The UK as a nation is quite progressive. The UK has more than 8 million private businesses set-up and the number just keeps on growing. They enjoy the fact that they have a more than 15% population that are entrepreneurs. In this age and day when everyone wants a stable job and regular income this is quite a good number for them.
However, every nation today wants to be self-sufficient and hence needs more and more businesses to crop up in their backyard. Foreign businesses entering on their conditions and laws is a plus too. The UK is an important market for businesses especially now post-Brexit.
The UK from medieval times has been a vibrantly attractive economy for merchants and businessmen and even today it’s no different. The UK immigration laws cover everything from education, to jobs to businesses. So, if today you want to set-up a business in the UK, be it from scratch or if you are a foreign national and want to set-up a subsidiary, you will need different visas. There are two visa categories for this sole representative visa or a representative of an overseas business visa.
If you just want to visit for a simple business trip you can apply for a business visitor visa. You don’t have to apply for a representative of an overseas business visa for that.
You can apply for a representative of an overseas business visa if you are the sole person who is planning to set-up a complete subsidiary or business in the UK or are an employee of media agency who is posted in the UK for an assignment of longer duration than normally acceptable.
If the application of your visa is made from outside the UK, you can apply for the same 3 months before your travel date. The application results are often declared within 3 weeks of submitting the application. The process is completely online. However, it is advisable to consult with an immigration solicitor in the UK.
If you are already in the UK on any other visa category and make this application from within the UK then it can take up to 8 weeks for your results to come in. You can also be called in for an interview by the UKVI. All your documents will have to be verified carefully.
The visa is applicable for 3 years and can be extended for two more years depending on multiple factors. After 5 years in the UK, you can apply for permanent residency. This visa, however, comes with a certain set of do’s and don’ts. This visa restricts your workings in a way that you cannot have any other source of income other than working for your employer. You cannot directly apply for a switch to this category from any other visa category. You can however bring your family who is dependent on you. You cannot apply for any public funds.
The fees of the application is made from outside the country is £610 and if made from within the country it is £704 and an additional £19.40 for biometric processing. You also have to pay the annual healthcare surcharge with the application fee and then for every year thereafter, if approved.
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This is how you set-up your business in the UK by consulting an immigration solicitor in the UK and sending a representative on a representative of an overseas business visa. Your business representative should be of good character, a senior in the field and your firm. It means he/she should hold a senior rank. You cannot send two representatives together.
Hope this article helped!
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