In general, business visitors include:

• academic visitors (may enter or stay for 12 months maximum, subject to entry clearance if over six months);
• doctors taking the professional and linguistic assessment board (PLAB);
• doctors coming for clinical attachment or dentists coming for observation;
• Visiting professors accompanying students undertaking study abroad programmes (see guidance for further information);
• film crews on location shoots only, provided they are employed or paid by an overseas company;
• representatives of overseas news media, provided they are employed or paid by an overseas company and are gathering information for an overseas publication or programme;
• secondees from overseas companies;
• religious workers undertaking some preaching or pastoral work during a business visit (for example, to attend a conference), provided their base is abroad and they are not taking up an office, post or appointment;
• interpreters and translators employed by an overseas company who are coming to the United Kingdom solely to accompany and provide a service to business visitors from the company;
• advisers, consultants, trainers or trouble shooters employed abroad by the same company to which the client firm in the United Kingdom belongs, provided this does not amount to employment paid or unpaid for the United Kingdom branch; and
• persons undertaking specific, one-off training in techniques and work practices used in the United Kingdom 

As a business visitor, you will only need permission (known as 'entry clearance' or 'a visa') to come to the United Kingdom for a business visit of up to six months if you are a visa national. See Section Visas to the UK in the right-hand menu on this website. If you are a non-visa national, permission to come for up to six months is not needed as a business visitor. If you are an academic visitor and want to come for more than six months, you will need permission to come whatever nationality you are. Multiple entry visas are available for business visitors for six months, and one, two, five and 10 years. To come to the United Kingdom as a business visitor you must be able to show that you: 

• only want to visit the United Kingdom for up to six months;
• plan to leave the United Kingdom at the end of your visit;
• have enough money to support and accommodate yourself without working, help from public funds or you will be supported and accommodated by relatives or friends;
• do not intend to charge members of the public for services provided or goods received;
• do not intend to study;
• can meet the cost of the return or onward journey;
• are based abroad and have no intention of transferring your base to the United Kingdom even temporarily;
• receive your salary from abroad.

Highly skilled workers, investors and entrepreneurs

The highly skilled worker category is designed to allow highly skilled people to come to the United Kingdom to look for work or self-employment opportunities. You can apply under the highly skilled worker category now if you are:

• already in the United Kingdom with permission to stay (known as 'leave to remain') in an immigration category that allows you to switch into the highly skilled worker category;
• already in the United Kingdom as a highly skilled worker and you want to extend your permission to stay within your existing category; 
• already in the United Kingdom under the Highly Skilled Migrant Programme (HSMP), you want to extend your permission to stay and you are eligible to switch into the highly skilled worker category; or
• outside the United Kingdom and you are eligible to apply for permission to enter (known as 'entry clearance') under the highly skilled worker category.

The entrepreneur category is for those investing in the United Kingdom by setting up or taking over, and being actively involved in the running of, one or more businesses in the United Kingdom. You can apply under the entrepreneur category now if you are:

• in the United Kingdom and want to make an initial application as an entrepreneur; 
• already in the United Kingdom as an entrepreneur and want to extend your permission to stay within your existing category;
• already in the United Kingdom as a business person or innovator and want to extend your permission to stay in the entrepreneur category;
• applying for permission to enter the United Kingdom (known as 'entry clearance') under the entrepreneur category. 

The investor category is designed to allow high net worth individuals make a substantial financial investment in the United Kingdom. Unlike our work permit scheme (soon to be replaced by sponsored workers (Tier 2), you do not need a job offer to apply under the investor category. When you apply you are awarded points based on your ability to invest £1,000,000 in the United Kingdom.

