The sole representative visa UK is a kind of business visa that allows representatives of overseas businesses to live and work in the UK. The sole representative visa UK is an entry route that is suitable for almost all businesses – it enables overseas businesses to develop a UK presence without a major outlay of capital by opening a branch or a wholly owned subsidiary of the parent company. Most companies choose to send a single senior employee to the UK to test the market and develop a presence in the market.

As a sole representative of an overseas business, you may be able to come to the UK under the sole representative visa if you are:

• the sole representative of an overseas company, intending to set up a wholly owned subsidiary or register a UK branch for an overseas parent company; or
• an employee of an overseas newspaper, news agency or broadcasting organization posted on a long-term assignment to the UK

At Conroy Baker, our UK Immigration experts have helped representatives of overseas businesses in diverse industries, including gems & jewellery, Information Technology, Health & wellness, Electronics, Leather goods manufacturers, agricultural food processing companies, manufacturers of electrical equipment, and industrial products.

Our UK Immigration Solicitors have supported businesses in their expansion to the UK by enabling their key representatives to move there to set up their branch/subsidiary. If you are looking for UK visa consultants for assistance with sole representative visa application, you can contact us.

If you are already in the UK as either a representative of an overseas business or an employee of an overseas newspaper, news agency or broadcasting organization, then you would be eligible to apply for an extension of your visa. You would need to provide evidence that:

• you are still working for the same employer
• you’re still working to establish the company’s first presence in the UK
• your employer’s principal place of business is still outside the UK

Any dependents who have joined you in the UK can also apply with you at the same time for an extension.

At Conroy Baker, our UK Immigration solicitors advise sole representatives of overseas business as well as representatives of an overseas newspaper, news agency or broadcasting organization on extending their leave on a UK Sole representative visa. You can contact us if you are seeking legal help from UK visa consultants in relation to the extension of your UK sole representative visa.

Dependent Family members of Sole Representative visa holders can apply to join the main applicant in the UK. Dependents can be either husband,wife or partner of the main applicant or children below the age of 18 years of the main applicant. Dependents of sole representative visa holders can take up employment or enroll in study programs. They are also eligible to apply for an extension of their visas along with the main applicant.

Applicants who have been granted entry clearance to enter the UK to set up a branch, wholly owned subsidiary of the overseas business or as an employee of an overseas newspaper, news agency or broadcasting organization, may be granted indefinite leave to remain if they:

• Have spent a continuous period of five years in the UK as a representative of an overseas business and/or overseas media representative or sole representative (or any other permissible categories)
• Have met the requirements to be a representative of an overseas business throughout the five-year period.

The UKVI may carry out additional checks to ascertain their employment through end-of-year tax returns (P60s) and salary slips, in addition to inquiring about evidence of the work done by that branch/subsidiary, including that their employer is still actively trading and is centred overseas.

If you are considering applying for an indefinite leave to remain as a sole representative of an overseas business, you can book an appointment with our UK immigration consultants to ascertain your eligibility and to obtain a tailor-made list of documents supporting your settlement application.

You can contact us if you are seeking legal help from UK visa consultants in relation to an ILR application under a UK sole representative visa.

We understand that applying for an entrepreneur visa UK can be challenging given the vast amount of information available on the topic. However, you can take away the hassle by opting for a full representation service.