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The UK Expansion Worker visa and the Overseas Business Representative Visa, which are both intended for certain media professionals, have superseded the Sole Representative Visa For Overseas companies. We are well-versed in the many visa alternatives available to representatives of foreign companies.
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Essential Points for Sole Representative Visa
Route Replaced by UK Expansion Worker
The Sole Representative Visa closed to new applicants in April 2022. Current holders may extend or settle under transitional rules.
Business Eligibility
Your parent company must be registered and trading outside the UK with no existing branch or subsidiary here.
Applicant Requirements
Applicants must hold a senior executive role with authority to make operational decisions for the overseas business.
Ownership Limits
You cannot own or control more than 50 per cent of the parent business through shares or other means.
The Immigration Health Surcharge (IHS) is a fee paid by most visa and immigration applicants for over six months to access the National Health Service (NHS). It is not required for British citizenship applications, as permanent residents contribute via taxes like National Insurance.
Minimum CEFR Level A1 English and proof of funds to support yourself and dependants without public funds.
When applying for a Spouse visa, you must pay the Immigration Health Surcharge to cover your healthcare costs while in the UK. Since February 2024, the surcharge has been £1,035 per year, following a 86% increase. For in-country application, it will be for 30 months and out-country application, it will be for 33 months.
Initial leave is three years plus a two-year extension. After five years you may qualify for Indefinite Leave to Remain.
British citizenship applications are typically processed within six months. However, some applications may take longer, especially if more information or checks are required by the Home Office.
Those seeking new applications should consider the UK Expansion Worker Visa or Innovator Founder Visa depending on their business structure.
This visa allows you to get married or register a civil partnership, but you cannot work, study, or live in the UK. You must use this visa solely to visit and get married.
We assist entrepreneurs from Asia, the Middle East and Europe to navigate UK business immigration law with local precision and full GDPR compliance.
Expert Guidance
Trusted Legal Support for Business Expansion and Visa Transition
As the Home Office phases out the Sole Representative route, many entrepreneurs and corporations need guidance on the most appropriate alternative.
Benefits
At UK Immigration Solicitors, we take the stress out of the sponsor licence process by guiding you through every requirement with precision.
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Success Rate
37,573
Applications Approved
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Immigration Appeal Win Rate
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Average Rating
From Consultation to Visa Approval
Our immigration specialists streamline your application process by clearly identifying which evidence and strategies will strengthen your case.
By aligning your unique circumstances with Home Office requirements, we help you focus on high-impact preparations while addressing any potential weaknesses in your application.
From Consultation to Visa Approval
Our immigration specialists streamline your application process by clearly identifying which evidence and strategies will strengthen your case.
By aligning your unique circumstances with Home Office requirements, we help you focus on high-impact preparations while addressing any potential weaknesses in your application.
Maximising Your Approval Chances
Our goal is to maximise the chances of your visa being approved the first time. By carefully reviewing your circumstances, identifying potential weaknesses, and preparing strong supporting evidence, we significantly reduce the risk of refusals. Every application is checked by senior immigration solicitors who apply their expertise to make your case as clear, accurate, and persuasive as possible. This attention to detail is what improves success rates and helps our clients move forward with confidence.
Success Rate Optimisation
We carefully analyse every detail of your application to maximise the chances of approval. By addressing weaknesses, strengthening supporting evidence, and ensuring full compliance with Home Office rules, we optimise your case for success. This thorough approach significantly improves approval rates and gives you confidence throughout the process.
Risk Mitigation Strategies
We identify potential risks in your application early and put safeguards in place to address them. By preparing strong evidence, clarifying complex points, and anticipating Home Office concerns, we minimise the chance of delays or refusals.
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Evidence-based case preparation
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Home Office compliance checks
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Success rate optimisation
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Risk mitigation strategies
From Consultation to Visa Approval
Our immigration specialists streamline your application process by clearly identifying which evidence and strategies will strengthen your case.
By aligning your unique circumstances with Home Office requirements, we help you focus on high-impact preparations while addressing any potential weaknesses in your application.
