Business and Points Based Immigration

The business visitor category is for people who want to come and do business in the UK for a short time. This includes academic visitors, visiting professors, overseas news media representatives and film crews on location

Entrepreneurs can apply to enter or stay in the UK without needing a job offer. However, you will need to pass a points based assessment test.

This category is for Non-European migrants who want to invest in the UK by setting up or taking over, and being actively involved in the running of a business or businesses in the UK. Should your entry clearance application be successful, you would be granted 3 years and four months entry. Should your application for leave to remain in this category be successful and you previously did not hold leave in this category, you would be granted 3 years leave to remain. Should you already have had leave in this capacity then the subsequent grant would be for 2 years.

Should you be granted entry, you would be subject to no recourse to public funds, registration with the police if required and no employment other than for the business or businesses you have joined, established or taken over.
Under the points based system an Entrepreneur must score 75 points under Attributes, 10 points for English Language and 10 points for maintenance (funds).

In order to score 75 points for attributes, you are required to:

• Demonstrate you have access to not less than £200,000, or you have access to not less than £50,000 from a capital firm regulated by the Financial Services Authority (25 points),
• The money is held in a regulated financial institution (25 points) and the money is disposable in the UK (25 points).
• In order to score 10 points for English Language, you are required to demonstrate you can speak English to the required standard.
• Finally, with reference to funds, you are required to demonstrate you have a certain amount of funds to support yourself in the UK (10 points)

 

In order to succeed in an extension application you will be required to demonstrate you have invested the requisite funds. You will need to register with HM Revenue and Customs as self employed or register the business in which you are a Director or register as a Director of an existing Company

The Investor category is for high net-worth individuals who want to make a substantial financial investment in the UK.

You do not need a job offer to apply under this category. The UK Border Agency will assess your application based on your ability to invest £1,000,000 in the UK.

Should your application in this capacity be successful, you would be granted 3 years and four months. Should you succeed in a leave to remain application, leave would be granted for 3 years. Should you apply for leave where you previously had leave as an investor, you would be granted 2 years leave to remain.

Should you be granted entry, you would be subject to no recourse to public funds and registration with the police if required. In order to succeed, 75 points will need to be scored for attributes, however there is no need to meet the English language requirement. There is no separate requirement for maintenance (funds) either.

If you are a national of a Non- EEA country, you will need to apply under Tier 2 of the points based system.

You must have a job offer from a licensed sponsor and a valid certificate of sponsorship. You must also pass a points based assessment.

Sponsorship Licences

If you want to employ a migrant worker, you must be their sponsor during their stay in the UK and before you can sponsor a migrant you must obtain a sponsor licence.
Before you apply for a licence, you should check whether you are eligible to be a sponsor, and ensure you have the right Human Resources systems in place to comply with your sponsorship duties. The sponsor must be an employer in the UK.

There are heavy penalties for employing migrants who are not entitled to work in the UK or for your Company. As an employer you must ensure that you employ only legitimate workers. Unless an employer checks that ALL prospective employees have the right to work in the UK, it risks breaking the law and could receive a substantial fine.

The UK Border Agency introduced a civil penalty system for employers in February 2008. This is allowed under section 15 of the Immigration, Asylum and Nationality Act 2006.

If the UK Border Agency carrying out enforcement and compliance visits find that an employer is using illegal migrant workers, they will issue the employer with a notification of potential liability (NOPL). The UK Border Agency civil penalty compliance team will then consider evidence provided by the visiting officer or team, and will decide whether to issue the employer with a notification of liability (NOL) and a civil penalty of up to £10,000 for each illegal worker.

If the UK Border Agency impose an NOL and civil penalty against an employer found to be using illegal migrant workers, the employer must within 28 days:

• Pay the civil penalty in full; or
• Ask the civil penalty compliance team for permission to pay the civil penalty in monthly installments; or
• Submit an objection to the civil penalty compliance team against the service of the civil penalty; or
• Lodge an appeal against the service of the civil penalty to the County Court (in England, Wales and Northern Ireland) or the Sheriff Court (in Scotland).

 

The size of a civil penalty depends on the type of eligibility checks that the employer has made on its workers, the number of times when the UK Border Agency have issued a warning or imposed a civil penalty, and the extent to which the employer has cooperated with the UK Border Agency. Contact our office for more information.

The civil penalty scheme sits alongside the criminal offence of knowingly employing an illegal migrant worker (section 21 of the Immigration, Asylum and Nationality Act 2006). This offence will be used in more serious cases where rogue employers knowingly and deliberately use illegal migrant workers, often for personal financial gain. It will carry a maximum custodial sentence of two years, and/or an unlimited fine.

As an employer, your responsibilities only increase once you have secured your license. Employers have a duty to check that all new employees are entitled to work in the UK. This check gives them a defence against conviction.

Contact us to book a consultation to discuss applying for a Sponsor Licence.

This tier is for full time students studying at an approved institution in the UK. Applications made under this tier will need to be supported by the educational institution through a “Confirmation of Acceptance of Studies”, which will replace the Certificate of Sponsorship under this tier. Applications are made by students who wish to gain entry into the UK to study.