The UK offers several Service Supplier visas for overseas workers. These visa routes aim to bring employees on a short-term or long-term basis to their UK branches. The aim of these visa routes is to simplify the process of hiring talent from outside the UK.
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The UK Service Supplier visa is among the five Global Business Mobility (GBM) visas offered for overseas workers. These visas were introduced back in April 2022 and replaced several older work visa routes. All GBM visas are nonimmigrant visas. This means that you can’t use them to apply for residency or settlement in the UK.
The UK Service Supplier visa is for overseas service providers, contract-based service suppliers, independent professionals, and self-employed people outside the UK. This visa allows eligible applicants to take up a temporary work assignment in the UK.
A key requirement for this visa is that the work assignment must be covered by one of the international trade agreements signed by the UK.
You must also meet several other requirements to be eligible for this visa. Here at the London-based Adam Bernard’s law office, our immigration lawyers can help you meet these requirements and file a visa application. With the advice of one of the best immigration solicitors in London, you can significantly improve your odds of success.
You can seek a Service Supplier visa if you have a contract with a UK sponsor to provide any services covered by UK’s international trade agreements.
Here is the breakdown of the key eligibility requirements you must meet:
Even if your occupation code is not on the GBM eligibility list, you can apply for a Service Supplier visa. You can do so by proving that you have the relevant qualifications for the intended role. To do so, you must show that:
Some service areas don’t have any requirements regarding the qualifications of the applicants. For instance, if you are applying for the entertainment industry or a job related to fashion or modelling, you don’t need to provide evidence of educational qualifications.
An experienced immigration solicitor UK can best advise you on whether or not you are eligible for the visa. Here at the London-based Adam Bernard’s law office, our immigration lawyers can review your case and offer tailored guidance.
The financial requirements for a Service Supplier visa are similar to those for other Global Business Mobility visas. You must prove that you can financially support yourself once in the UK without the need to rely on public funds. Immediately
This involves showing that you have cash funds of at least £1,270 and that you have held these funds for at least 28 days in the 31 days immediately before your visa application.
You are exempt from this requirement if your UK sponsor can agree to shoulder your expenses for the first month in the UK. If this is the case, the sponsor must confirm this on the Certificate of Sponsorship.
You are also exempt from the financial requirement if you have already been in the UK on a valid visa for at least 12 months and now wish to switch to the Service Supplier visa.
If you are not sure whether or not you qualify for an exemption, you can consult one of the best immigration solicitors in London at our law office. Our immigration lawyer will carefully review your case to see if you are eligible for a waiver from the financial requirements.
The UK business with which you or your overseas employers do business is known as the UK sponsor. This business must meet specific requirements to be eligible as a sponsor for a Service Supplier visa.
These requirements include the following:
Once a UK sponsor meets the above obligations, it can issue a Certificate of Sponsorship for the visa applicant. As an applicant, you must have a valid CoS to apply for the Service Supplier visa.
This CoS must have been issued no more than 3 months before the application and should note your job title, name, salary, work experience, qualifications, intended occupation code, and other details.
The immigration lawyers at our law office can help your sponsor obtain a license and issue a CoS. An immigration solicitor UK can also guide you on how to get a CoS that improves your odds of success.
You must submit an online application for a UK Service Supplier visa. You will need to provide the following details and documents during the application:
Once you apply, the Home Office will typically process it within 3 weeks if the application was submitted from outside the UK. For applications submitted from inside the UK, the processing time can be up to 8 weeks.
You can submit your application up to 3 months before your job’s starting date as noted on the CoS. It is generally recommended that you apply as early as possible. Sometimes, the Home Office can take longer to process the application if it contains errors, omissions, or unverified documents.
It is best to consult a reliable Service Supplier Visa solicitor before you apply. An experienced immigration solicitor UK will help you avoid the common mistakes that can lead to delays or refusals.
You must pay a basic visa application fee as well as a healthcare surcharge. The basic application fee for this visa category is £259. The healthcare surcharge is charged by the year and is £624 per year. You must pay this amount for every year you stay in the UK.
Depending on the nature of services you intend to offer in the UK, your visa duration will be between 6 and 12 months. You can apply to have your visa extended provided that you continue to work in the same capacity for the same sponsor. However, you can’t stay in the UK for more than 5 years in any 6-year period on this visa.
Our immigration lawyers can also help you if you are looking for an extension. With the help of an immigration solicitor UK, the application process for a visa extension becomes smooth and hassle-free.
The dependents of a UK Service Supplier visa holder can come to the UK provided they meet certain requirements. The dependents, in this case, include the spouse or partner, and any dependent children.
The dependents must separately meet financial obligations to be eligible for a visa. These include the availability of cash funds of £285 for a partner or spouse, as well as £315 for a child. If more than one dependent child is applying, £200 cash funds for each subsequent child must also be shown.
The duration of the visa for the dependents will end at the same time as the primary Service Supplier visa holder. Your UK sponsor can shoulder the financial obligations for the dependents which will exempt you and the dependents from meeting the requirement.
You can consult one of the best immigration solicitors in London at our law office. Our immigration lawyers will advise you on how to apply for a visa for your dependents.
The application process for a Service Supplier visa can be quite complicated. You must first understand the obligations of the UK sponsor and the overseas employer to be eligible for this visa category. As an applicant, you must also understand all the requirements you must meet to be eligible.
Here at the London-based Adam Bernard’s law office, our immigration lawyers can help you understand and fulfil the requirements to bring overseas workers on a Service Supplier visa.
We offer help and guidance on all aspects of the visa application process including:
We have some of the best immigration solicitors in London who offer tailored assistance at all stages of your visa application. With the help of an immigration solicitor UK at our office, you can ensure that your application is accurate, complete, and primed for a quick decision from the Home Office.
Get in touch today at 0207-100-0505 to schedule a free session and discuss your case in detail with one of our best immigration solicitors in London.
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