How do I come to the United Kingdom as a sole representative of an overseas firm?

This page explains how you can come to the United Kingdom as a sole representative of an overseas firm without a work permit.

If you are outside the United Kingdom you will need entry clearance before entering the United Kingdom and you should see the visa services website. Permission to enter the United Kingdom under the sole representative of an overseas firm scheme will normally be granted for an initial period of two years. You will then be able to apply for an extension of stay for up to another three years. For further information on this see the further leave to remain pages.

To come to the United Kingdom as a sole representative of an overseas firm without a work permit you should:

• be coming to the United Kingdom to act as a sole representative to establish a wholly owned subsidiary or register a branch in the United Kingdom for an overseas parent company. The company must have no branch, subsidiary or other representative in the United Kingdom. If the firm has a legal entity in the United Kingdom, but this does not employ staff or transact business, then you may be able to enter the United Kingdom as their sole representative; and
• if the previous representative leaves at an early stage before the United Kingdom company has found premises or started to trade, it may be possible for a successor to be allowed to come to the United Kingdom as a sole representative without having to apply for a work permit.

To apply to come to the United Kingdom as a sole representative of an overseas firm you will need to provide the following:

• a full description of the parent company's activities, including details of assets and accounts; and,
• your own job description, contract of employment and salary details.

You also need to show evidence that:

• you are directly employed by the parent company and not acting as an agent marketing the company's goods;
• you have been employed by the parent company for some time and hold a senior post;
• you are a senior employee of the parent company with full authority to take operational decisions on behalf of the overseas firm without reference to the parent company;
• you were recruited to the company outside the United Kingdom and intend to work full time as a representative of that firm in this country;
• you are not a majority shareholder in the parent/overseas company;
• you do not intend to carry out any other work whilst in the United Kingdom ; and,
• you can maintain yourself and any dependants without recourse to public funds.

You should be establishing a commercial presence for the company in the United Kingdom in the form of a registered branch or a wholly owned subsidiary. You are expected to work full-time for one firm. You may not do business of your own or represent any other company's interests.

You must be able to demonstrate a very good track record in the same or closely related field of work, to show why you have been appointed.

If the company's circumstances change and you have been in the United Kingdom for two or more years, you may continue to stay here as a sole representative even if your company appoints a superior. You may also eventually qualify for indefinite leave to remain (settlement) as long as you continue to fill a genuine vacancy and the company wishes to retain your services. For further information on extending your leave, you should see the section on settlement.

If more than one individual is required to enter the United Kingdom on behalf of the same company, it may be possible for the admitted sole representative, after arrival, to apply for a work permit for another senior or skilled employee to also enter. See applying page.

Where either party terminates a sole representative arrangement, a replacement will normally have to apply for a work permit. Such applications can either be made by the outgoing representative or by a solicitor on behalf of the company. For further information on using a representative you should see the section on using a representative.