Maximising Your Approval Chances
Our goal is to maximise the chances of your visa being approved the first time. By carefully reviewing your circumstances, identifying potential weaknesses, and preparing strong supporting evidence, we significantly reduce the risk of refusals. Every application is checked by senior immigration solicitors who apply their expertise to make your case as clear, accurate, and persuasive as possible. This attention to detail is what improves success rates and helps our clients move forward with confidence.
Success Rate Optimisation
We carefully analyse every detail of your application to maximise the chances of approval. By addressing weaknesses, strengthening supporting evidence, and ensuring full compliance with Home Office rules, we optimise your case for success. This thorough approach significantly improves approval rates and gives you confidence throughout the process.
Risk Mitigation Strategies
We identify potential risks in your application early and put safeguards in place to address them. By preparing strong evidence, clarifying complex points, and anticipating Home Office concerns, we minimise the chance of delays or refusals.
Work With Trusted, SRA-Regulated UK Immigration Experts
Your immigration journey is too important to risk on unqualified or unregulated help. Every case we handle is prepared by SRA-regulated solicitors who apply structured legal reasoning, precise documentation checks and full compliance with Home Office and UKVI rules.
Our accreditations are your assurance that you are working with a reputable, experienced and highly trained legal team. We combine decades of immigration expertise with strict professional standards to give you clarity, confidence and complete peace of mind — no matter which visa or application route you are pursuing.
What is a UK Sole Representative Visa?
One of the best ways for companies to set up business in the UK is with a sole representative visa. This means that a legitimate business whose main location is not in the UK can operate a branch or subsidiary in the UK.
The applicant will be granted a three-year entrance clearance upon successful application, with the option to extend it for an additional two-year period. After five years of continuous leave under the category, the applicant may be eligible for indefinite leave to remain in the UK.
Employment Terms for an Overseas Business Representative Visa
A Sole Representative must be able to open and run a branch or subsidiary in the UK and make most of the company’s important operational business choices in that country. People with a Sole Representative of an Overseas Business visa must also work full-time. People with a Sole Representative visa do not need to make a certain minimum pay or get a specific set of benefits. However, their salary plan should be appropriate for a senior person within the organisation.
Is it possible for your company to open an office or subsidiary in the UK?
An employee can only get a UK Overseas Business Representative visa if the parent company is a real, operating business in another country. The parent company from outside the UK must have its main office and base outside of the UK and plan to keep them there. The business won’t be able to join if the parent company already has a branch, subsidiary, or other agent in the UK. It doesn’t matter if the company doesn’t have a representative in the UK; if an employee sets up an office or subsidiary there, the company will be disqualified because it would move its main operations to the UK.Â
The Home Office will also need to be sure that the branch or wholly-owned subsidiary in the UK will actually do the same kind of business as the foreign business and isn’t just being set up to make it easier for the sole representative to come and stay.
What is the centre of activities test for a business visa for a sole representative?
A parent company must plan to keep its main place of business abroad in order to meet the standards of the UK’s Representative of an Overseas Business visa. The Home Office will not grant a Sole Representative visa if it is clear that the applicant plans to move the main office of the business to the UK and stop doing business outside of the UK.
If the visa applicant is a major shareholder, the driving force behind the parent company, none or few senior employees will stay abroad, or the company’s success seems to be tied to the applicant’s specific skills and performance, it may be assumed that they want to move the main centre of their business to the UK. You can get professional help from our visa lawyers.
Rules for a Sole Representative's stay
As with all types of immigration rules, a person with an Overseas Business visa must follow certain rules while they are in the country. The most important rule is that Sole Representatives can only work for the company that sent them to the UK in the first place. In the UK, you can’t work for the same company and have any other businesses or do any other part-time or contract work at the same time.Â
Dependents of Sole Representatives
Your husband, civil partner, unmarried or same-sex partner, and any children under 18 can come with you or join you as the sole representative of an overseas business. Unfortunately, Sole Representatives can’t bring their parents, brothers, or other extended family members with them. This is true for most other types of immigration rules as well.
