UK business expansion: immigration routes and costs for opening a branch

Expanding your company to the UK? We offer comprehensive project consultation, covering sponsor licences, visa routes and relocation support for businesses and employees.

The UK Expansion Worker visa

For overseas businesses looking to expand into the UK, the UK Expansion Worker visa may be a suitable option. It is important to note that this visa falls under the Global Business Mobility visa route – which means that it does not lead to settlement, and, therefore, any time spent in the UK on an Expansion Worker visa does not count towards a worker’s Indefinite Leave to Remain (ILR) clock.

This visa route is only open to companies that are not yet trading in the UK. They must also have:

• A valid sponsor licence.
• A valid Certificate of Sponsorship assigned to the employee.

Sponsor licence

The Expansion Worker licence is intended to allow overseas companies to open a branch or wholly owned subsidiary in the UK and sponsor a senior or specialist worker’s visa for the purpose of establishing its UK presence.

Expansion Worker sponsor licences are usually document-heavy applications and should take approximately 8 weeks for the Home Office to decide. You will need to provide a business proposal to the Home Office to show that the business is viable and that sufficient funding is available to finance the planned expansion into the UK.

To be eligible for the UK Expansion Worker visa, you, as the proposed sponsored worker, must meet the following requirements:

• Your job must be on the eligible occupations list (sufficiently skilled to level RQF6, a role typically requiring a Bachelor’s degree).
• You must have a minimum annual salary of £52,500, or the ‘going rate’ for your job (whichever is higher).
• You must have already worked for your employer, outside the UK, for at least 12 months.

If you have not worked for your employer for at least a year, you may still be eligible if you are:

• Earning over £73,900 per year.
• A Japanese national working for a Japanese company.
• An Australian national or permanent resident, working for an Australian company.

How long can you stay?

You can apply for the Expansion Worker visa from outside the UK, or within the UK by switching visas.

Generally, an Expansion Worker visa will be granted for the shorter duration of either 12 months after the work start date, as stated on the CoS, or for the whole duration of the CoS plus 14 days. Workers may be eligible to extend their visas, spending up to two years in the UK on this route. However, if you have previously stayed in the UK on a different Global Business Mobility visa, or an Intra Company visa, your Expansion Worker visa validity may be shorter, as individuals are only permitted to spend five years in any six-year period on these visas.

What can and can’t you do on the Expansion Worker visa?

A worker on this visa can:

• Work in the role as specified on their CoS.
• Travel abroad.
• Take part in voluntary work (e.g. unpaid charity work).
• Bring dependants.

A worker on this visa cannot:

• Apply for most benefits.
• Have a second job.

As this visa is tied to the specifics on the CoS, if the worker’s job changes to a different occupation code, they will be required to update their visa and get a new CoS.

Dependants, like the main applicant, cannot claim access to public funds. They can, however:

• Work (except as a sportsperson or coach).
• Study.
• Travel.

The application process, costs and time frames

You are able to apply for this visa from up to three months before your work start date as stated on your CoS.

When applying, applicants will be subject to the following fees:

• Application fee: £319.
• Immigration Health Surcharge (IHS): £1,035 per year of the visa.

On top of the application fee and the IHS, applicants will have to prove that they are able to support themselves financially. In order to evidence this, applicants must hold £1,270 in their account every day for a 28-day period, with the final date being within 31 days of submitting their visa application.

If the applicant is bringing dependants to the UK, they will each have to pay an application fee and the IHS charge (£776 per year for dependants under the age of 18). The applicant must also prove that they can support their dependants in the UK. To do this, it will be necessary to show an additional £285 for a partner, £315 for a first child, and £200 for each additional child held in an account for 28 days.

Once submitted, applicants from within the UK can expect to receive a decision within eight weeks, whilst applicants from outside the UK can expect a response within three weeks. Priority services may be available for an additional fee to reduce the processing time to five working days or two working days.

How Gherson can assist

Gherson’s Immigration Team are highly experienced in advising on all UK visa matters. 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 X, Facebook, Instagram, 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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