The UK Expansion Worker sponsorship allows eligible businesses to sponsor senior managers or specialist workers who are being assigned to the UK for a temporary period to undertake work related to the business’s expansion to the UK. 

The UK Expansion Worker route enables up to five (at any one time) senior managers or specialist employees of an established overseas business to set up a UK branch or wholly owned UK subsidiary. Unlike the predecessor Representative of an Overseas Business route for sole representatives, a sponsor licence is required.

The overseas business is not already active and trading in the UK. If a UK trading presence has already been set up, then the UK Expansion Worker route will not be appropriate. The Senior or Specialist Worker and/or Skilled Worker routes should be considered instead.

The requirement to apply for the UK Expansion Worker Sponsorship

“Footprint”

When applying for a UK Expansion Worker sponsor licence, the business will need to satisfy the Home Office that they have a UK ‘footprint’. The business can show this through either:

• proof of UK business premises; or 
• proof that the UK business is registered with Companies House as either an overseas company branch or a new company that is a subsidiary of the overseas linked business.

If the business does not have a UK footprint then the application for a UK Expansion Worker sponsor licence will be refused.

Overseas Trading Presence

The overseas business that is expanding to the UK must normally have been active and trading overseas for a minimum of 3 years before the date of application and they will need to provide evidence that the overseas business has been trading throughout the 12-month period immediately preceding your sponsor licence application. 

Credible Expansion Business Plan

The business needs to satisfy the Home Office that they genuinely intend, and are able, to expand to the UK and establish a UK trading presence within two years. They also need to show that they have funds available to cover the initial costs for the first 12 months, as projected in their expansion plan.

Prepare the sponsorship application

Once the business will be able to meet the sponsorship requirements of the UK Expansion Worker route, they should appoint an Authorising Officer to manage your sponsorship licence, a Key Contact to act as the main contact between the business and the Home Office, and nominate at least one Level 1 User to carry out day-to-day sponsorship activities. These key personnel will need to be in place when you apply for your UK Expansion Worker sponsor licence.

Determine UK HR Systems and Policies

Sponsor licence holders must fulfill certain compliance duties, recordkeeping duties, and reporting duties. The UK business must put in place HR policies that cover the sponsor licence duties and be prepared to comment and/or show them to the Home Office.

Complete and submit the application

The form for the sponsor licence application is an online form, which must be submitted by the AO. The supporting documents for the application must then be submitted to the Home Office within five working days.

Sponsor licence applications are currently taking two to three months on average to consider. Processing can take longer if there is higher than usual demand, additional queries are raised or a pre-licence visit is considered appropriate.

Period of Grant 

If the sponsor licence is granted on the UK Expansion Worker route, the licence will be given either an ‘A’ or a ‘Provisional’ rating. 

A ‘Provisional’ rating is awarded if the Authorising Officer (and Level 1 User) is an employee of the overseas business. The UK business will be given a CoS allocation of 1 initially, and a Provisional licence rating. The Authorising Officer must assign the CoS to themselves to make an application for entry clearance to the UK. Once they are legally resident in the UK and the business has obtained an A-rating for its sponsor licence, the Authorising Officer will be able to appoint different people to these roles and ask to increase the CoS allocation, up to a maximum of 4.

A UK Expansion Worker licence is granted for four years and cannot be renewed. The expectation is that the UK business should normally be set up within two years.

However, once they have established a UK trading presence, they will be able to apply to add other routes to sponsor licence (for example, Skilled Worker or Senior or Specialist Worker). The sponsored workers can then apply to switch to these routes if they meet the relevant requirements. 

Applying for a UK Expansion Worker visa

Once the sponsorship is approved, the expansion worker entering the UK can issue a CoS and apply for a visa. It is important to be aware that this should satisfy various eligibility requirements set out in UK immigration rules.

One important condition to note is that the UK expansion worker must have accumulated at least 12 months of working with a linked overseas business unless they are high earners earning more than £73,900 per year.

If you need an assessment of your prospects for successfully applying for a sponsor license, if you need advice on company-related documents to support a sponsor license, or if you need assistance drafting related documents, please contact us at 020 3865 6219 or leave a message.