Your business can send its employees abroad by using the Secondment Worker visa, allowing them to conduct contract work on your behalf. That can introduce a new revenue stream for your company while allowing the worker to gain valuable experience.
Discover the requirements for a successful Secondment Worker visa application below. You can increase your employee’s chances by working with a leading immigration lawyer, such as Immigration Advice Service.
What is the Secondment Worker Visa
The British Government has created the Secondment Worker visa for individuals who will be transferred to the UK from a non-UK company to conduct contract work for a different UK-based organisation.
The standard validity period is 12 months, and your employee can extend it for an additional 12 months if they continue to meet the requirements. As this visa is one of the Global Business Mobility visa types, your worker cannot spend more than five years on the Secondment Worker visa or any other visas of the type in any six-year period.
While holding this visa, your employee can work in a seconded role for a UK-based company. They can also bring eligible dependents, usually their partner and children, study, do voluntary work, and freely enter and leave the UK while their visa is valid.
However, there are restrictions on what your employee will be allowed to do in the UK. Taking part in these activities could lead to them having to return home. Examples of forbidden activities include the following:
- Accessing public funds, such as Universal Credit.
- Change jobs without updating their visa.
- Attempt to settle permanently in the UK through indefinite leave to remain.
They also cannot work a second job in the UK, so their main role must have sufficient pay to sustain themselves.
Key Secondment Worker Visa Requirements
The central requirement for a Secondment Worker visa is that your employee works for you permanently, and that your business is an overseas company. The employee must have been in their role for at least 12 months, conducting their work outside of the UK.
Your business must have a high-value contract with a UK sponsor that has been approved by the Home Office. This sponsor will need to have the right sponsor licence and assign your worker a Certificate of Sponsorship. The role they will be completing under contract needs to be listed among the eligible occupations.
Secondment Contract Requirements
The British Government demands that employees taking part in the Secondment Worker program be representatives of companies with substantial contracts in the country. Substantial is defined as having a value of at least £50 million. The contract can be spread across multiple seconded workers, goods, services, and more.
The Home Office suggests that your employee considers other visas that they could be eligible for if your contract has a value of less than £50 million.
Eligible Occupations for a Secondment Worker Visa
Not all secondment roles are eligible for a Secondment Worker visa. This visa type shares the same occupation restrictions as the other Global Business Mobility visas: Senior or Specialist Worker, Graduate Trainee, UK Expansion Worker, and Service Supplier.
There are a vast number of eligible roles, which tend to be in the senior, specialist, or management areas. A few examples, along with their occupation codes, are listed below:
- 1131 Financial managers and directors.
- 1171 Health services and public health managers and directors.
- 2113 Biochemists and biomedical scientists.
- 2122 Mechanical engineers.
- 2131 IT project managers.
- 2134 Programmers and software development professionals.
There are also some ‘additional occupations’ which have now been removed from the eligible occupations list. However, workers who are already sponsored in any of these roles can continue to work in their seconded job in the UK until their visa expires.
Head to the UK Government’s ‘eligible occupation and codes’ webpage for Global Business Mobility visas for a full list of the eligible occupations.
Proving They Meet the Requirements Through Comprehensive Documentation
The best way for your worker to prove they meet the eligibility requirements for the Secondment Worker visa is to provide all the required documentation. The evidence usually needed is listed below:
- Evidence of working for you for at least 12 months, such as through payslips.
- The Certificate of Sponsorship reference number, as provided by the UK sponsor.
- The job title and occupation code that they will be carrying out in the UK.
- The sponsor’s name and sponsor licence number.
- Evidence that they have enough money to support themselves in the UK, such as recent bank statements.
Additional documentation may be required in some circumstances. If they are planning on bringing dependents to the UK, they will need to show evidence of their relationship, such as through marriage and birth certificates. Meanwhile, if they are coming from a high-risk nation, they will need tuberculosis test results. Finally, certain sensitive research roles at a PhD level or higher will need an Academic Technology Approval Scheme (ATAS) certificate.
As with most UK visas, all documentation will need to be in English or Welsh, or have received a certified translation, to be considered by visa authorities.
How Can IAS Help?
Securing Secondment Worker visas for your employees is the best way to ensure that your lucrative contracts with UK-based firms can be fulfilled. However, your employee will need to submit a strong application that proves they meet the eligibility criteria. Instead, their visa application could be rejected, leading to significant revenue losses.
Connect them with a leading immigration law firm like Immigration Advice Service to provide them with a higher chance of a successful application. Our team begins by ensuring they meet the eligibility criteria, helping you to send the right workers on secondment. We will then guide them through the entire application process, including checking that their supporting documentation is comprehensive and valid.
Our team is also experienced in working with UK firms to help them get a sponsor licence and assign inbound foreign workers with Certificates of Sponsorship.