The post-study worker category allows us to retain the most able international graduates who have studied in the United Kingdom. It also enhances the United Kingdom's overall offer to international students. Post-study workers are free to look for work without having a sponsor for the length of their leave. The category provides a bridge to highly skilled or skilled work. If you are granted permission to stay as a post-study worker, we expect that you will switch into another tier of the points-based system as soon as you are able to. You can apply under the post-study worker category now if you are:

• in the United Kingdom with permission to stay under the Science and Engineering Graduates Scheme (SEGS), International Graduates Scheme (IGS) or Fresh Talent: Working in Scotland Scheme (FT:WISS); or
• in the United Kingdom as a student, which includes students, student nurses, students resitting examinations,and students writing up a thesis, and want to switch into the post-study worker category.

You should read the eligibility requirements for your category in full before making an application. For further in formation, please consult the UK Border Agency website by following this link http://www.ukba.homeoffice.gov.uk/workingintheuk/tier1/.

Sponsored skilled workers

There are four categories of sponsored skilled workers:

• Tier 2 (General)
• Tier 2 (Minister of Religion)
• Tier 2 (Sportsperson)
• Tier 2 (Intra Company Transfer)

If you are a national of a country in the European Economic Area (EEA) or Switzerland, you have the right of residence that gives you the right to work in the UK.

If you are a national of a country outside the EEA or Switzerland (except Turkey - see below), you will need to apply under the points-based system. You must:

• have a job offer from a licensed sponsor and a valid certificate of sponsorship; and
• pass the points-based assessment.

If you are a Turkish citizen and you are already in the UK with a visa that gives you the right to work, you may have certain rights under the European Community Association Agreement with Turkey.

Before you apply, you should read the eligibility requirements for your category in full. For further information, please consult the UK Border Agency website by following the link http://www.ukba.homeoffice.gov.uk/workingintheuk/tier2/.

Temporary workers

Those temporary workers who want to come to the United Kingdom to do temporary work for a licensed sponsor, must have a job offer from a licensed sponsor, a valid certificate of sponsorship and pass the points-based assessment to be eligible to apply. You will need to apply under either the temporary workers category or the youth mobility scheme within the points-based system.

You should read the eligibility requirements for your category in full before applying. For further information, please consult the UK Border Agency website by following the link http://www.ukba.homeoffice.gov.uk/workingintheuk/tier5/.

Other categories

Currently, the following work-based categories available to people wanting to come to the United Kingdom to work as well:

• domestic workers
• sole representatives of overseas firms
• representatives of media organisations 

The domestic worker category allows overseas employers to bring their domestic workers with them when they visit or move to the United Kingdom. To qualify to come here as a domestic worker, you must be an established member of your employer's staff. You will only be given permission to stay in the United Kingdom for a fixed period of time. At the end of this period you will need to either return home or apply to extend your stay. The domestic workers category can be a short- or long-term immigration category. We will not extend your visa unless you are still employed as a domestic worker when your old visa expires. You are allowed to change employers while you are in the United Kingdom, but you must still be employed as a domestic worker. If you change employers, you must notify us, and you will not be allowed to change to a different type of employment.  Once you have been in the United Kingdom for five years as a domestic worker, you can apply to stay here permanently.

To come to the United Kingdom as a sole representative of an overseas firm without a work permit, you should be coming to act as a sole representative to establish a wholly owned subsidiary or register a branch in the United Kingdom for an overseas parent company. The company must have no branch, subsidiary or other representative in the United Kingdom. If the company has a legal entity in the United Kingdom, but this does not employ staff or transact business, you may be able to enter the United Kingdom as their sole representative. If you are outside the United Kingdom, you will need entry clearance before you can enter the United Kingdom as a sole representative of an overseas firm. Permission to enter the United Kingdom as the sole representative of an overseas firm will normally be granted for an initial period of two years. You will then be able to apply to extend your stay for up to another three years. To apply to come to the United Kingdom as a sole representative of an overseas firm, you will need to provide:

• a full description of the parent company's activities, including details of assets and accounts; and
• your own job description, contract of employment and salary details.

As a sole representative of an overseas firm, you also need to show evidence that:

• you are directly employed by the parent company and not acting as an agent marketing its goods;
• you have been employed by the parent company for some time and hold a senior post;
• you are a senior employee of the parent company with full authority to take operational decisions on its behalf without reference to the parent company;
• you were recruited to the parent company outside the United Kingdom and intend to work full-time as a representative of that company in this country;
• you are not a majority shareholder in the parent company;
• you do not intend to carry out any other work while you are in the United Kingdom; and
• you can maintain yourself and any dependants without recourse to public funds. 

