Can I work on a visitor visa?

The visitor visa route is designed for those who want to visit the UK for a temporary period for up to 6 months for purposes such as tourism, visiting friends or family, carrying out a business activity or undertaking a short course of study.

The rules applicable under the visit visa route apply to those who enter the UK on visitor visas as well as those non-visa nationals who enter the UK as visitors (e.g. US nationals).

Those who hold UK visitor visas are generally not allowed to work in the UK, except in very limited capacities. This policy is designed to prevent people from trying to circumvent the conventional UK work visa routes by way of the visitor visa. The Home Office has a very broad definition in terms of what counts as work (i.e. prohibited for visitors) and this could range from employment in the UK in the conventional sense to many other self-employment activities, and even extends to internships.

The risks for those being caught in contravention of the work prohibition are very grave, including the commission of a criminal offence and being banned for the UK. If in doubt, please contact us at the earliest.

There are certain cases where visitors may carry out work-related activities, and in this blog we give a summary of the most common exceptions to the above general rule.  The below is not intended to cover all scenarios, just ones which we encounter most often:

Volunteering

Visitors may volunteer in the UK so long as the volunteering lasts no more than 30 days in total and it’s for a charity registered with the appropriate authority in the UK.

General Business Activities

Visitors may attend conferences, meetings, seminars, interviews negotiate and sign contracts, attend trade fairs (so long as the visitor is not directly selling), carry out site visits and inspection, gather information for their employment overseas, or be briefed on the requirements for a UK based customer, provided any work for the customer is done outside the UK.

Intra-corporate Activities

Visitors employed by an overseas company may come to the UK to carry out certain tasks on a specific internal project with UK employees of the same corporate group, provided that no work is carried out directly with clients.

In addition to the above, there are further exceptions applicable to those coming to the UK to repair/install equipment, export companies, translators, personal assistants/bodyguards, journalists, researchers, and so forth. This blog will not dive deeper into the specific rules applicable in those situations. If in doubt, please contact us for advice.

How Gherson can assist

Gherson has seasoned expertise in helping clients apply for visitor visas and advising clients on how to stay compliant within the visitor rules. If you have any questions arising from this blog, please do not hesitate to contact us for advice, send us an e-mail, or, alternatively, follow us on Twitter, Facebook, or LinkedIn to stay-up-to-date.

The information in this blog is for general information purposes only and does not purport to be comprehensive or to provide legal advice. Whilst every effort is made to ensure the information and law is current as of the date of publication it should be stressed that, due to the passage of time, this does not necessarily reflect the present legal position. Gherson accepts no responsibility for loss which may arise from accessing or reliance on information contained in this blog. For formal advice on the current law please do not hesitate to contact Gherson. Legal advice is only provided pursuant to a written agreement, identified as such, and signed by the client and by or on behalf of Gherson.

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