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The Sole Representative of an Overseas Business visa is designed primarily to allow senior executives and managers of an overseas company to enter the UK in order to set up the company's first UK office, branch, or subsidiary.
The representative cannot own more than fifty percent of the business and the main business should remain outside the UK. The UK business area should be in a similar area of business as the overseas business, and the overseas business outside the UK should in practice probably be much larger than the proposed UK business.
The business in the UK must not already be trading and must not have transacted any business yet. This is different, for example to the Tier 2 Sponsor Licence requirement where you have to show that the business in the UK has already started trading.
For busines speople we have a news report that covers many of the issues involved if wishing to come to the UK.
This visa is valid for an initial period of 3 years, and can be extended for 2 years. Towards the end of 5 years in the UK visa holders can apply for Indefinite Leave to Remain in the UK.
Applicants for the Sole Representative of an Overseas Business visa must meet several eligibility requirements for their visa to be granted.
Sole Representative of an Overseas Business visa applicants must supply several documents with their application. These include:
Antigua and Barbuda
Australia
Guyana
St Lucia
The Bahamas
Barbados
Jamaica
St Vincent and the Grenadines
Belize
Canada
Trinidad and Tobago
New Zealand
Dominica
Grenada
USA
St Kitts and Nevis
If you would like to learn more about the freedoms and restrictions of being the sole rep of an overseas business in the UK, contact our sole representative team.
We regularly prepare and submit sole rep visa applications on behalf of our clients, helping overseas organisations to establish their first business presence in the UK.