UK Business Visa – Immigration Lawyers

The UK business visitor visa allows foreign nationals from non-EEA countries to travel to the UK to perform certain business activities. There are a range of business visas available for UK travel, but the business visitor visa specifically falls under the standard visitor visa category. This means that you are allowed to travel to the UK for a short-term stay, usually for a period of no longer than six months, for a specific range of business-related activities. Our business immigration experts are on hand to provide advice on applying for a business visa to the UK.

An applicant who wishes to apply for a business visa must show the following:

• They will leave the UK at the end of their visit.
• They have enough money without recourse to public funds to support and accommodate themselves
• They can pay for their return or onward journey
• Proof of any business activities they want to undertake in the UK
• Be aged 18 or over
• Be visiting the UK for no more than 1 month
• Will leave the UK at the end of their visit
• Have enough money to support and accommodate themselves in the UK without recourse to public funds
• Be able to pay for their return or onward journey
• Not be in transit to a country outside the UK

As an individual in the UK on a business visitor you are allowed to:

• Attend meetings, conferences, seminars or interviews
• Give one-off or short series of talks, provided these are not organised as commercial events and will not make a profit for the organiser
• Negotiate, sign deals and contract
• Attend trade fairs for promotional work only, provided there is no direct selling
• Carry out site visits and inspection
• Gather information for employment overseas
• Be briefed on the requirements of a UK based customer, provided any work for the customer is done outside the UK

If the applicant is an employee of an overseas-based company, they may also undertake the following corporate or intra-corporate activities:

• Advise, consult, trouble-shoot or provide training
• Share skills and knowledge on a specific internal project with UK employees of the same corporate group, provided that no work is carried out directly with clients
• Carry out regulatory or financial audits as an internal auditor at a UK branch of the same group of companies of the overseas employer.

Successful applicant cannot:

• Take employment in the UK
• Do work for an organisation or business in the UK
• Do a work placement or internship
• Directly sell to the public
• Provide goods or services

Business visitor visa’s can be applied for 3 months before the applicant intends to arrive in the UK. The Home Office aim to make a decision on applications within 3 weeks.

There is a range of different work and business visas available to non-EEA nationals, so it’s important to be clear on whether the visa application you’re submitting will allow you to perform the business activities that you’re traveling to the UK for. For instance, the Skilled Worker Visa allows you to come to the UK for paid work and an innovator visa allows you to set up an innovative business in the UK. To find out how we can help with your Business Visa to the UK application, contact our office or request a call back here.