Anyone who comes with or joins a Sole Representative must not own or control the foreign business or have a majority stake in it. This includes a spouse, civil partner, unmarried partner, or same-sex partner. This rule is the same whether the ownership or control is through a partnership, a single proprietorship, a shareholding, or some other type of agreement.
Sole Representative Visa Extension
If your application for a Sole Representative visa is accepted, you will be able to come to the UK and stay there for up to three years. After this, you will have to apply again for leave to stay, and this time it will be good for two years.
As a Representative of an Overseas Business, you can get an extension of stay as long as you are still working for the same company as when your visa was first granted and have set up the parent company’s first presence in the UK. The main place of business and offices of the employer must still be outside the UK. When applying for a visa, you have to show that you have brought in business (mostly with UK companies) for your company and that they are paying you. If you talk to an immigration lawyer, they can make sure that your application for an extension is presented properly and is correct in all aspects.
Settling in the UK as a holder of a Sole Representative visa
You might be able to apply for settlement after five years of living in the UK as the only representative of a business from another country.Â
- You must continue to meet the requirements for an extension of stay.Â
- You must also show that you have spent the five years before the application date in the UK legally as a Representative of an Overseas Business.Â
- Moreover, you must have spent five years in a row in the UK and not been away for more than 180 days in any of the five years before the application date.Â
- You must also be able to talk and understand English at least at level B1 according to the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages unless you are 65 years or older. You must also meet the Knowledge of Life in the UK requirement.Â
- Additionally, your boss will have to say that they still need you to work for them, that you are getting paid enough, and that they will need you for a while.
On October 6, 2021, more rules were put in place for ILR as a Sole Representative of an Overseas Business. If you are a sole representative asking for settlement, you must now also show that in the five years before your ILR application:
- The international company you work for has been trading and operating, and its main office and base are still outside of the UK.
- You have worked full-time for the foreign company you work for or for that company’s branch or division in the UK;
- You have not done work for another company or started your own business;
- As a single proprietor, a partner, or through some other arrangement, you have not had a majority stake in, owned, or controlled a majority of the foreign business you represent;
- As the representative of an international business, you set up and registered a branch or fully owned subsidiary of that business in the UK. The branch or subsidiary did the same kind of business as the international business.
In addition, you will need to provide certain documents to back your ILR application. You might want to get professional help from a visa lawyer.
What is the Processing Time for Sole Representative Visa UK?
- You can apply up to three months before your trip;Â
- You may be able to get priority service for entry clearance forms, and you should hear back within ten to fifteen days;
- When you ask for entry clearance from outside the UK, it usually takes about three weeks to process. The working time for applications from within the UK is currently between eight and 12 weeks.
How can UK Immigration Solicitors Help?
For a Sole Representative of an Overseas Business visa application, the Immigration Rules are very strict about the papers that must be shown. An immigration lawyer may be able to help you make sure that your application is presented properly and follows all the rules.
When it comes to business immigration, our lawyers have helped all kinds of companies and partnerships get Sole Representative visas for their workers. Our lawyers know all about the different immigration options for businesses, whether they are small or big multinationals that want to grow in the UK. They will help you understand the complicated Home Office rules and policies.
When it comes to understanding and satisfying our clients’ needs, we take great satisfaction in being both approachable and proactive. Our team is committed to providing businesses with trustworthy immigration advice in a courteous and professional manner.
Frequently Asked Questions FAQs
That’s not possible. You can’t change to this category from inside the UK. You have to ask for entry clearance from outside the UK.
An administrative review of the refusal of the entry clearance application is what you can do if your application for entry clearance was turned down because you are the only representative of a foreign business.
The Home Office UKVI can allow a sole representative after an office is set up in the UK, as long as that branch:
- only lives as a legal entity
- has opened a bank account
- has found facilities and set them up
A person can only get entry clearance from the Home Office UKVI if:
- Nobody works there.
- A transaction has not yet been made at this branch.
- In this case, it might be when the company becomes a legal body before expanding into the UK.
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