Business Visa UK

The UK is a hotspot for doing business and lures people with all kinds of business ideas. A huge number of people wish to travel to the UK for setting up business and investment purposes. Hence the UK has a number of business visas depending on the purpose of the business person's visit. Any individual who wishes to enter the UK is normally given a standard visa with a validity of 6 months or a multiple entry visa extending for two, five or ten years. However, based on your requirement, there are a number of visas you can apply for depending on the purpose of your business visit.

Who can apply for a business visa in UK?

The following persons can apply:

• Those who are attending conference, meeting or training in the UK.
• Artist, entertainer or musician’s, who are willing to perform in the UK.
• Take part in a sports-related events.
• An academic research or accompanying students for a study abroad program.
• A doctor or dentist coming to the UK for a clinical purpose.
• Persons seeking to enter or remain in the United Kingdom for employment
• You wish to take the Professional and Linguistic Assessment Board (PLAB) test or sit the Objective Structured Clinical Examination (OSCE).
• Film crews on-location shoot only.
• To raise funds for start-up, take over, join or run a business in the UK.
• International news media representatives.
• Workers who are taking on some preaching or pastoral work.

When you arrive in the UK on a standard visitor visa for a business you cannot do the following:-

• Do any paid or unpaid work.
• Make frequent visits and live in the UK for a long time.
• Get public funds.
• Marry or register any civil partnership.

Due to varying interests by a number of businesspeople to the UK, following are the different types of business visas that are available to apply by business persons to work(as per the UK government regulations different visas have restrictions which are to be followed) in the UK.

• Standard visitor visa
• Innovator visa
• Exceptional Talent visa (Tier 1)
• Start-up visa
• Investor visa (Tier 1)
• Representative of an Overseas Business visa
• Turkish Businessperson visa

UK Standard Visitor Visa

As mentioned earlier, those who wish to travel for a short while to the UK for business-related purposes. Under this visa, you can do a host of activities like attending conferences, seminars, sign deals, and contracts, collect funds, carry out site visits, gather information for their employers overseas and a lot more of business-related activities.

Learn more before you apply for this visa.

UK Innovator Visa

The Innovator visa is for those who wish to set up and run a business in the UK and are from outside the EEA and Switzerland. Your business area should be new, innovative and it should be endorsed by an approved body. For this visa, you need £50,000 in investment funds if you wish to set up a new business. There are other eligibility criteria as well, like proving the necessary means of subsistence and being over 18 years of age.

Duration of stay in UK for Innovator visa

You can stay in the UK for up to three years and then apply for an extension of 3 years before its expiration. After five years with the Innovator visa, you can apply for settlement in the UK.

Tier 1 Entrepreneur Visa

As per the latest updates, you can no longer apply for a Tier 1 (Entrepreneur) visa. Those who wish to run a business in the UK should henceforth apply for an Innovator visa or a Start-up visa. However, those already on a Tier 1 (Entrepreneur) visa can apply the following

• Indefinite leave to remain
• Extension of the visa
• Joining of family members

You can apply for ILR if you currently have a Tier 1 (Entrepreneur) visa. You should have also been living in the UK for a period of 5 years or 3 years if you have created 10 full- time jobs or generated £5 million income. You should also pass the Life in the UK test. You could also have invested at least £200,000 or £50,000 in businesses in the UK

You can extend your visa under the following conditions:

• If you had registered as a director or as a self-employed within 6 months after the commencement of your stay in the UK under an Entrepreneur visa
• If you provide proof of self-employment, a member in a partnership or as director of a business 3 months before your applicate date
• If you have created 2 full time jobs in the last one year or have invested at least £50,000 in cash in businesses. You can also apply for any dependents who are in your current visa for extension.

UK Start-Up Visa

You can apply for a Start-up visa for setting up a business and are from outside the EEA & Switzerland. In order to get a Start-up visa approval, you should be endorsed by an authorized body which could either be a UK higher education institution or a business organization with a history of supporting UK entrepreneurs.

Duration of stay in UK for Start-up visa

You can apply for a Start-up visa for 2 years and it cannot be extended. You can also bring your family members on this visa and work in another job.

UK Exceptional Talent visa

You can apply for this if you are an emerging leader or an internationally recognized person (exceptional talent). You will need an application sent over to the Home Office for endorsement as a leader or an emerging leader and then apply for your visa.

You can stay in the UK for 5 years and 4 months if you apply from outside the UK and for 5 years if you apply inside the UK. You can further extend it for 5 years.

UK Investor visa

Anyone who is interested in investing £2,000,000 or more in the UK with access to the amount in investment funds can apply for this visa. Like the above UK business visas, they should be a non-EEA and non-Swiss citizen.

Duration of stay in UK for Investor visa (Tier 1)

You can remain here for up to 3 years and 4 months. It can also be extended by another 2 years.

Representative of an Overseas Business UK visa

This is sanctioned under the following criteria:-

• You are the sole representative of an overseas company planning to set up a branch in the UK or as part of a wholly-owned subsidiary for an overseas parent company.
• You are an employee of an overseas newspaper, news agency or a broadcasting organization, with the responsibility of a long-term assignment in the UK.
• Duration of stay in UK for Representative of an Overseas Business visa -With this visa, you can go to the UK for an initial period of 3 years and can apply an extension for another 2 years.

UK Turkish Businessperson visa

Turkish nationals who can help run an established business in the UK can apply for this visa and the duration of stay for Turkish Businessperson visa is for 12 months. The applicant can then extend it for another three years.

For all the above, you can make use of the UK business visa application online and get your visas in the shortest time possible.