2022 – Guide on requirements for a UK Expansion Worker visa

Meeting the requirements for a UK Expansion Worker visa is crucial!

A lack of guidance on visa requirements and eligibility can lead to an unsuccessful application. That’s why our UK Expansion Worker visa experts in Mumbai have created this detailed guide on requirements for a UK Expansion Worker visa.

First, let’s quickly understand the UK Expansion Worker visa route.

The UK Expansion Worker visa is for foreign nationals who are taking on work assignments in the UK. The expansion worker must work for that foreign company as a senior manager or an expert and looking to go to the UK for projects related to expanding the overseas business in the UK.

Our UK Expansion Worker visa experts in India – Mumbai, Delhi and Bangalore can assist with your UK Expansion worker visa application. Contact us for more information.

• Stay in the UK for 12 months and expand your business
• Extend your visa (if you are eligible)
• A business can send up to 5 employees as expansion workers
• Bring your partner and children (if they are eligible)
• You can travel abroad and return to the UK
• Complete access to healthcare in the UK
• Free education for children

Click here for full details of benefits of UK Expansion Worker visa

For an expansion worker to qualify for a UK Expansion worker visa in order to expand their business in the UK; meeting these requirements is crucial:
The business has not yet begun trading in the UK (if it is, you can apply for a Senior or Specialist Worker or Skilled Worker visa)
The business has to issue a certificate of sponsorship for the applicant (including information about the role they will play in the UK
The applicant must apply within 3 months of the date mentioned on the certificate of sponsorship
The overseas business is expected to have established a business in 2 years.

The Expansion worker will require a Certificate of Sponsorship (CoS) number to include on the application form in order to apply for immigration authorization. The overseas company that is expanding into the UK and must be given permission to hold a UK Expansion Worker sponsor licence must allocate the CoS.

A Certificate of sponsorship is an electronic document issued by an employer with a Sponsor Licence. This document includes:

• The name of the company, employer, applicant (UK Expansion Worker visa)
• Type of job, salary offered and allowances (if any)
• Details of the job, the employee with conduct in the UK
• Registration number (Which you will need when making your application)
• Make sure you apply within 3 months of the date on your Certificate of Sponsorship. The documents are invalid after 3 months.

A UK Expansion Worker must have worked for their overseas business/company for at least 12 months, before applying for the UK Expansion Worker visa.

There are no specific qualification requirements. As long as you can meet all the eligibility criteria and requirements, you can successfully apply for a UK Expansion Worker visa.

These are the salary requirements for UK Expansion Workers under the visa requirements:
The salary of the applicant must be at least £42,400 annually or the “going rate” for that specific job role, whichever is higher.

The annual going rate varies depending on the occupation code.

You must have enough money when you apply for a UK Expansion Worker visa to:

• Pay the application cost of £259.
• Pay the annual healthcare surcharge, which is typically £624.
• You’ll typically need to have at least £1,270 on hand when you come to the UK to sustain yourself (unless you’re excluded).

A UK Expansion Worker visa applicant does not need to meet the English language requirement.

Employers are exempt from the Immigration Skills Charge if they are approved by the Home Office to sponsor a UK Expansion Worker.
As part of your immigration application, you might be required to pay a healthcare surcharge known as the “immigration health surcharge” or IHS.
Depending on the immigration status you’re asking for, you may or may not have to pay.

When you apply, you’ll need to provide:

• Reference number – from your certificate of sponsorship
• A valid passport or other identification that shows your identity and nationality
• Your job title and annual salary
• Your job’s occupation code
• Your employer’s name and sponsor licence number (you can find this on your certificate of sponsorship)
• Evidence that you have enough personal savings to support yourself in the UK, for example bank statements
• Proof of your relationship with your partner or children if they’re applying with you
• Your tuberculosis test results if you’re from a listed country

If they qualify, your spouse and children may apply to move in with you or remain in the UK as your “dependents.” If they are granted, their visa will expire on the same day as yours.
Your partner will have to prove that:

• You have a legally recognized civil union or marriage in the United Kingdom.
• When you apply, you must have been in a committed partnership for at least two years.

Your child, who is 16 or older, must:

• Unless they are enrolled full time in boarding school, college, or university, live with you.
• Not be legally wed, in a civil union, or provide financial support for any children.
• You must submit proof of your child’s address if they reside with you, such as:
  • A bank statement, credit card bills, a driving licence, a document attesting to their NHS registration, or an official letter from their college or university.

While they are in the UK, your partner and kids must have enough cash on hand to maintain themselves.
You, your partner, or your child will require:

• £285 – for your partner
• £315- for one child,
• £200 – each additional child

You, your spouse, or your child must have had access to the funds for at least 28 days straight. Day 28 must occur within 31 days of either your or their visa application.
Unless you have all been in the UK with a valid visa for at least 12 months, you’ll typically need to provide confirmation of this when they apply.

In order to qualify for the route, you will have to meet the eligibility criteria for a UK Expansion Worker visa. Here are the 4 major eligibility criteria for the route cited by our experts:

• Have a valid Certificate of Sponsorship from the UK employer,
• Have worked for their employer outside the UK,
• Do a job that’s on the list of eligible occupations,
• Be paid the minimum eligible salary required for the job role.

Click this link for full details on the Eligibility criteria to apply for a UK Expansion Worker visa

You will need to apply online for a UK Expansion Worker visa. Click here to find the online application form.
How you need to apply depends on:

• Whether you’re outside the UK (looking to enter the UK)
• Whether you’re inside the UK (extending your current visa)
• Whether you’re inside the UK – switching from a different route

You must provide identification documentation as part of your application. Depending on your country of origin and passport type, there are many ways to meet this.

• Get the “UK Immigration: ID Check” app to scan your identity document (you’ll also need to create or sign in to your UK Visas and Immigration (UKVI) account), or
• Take your fingerprints and a photo at a visa application centre to get a biometric residence permit.

When you apply, you’ll be instructed what to do.

If the visa application centre needs to store your passport and supporting paperwork while processing your application, you may have to travel there (this could be in another country)

The UK Expansion Worker is valid for 2 years. It can be extended for 1 additional year if the applicant can meet the following:

• The applicant continues to work in the same position that was granted to him or her during a prior entry or stay permit to the UK.
• The position falls within the same occupational category as when the prior authorization to enter or remain in the UK was issued.
• The applicant continues to be employed by the company that issued them their most recent Certificate of Sponsorship.
• The applicant’s total stay has not yet exceeded the maximum.
• It is necessary to apply to amend the visa if the applicant switches jobs or employers.