founder options are likely to be more attractive to those business leaders who fall within their scope. Unfortunately, the Expansion Worker route has yet to really take off, and the recent changes to the Immigration Rules are only likely to stunt this route further, given the potential issues now involved with a switch to a Skilled Worker visa.
The UK Government has recently published its new Immigration White Paper, which proposes that all routes to settlement should take ten years – a significant increase on the three and five-year routes currently available, as discussed above.
The White Paper does not clarify whether this ten-year route will apply to those who are already in the UK on the path to settlement, or just to new arrivals, but we will keep our ears to the ground on this. If it turns out to be the latter, then it may be worth considering applying for one of these visas very soon, before the new rule is introduced, so that you do not have to wait ten years to settle.
We understand that the Government hope to implement the White Paper’s proposals before the end of July, so we can expect the rule to be in force by then, in whatever form it takes.
Our Immigration team can advise on all inbound visa routes to the UK, with the support of our Startup team – they can assist with company incorporation and related legal advice, together with commercial, real estate and employment support. Please contact us at [email protected] for more information.
