Visas

Sole Representative Visas

Sole Representative Visas are designed for existing foreign companies with no current representative in the UK. The visa allows a company to send an employee to the UK for representative purposes.

Who can be sent to the UK as a sole representative?

The candidate should be a senior employee recruited outside the United Kingdom. In most cases, he or she will have been employed by you overseas for a significant period of time and be fully familiar with your business and procedures. This may not be the case when the individual has been recruited specifically to fulfil the role but in these circumstances, the applicant will need to demonstrate a background appropriate to the role.

A Sole Representative will generally be given an initial visa for 12 months, once in the UK they will usually be entitled to healthcare from the UK’s National Health Service. The candidate will therefore have to pass an examination to check that they have no serious medical conditions.

Extending the Visa?

Sole representative visas are usually granted for an initial twelve month period. Once a representative has been in the UK for 12 months, he or she may be eligible to apply for a visa extension. After a total of 5 years in the UK as your Sole Representative, the candidate may be eligible to apply for settlement(permanent residence) if he or she is still required by you to continue in his/her role.

Family Issues
Spouses / civil partners and children of representatives may accompany them as dependants. The spouse / civil partner is entitled to take up any lawful employment. Children entering the UK as dependants are entitled to the same free education as British children. The representative and family are eligible to free health care provided by the National Health Service.