Representative of an Overseas Business Visa

A Representative of an Overseas Business visa holder will be able to do the following:

• Work for your employer full time in the UK
• Bring your family members (also known as dependants) with you to the UK
• Apply to extend your visa
• Apply to permanently settle in the UK after you’ve been here for 5 years through indefinite leave to remain
• Switch to this visa from inside the UK

However, note that you will not be able to do the following:

• Work for yourself or for any other business other than your employer
• Claim public funds

A Representative of an Overseas Business visa will initially allow you to stay in the UK for 3 years.

After this time, you may then apply to extend your visa for another 2 years.

However, you must still comply with the conditions and eligibility criteria of the visa itself.

After you’ve been in the UK for a total of 5 years, you may apply for permanent settlement through indefinite leave to remain.

In order to apply for this visa, you must be an employee of an overseas newspaper, news agency or broadcasting organisation working on a mostly UK-based long-term assignment.

Your employer must also have its headquarters and principal place of business outside the UK.

In addition, you must also:

• Have enough money to support yourself without having to access public funds
• Meet the minimum English language requirement (if applicable)

Most applicants for this visa will be journalists. However, other employees may also apply, such as the following:

• Producers
• News cameramen
• Front-of-camera personnel

However, note that secretaries and other administrative support staff will not qualify for this visa and must apply under an alternative immigration route.

You may have to prove that you meet the minimum English language requirement when you apply for a Representative of an Overseas Business visa.

You may do this by either:

• Passing an approved English language test with at least CEFR level A1 in speaking and listening
• Having an academic qualification that was taught in English and is recognised by Ecctis as being equivalent to a UK bachelor’s degree, master’s degree or PhD

However, you will not have to prove your knowledge of English if you’re a national of one of the following countries:

You must apply for a Representative of an Overseas Business visa online through the Gov.uk website.

Here, you will fill in your personal details and details of your work and your employment.

Note that the earliest you can apply for this visa is 3 months before your date of travel.

As part of the application process, you will also have to attend a UK Visa and Citizenship Application Services (UKVCAS) service point in order to give your biometrics information in the form of your fingerprints and photograph.

You will also be asked to supply a range of supporting documents with your application. To do this, you may either:

• Upload them into the online service when you submit your application
• Have them scanned at your UKVCAS appointment

Note that you must not travel to the UK until you’ve received a decision on your application, otherwise it may be withdrawn.

You will need to provide the following documents with your application:

• A current passport or other valid travel identification
  • You will need to ensure that you have a blank page in your passport where the visa will be placed
• Evidence that you can support yourself and any dependants during your stay in the UK, such as bank statements or payslips for the last 6 months
• Proof that you meet the English requirement
• Confirmation that you will be representing your employer in the UK in a long term, full-time role
• Details of where you’ll be staying in the UK during your stay
• Your tuberculosis test results, if you’re from a country where you have to take the test

Note that this is not an exhaustive list. You may be asked to provide additional documents that are not listed here, depending on your circumstances.

You will have to provide a certified translation of any document that is not in either English or Welsh.

You should normally get a decision on your visa within 3 weeks when applying from outside the UK.

If applying from inside the UK, you will normally get a decision within 8 weeks.

Note that your application may take longer if UK Visas and Immigration (UKVI) need to contact you about your application, such as if:

• Your supporting documents need to be verified
• You need to attend an interview
• Your personal circumstances need to be discussed, such as if you have a criminal conviction

In certain circumstances, you may be eligible to pay to receive a faster decision on your visa application through UKVI’s priority processing service. However, note that this service may not be available in your country.

The Representative of an Overseas Business visa cost is £719 when applying from outside of the UK.

If you’re applying from inside the UK, such as if you’re extending your visa or switching to this visa from another one, it will cost £625.

Note that the same costs all also apply when you extend your existing visa.

You must also pay the immigration healthcare surcharge as part of your application, which is £624 for every year you’ll be in the UK.

If you’re a Representative of an Overseas Business visa holder and you wish to extend your visa, you must apply online through the Gov.uk site.

If your partner and children are with you in the UK as your dependents, they may also apply with you at the same time to extend their visa, or anytime before their visas expire.

In order to extend your visa, you must already be in the UK as either:

• A representative of an overseas business
• An employee of an overseas newspaper, news agency or broadcasting organisation

Additionally, both of the following must apply:

• You’re still working for the same employer as when you were issued your previous visa
• Your employer’s principal place of business is still outside the UK

If you’re a sole representative, you must also still be supervising the UK branch or subsidiary that you established for the overseas business.

Your visa can be extended for another 2 years after your initial period of permission is granted. If your previous Representative of an Overseas Business visa was issued before 1 October 2009, you may be able to get an extension lasting 3 years.

Sole Representatives

When extending your visa as a sole representative, you must provide the following:

• A full description of the UK business’s activities, including accounts, copies of invoices or letters from UK organisations you’ve worked with
• A Companies House certificate of registration as a UK establishment (for a branch) or a certificate of incorporation (for a subsidiary)
• Evidence that the UK business is wholly owned by the overseas business
• A letter from your employer confirming you’re continuing work in the same role
• Your salary details

Newspaper, News Agency or Broadcast Employees

When extending your visa as a newspaper, news agency or broadcast employee, you must provide the following:

• A letter from your employer confirming you’re continuing work in the same role
• Your salary details

You will be able to bring your family members (otherwise known as dependents) with you to the UK with a Representative of an Overseas Business visa.

Dependents include the following:

• Your husband, wife or partner
• Your child under 18

Note that if you’re a sole representative, your husband, wife or partner cannot be in the UK as your dependent if they own or control a majority of the overseas business you will be representing.

Your family members must apply for their own visa online through the Gov.uk website.

They may also have to attend a UK Visa and Citizenship Application Services (UKVCAS) service point in order to give their biometrics information in the form of their fingerprints and photograph.

Your family members can also apply to or switch their visas to stay with you if they’re already in the UK.

They can either apply at the same time as you, or anytime before their current visa expires.

If you’re already in the UK on another visa, you may be able to apply to switch to a Representative of an Overseas Business visa instead.

In order to do so, you must be an employee of an overseas media organisation working on a long-term assignment in the UK.

However, you cannot switch to this visa if you’re currently in the UK on one of the following:

• A visit visa
• A short-term student visa
• A Parent of a Child Student visa
• A seasonal worker visa
• A domestic worker in a private household visa
• Immigration bail
• Permission to stay outside the immigration rules, such as on compassionate grounds

If any of the above apply to you, you must first leave the UK and apply for a Representative of an Overseas Business visa from outside the UK.

Additionally, if you plan to switch to this visa from a Student visa, one of the following must apply to you:

• The start date of your job is after the completion date of your course
• You’ve been studying for a PhD for at least 24 months

In order to switch to this visa, you must apply online through the Gov.uk website.

Note that you must apply to switch before your current visa expires.

You will normally receive a decision on your application within 8 weeks when applying to switch to a Representative of an Overseas Business visa.