Business owners planning to expand their companies abroad normally transfer their trusted, experienced employees. This move requires more than strategy. Business owners need skilled professional employees on-site to ensure the successful replication of their company culture. They also help to maintain quality standards and accelerate knowledge transfer to local hires.
For many companies, transferring experienced employees is crucial to ensuring operational continuity, gaining deep local market insight and maintaining compliance with UK business standards. This is where the UK Secondment Worker visa becomes really important for businesses looking to transfer staff to work for a UK-based company.
As a business owner, if you want to transfer your staff to the UK for official projects through the Secondment Worker visa, you must understand how the visa works. This article explains the requirements business owners need to know when transferring skilled employees through the Secondment Worker visa.
What Is a Secondment Worker Visa
The Secondment Worker visa is a subcategory of the Global Business Mobility routes. It allows an overseas company to temporarily transfer an experienced worker to the UK. You need to realize that the Secondment Worker visa is not a typical UK work visa; it is tied to a specific business arrangement.
The experienced employee you’re transferring to a UK-based organization is still contractually bound to you. As such, you will continue to pay your employee even though they are transferring to work temporarily for a UK company. The employee can bring their dependent partner and children to the UK under the Secondment Worker visa. For this to be possible, dependents must meet specific eligibility criteria.
The transfer must be supported by a high-value contract or investment involving a UK-based business valued at £50 million or more. When your experienced employee obtains this visa for the first time, they will be allowed to stay in the UK for 1 year. After that, they can apply to extend it for another 1 year before it expires, bringing the total duration to 2 years.
The employee holding the Secondment Worker visa will not be allowed to live in the UK permanently with the visa. However, the experienced employee may be eligible to apply for another visa type before the current visa’s expiry date, provided they meet its conditions. UK visas that lead to settlement, which applicants can switch to, include the Skilled Worker visa, Global Talent visa, and Innovator Founder visa.
Requirements for Transfers with the Secondment Worker Visa
As a business owner, you should be aware of the specific requirements for transferring your employees under the Secondment Worker visa. They include:
Have Eligible Contracts
The UK-based company must have a valid contract with your business. This contract must be for investment purposes, goods, or services, and generate at least £10 million per year. It must have a total value of at least £50 million in 5 years. This financial threshold ensures that only significant business activities are eligible for this immigration route.
Sponsorship License
The UK organization that receives your experienced staff must hold a valid Home Office-assigned sponsorship license. The sponsor licence must be A-rated, demonstrating full compliance with UK immigration rules. Without a sponsorship license, the UK business cannot legitimately sponsor the skilled worker.
Certificate of Sponsorship
The UK organisation must assign a Certificate of Sponsorship (CoS) to the experienced employee you’re transferring to them. The organization can assign the CoS only after obtaining a sponsor license from the Home Office.
A CoS is an electronic document that specifies the details about the employee’s role, job location, salary, duration of the secondment, and personal information. The CoS confirms that the job is legitimate; with this CoS, the employee cannot proceed with the Secondment Worker visa application.
Employee Eligibility
Your employee must also meet certain conditions to be eligible for the Secondment Worker visa. These conditions ensure that only competent employees are transferred to a UK organization. As such, the employee must meet conditions related to employment history, skill level, and salary.
The role must be a skilled position that requires specific expertise or professional experience. The employee’s salary must always comply with the UK National Minimum Wage laws. To avoid denial or refusal of the visa application, the employee must meet all the conditions.
Overseas Employment
The employee must have worked for your company for at least 12 months before the transfer. This requirement helps to demonstrate that the employee has been genuinely working for your company. Additionally, it proves that the secondment is not a temporary hiring arrangement created for immigration purposes.
Documents for UK Secondment Worker Visa
To apply for a UK Secondment Worker visa, applicants must provide several documents, including:
- A valid passport or travel document.
- Certificate of sponsorship issued by the UK-based organization.
- An official signed letter outlining the employee’s employment history.
- Corporate or official tax records demonstrating the employee’s continuous employment. The employee may also provide printed payslips for the last 12 months as proof of employment.
- Bank statements showing at least £1,270 in the employee’s account for a consecutive 28 days within 31 days before applying for the Secondment Worker visa. Alternatively, if the UK organization wishes to cover the cost, it can confirm that it will accommodate and support the employee for up to £1,270 during their first month in the UK. In this situation, the employee would not need to provide bank statements.
- Evidence of relationships, such as birth and marriage certificates, if you are coming with your dependent partner and child(ren).
- A Tuberculosis (TB) test certificate is required if the applicant is applying from a country where the Home Office requires TB screening.
Conclusion
The UK Secondment Worker visa is an ideal solution for companies managing extensive international ventures. It enables the quick and legal transfer of reliable workers to the UK. This ensures efficiency, effectiveness, and smoother operations.
However, understanding how the Secondment Worker visa works is crucial for businesses. They must obtain a UK sponsor license and provide the overseas-based skilled employee with the necessary documents to comply with UK immigration rules.
As such, adequate preparation ensures that applicants gather all the necessary documents, enabling submission of a comprehensive application that meets Home Office standards. Additionally, it helps avoid unnecessary delays and refusals that could otherwise waste time and resources.
