The End for Sole Representative Visas in the UK

A foreign business owner who’s looking to set up or expand their business in the UK sends a sole representative of their overseas company to the UK. The visa category for this sole representative is called Representative of Overseas Business visa.

After 4^th June 2020, new Immigration Rules were put into effect by the Home Office. To help you get a Sole Representative visa for your business, we’ve put together all the information you need to know before you apply.

Who can be a Sole Representative?

When selecting a Sole Representative for your business, you need to make sure your foreign company currently employs them in a senior position. The Sole representative cannot be a major stakeholder, but you must grant them the right to take major vital decisions for your UK business branch.

The person you send on your company’s behalf must have vast experience and knowledge in your industry or field of business. To acquire a visa in this category, they must also fulfil other requirements, such as English Language proficiency, evidence in the form of documents detailing the company’s activities, and a future business plan.

A genuine assessment

All applications for the Sole representative visa category need to pass a genuine assessment whereby the Home Office will subjectively evaluate the applicant’s intentions to follow the rules genuinely.

These rules restrict an applicant from setting up a branch of the company if they intend to facilitate their entry and stay in the UK. The applicant will also be assessed to see if they have the relevant knowledge of the field in which they intend to set up their business. The applicant needs to provide evidence of their skills and experience in the industry to the Home Office.

Before these changes took place, partners of majority shareholders in the company could apply for the Sole representative visa, but this is now prohibited.

A business assessment

The relevant authorities previously assessed your business. The Home Office would only evaluate the final application after your business had received the endorsement from these bodies.

This rule is now changed. The home office now has the right to ask for more details and evidence from the applicant and the endorsing bodies. The Home Office has the power to decide whether to grant or refuse a visa request. This means the Home Office is now given the ability to assess applicants subjectively.

In the past, similar changes have led to the refusal rates of the now-closed Entrepreneur visa or Tier 1 visa increasing by 50%. Many immigration solicitors believe the same trend will be seen with Sole representative visas as well.

In the wake of these changes, if you’re planning to expand your business to the UK, it is recommended to seek help from professional immigration lawyers in the UK. Wembley Solicitors are specialized immigration lawyers based in Wembley who can help you maximize your chances of getting a Sole Representative visa.

We deal with all immigration type visas including work types visas and if you are looking to settle in the UK. Our highly trained team of the best immigration lawyers in the UK can also help you solve legal issues which arise in case of director and shareholder disputes, partnership issues or problems in the sale of goods and supply of services.

Contact us at +442034173700 and let professionals handle your legal worries.