As a sole representative of an overseas firm, you should be establishing a commercial presence for the company in the United Kingdom in the form of a registered branch or a wholly owned subsidiary. You must be able to demonstrate a very good track record in the same or a closely related field of work, to show why you have been appointed. You are expected to work full-time for one company. You may not do business of your own or represent any other company's interests. If the company's circumstances change and you have been in the United Kingdom for two years or more, you may continue to stay here as a sole representative even if your company appoints a superior. You may also eventually qualify for indefinite leave to remain (settlement) as long as you continue to fill a genuine vacancy and the company wishes to retain your services. If more than one individual is required to enter the United Kingdom on behalf of the same company, one of them should apply as a sole representative. It may then be possible for that person, after arrival, to apply for a work permit so that another senior or skilled employee can also enter. If either party terminates a sole representative arrangement, a replacement will normally have to apply for a work permit. Such applications can be made either by the outgoing sole representative or by a solicitor on behalf of the company.

If the UK Border Agency approves your application to come to the United Kingdom as a representative of an overseas newspaper, news agency or broadcasting organisation, it will give you permission to enter and stay in the United Kingdom for a maximum of two years. At the end of this period you will need to either return home or apply to extend your stay. If you are coming to the United Kingdom to work for less than six months, you may be able to apply under the business visitor category. You cannot change employers while you are in the United Kingdom. If you have been in the United Kingdom for five years as a representative of an overseas newspaper, news agency or broadcasting organisation, you can apply to stay permanently. To come to the United Kingdom in this category, you must:

• be coming to the United Kingdom as an employee of an overseas newspaper, news agency or broadcasting organisation;
• have been employed outside the United Kingdom by the relevant organisation, and be being posted to the United Kingdom on a long-term assignment;
• intend to work full-time as a representative of the organisation;
• not intend to take any additional employment;
• maintain and accommodate yourself and any dependants without the need for public funds; and
• hold a valid United Kingdom entry clearance for entry in this category.

For further information, please consult the UK Border Agency website by following the link http://www.ukba.homeoffice.gov.uk/workingintheuk/othercategories/.

European Economic Area and Swiss nationals

All EEA and Swiss nationals can enter and live in the United Kingdom without needing to apply for our permission. If you are a national of a country that joined the European Union (EU) in 2004, you may need to register with us when you start work. If you are a national of Bulgaria or Romania, you may need to apply for our permission before you start to work. All other EEA and Swiss nationals are free to take work in the United Kingdom without needing to apply for our permission. For more information about living and working in the United Kingdom as an EEA or Swiss national, please consult the UK Border Agency website by following the link http://www.ukba.homeoffice.gov.uk/workingintheuk/eea/.

United Kingdom ancestry

If you are a citizen of a Commonwealth country and one of your grandparents was born in the United Kingdom (including the Channel Islands and the Isle of Man), you have United Kingdom ancestry. You can come here to work if you can show that:

• you are a Commonwealth citizen;
• you have a visa or other form of permission to enter the United Kingdom because of United Kingdom ancestry, or your permission to stay here in this category has previously been extended;
• you are aged 17 or over;
• you have a grandparent who was born in the United Kingdom (including the Channel Islands and the Isle of Man), or a grandparent who was born before 31 March 1922 in what is now the Republic of Ireland;
• you are able to work and you plan to work in the United Kingdom; and
• you can adequately support and accommodate yourself and your dependants without help from public funds.   

For any further information on work in the UK, please consult the UK Border Agency website by following the link http://www.ukba.homeoffice.gov.uk/workingintheuk/.

See also:

Businesses for sale in the UK 

Business contacts in the UK

Services in the UK

Work required in the UK

Work wanted in the UK

Recruitment agencies in the UK