Work in the UK

Work in the UK

Visitors

According to government figures, 612,000 people moved to the UK in 2019. By 2021 this figure had
fallen to 573,000, which is not a significant decline. The UK remains one of the most popular
destinations in the world for people who are looking for a new home. However, the immigration rules
are complex, and relocation requires immigrants to meet several exacting requirements, including

permission to work here. If you intend to stay for longer than six months, you’ll need a UK visa, and
one of the easiest routes is to apply for a work visa.

Business Visitors

If you are planning to move to the UK for only a short period – no more than a month – you may be
able to work here if the work you do is expressly allowed under the list of permitted activities which
form part of the 2022 Immigration Rules. This gives you the business visitor status, and your
employment will be classed as Permitted Paid Engagement (PPE).
This tightly drawn provision generally applies only to experts in a particular field and invites them over
to be engaged in specific projects. Here are a few examples that illustrate the limited circumstances in
which you are allowed to remain in the UK for short-term employment:

• • Taking part in arts, entertainment or sporting events
  • Attending meetings or other minor activities related to your full-time employment
  • Providing legal advocacy services
  • Delivering lectures or serving on panels for educational, academic and research institutions
    The PPE visa expressly forbids:
  • Paid work unrelated to your main job
  • Marrying or entering into a civil partnership
  • Study
  • Bringing dependants without their own visas
  • Accessing benefits
  • Living in the UK indefinitely
    You must also be able to support yourself for the duration of your stay and pay for your return or
    onward journey, show proof of the permitted activity in which you will be engaged and that you have
    been invited to do so. You must be at least 18 years old and confirm you will leave at the end of your
    visit, usually after one month.
    If your work is to last longer than a month, you might still be granted permission but may need to
    provide additional guarantees.
    Work Visas and Licensed Sponsors
    If you do not fall under the category of a Business Visitor and wish to live in the UK long-term, then
    you will need to follow a different route to obtain permission to work.
    The process can best be described as a series of steps:
  • Find employment
  • Select the correct type of visa
  • Apply for your visa
  • Move to the UK
  • Obtain Indefinite Leave to Remain (ILR)
    Finding employment entails more than simply securing a job. To work in the UK, you must be
    employed by a business or organisation registered as a licensed sponsor. They can assign you a
    Certificate of Sponsorship which gives you the right to live and work in the country for four years. A
    UK business with a corporate UK bank account can usually provide a certificate in about eight weeks,
    although the process can be accelerated on payment of an additional fee. When the licence expires,
    you’ll need to apply for renewal, which is likely to be granted unless there are circumstances in which
    the immigration authorities consider a refusal to be necessary.

Obtaining the Certificate of Sponsorship is not simply an administrative formality. You must be able to
show that you are fully qualified to undertake the role, and you must give an undertaking that you will
not take any employment other than that which is specifically authorised by the licence.
If you are moving to the UK to participate in a fixed-term project, your sponsor must be either your
employer, from whom you take instructions or the project employer. In the latter case, you must be
under the control of the project employer.

Indefinite Leave to Remain

If you feel the four-year limitation of this means of access is not sufficient, you can apply for Indefinite
Leave to Remain (ILR). Also known as ‘settlement’, it permits you to live, work and study in the UK for
as long as you wish. Ultimately it allows you to apply for British citizenship.