Use the links on the left to navigate to general information about Business and Commercial work permits, including intra-company transfers (ICTs) and other, specialised, work permit categories.

People who hold work permits will be allowed to stay in the UK for a fixed period. They can apply to extend their stay, and if they stay in the UK for long enough, they can apply for settlement (Indefinite Leave to Remain - ILR).

 

Business and Commercial work permits

 

If a person from outside the European Union wishes to take a job for an employer in the UK, even for a very short period, they will require a work permit. This is a two-stage process: an employer applies to Work Permits UK, part of the Home Office, for a work permit and then the employee takes the work permit and applies for leave: for a visa at a post abroad or, if taking up the job when in the UK, to the Home Office in the UK. Unless a special scheme is operating, Work Permits are only issued for skilled jobs.

There are two levels, or ‘tiers’ of work permit.

 

Tier 1 is for intra-company transfers (ICTs), where a company wishes to move its employee to work in the UK; for senior, board-level, posts; for work in occupations where Work Permits UK identifies a current shortage of UK and EU workers; for sponsored research; for inward investment, where a company based overseas is bringing jobs and money to the UK.

 

Tier 2 is for jobs that do not fit into Tier 1. The employer has to show that there is no UK or EU worker who can take up the job. This is normally done by proving that the post was advertised to the standards expected by Work Permits UK but it was not possible to recruit a UK or EU worker.

 

Training and Work Experience Scheme (TWES) permits

 

These work permits allow employers to bring people to the UK to benefit from training and work experience. The person is expected to return to their home country with their new skills when the training or work experience is completed. This type of work permit is not suitable where the training could be done as full-time study.

 

Sports and entertainment work permits

 

Sportspeople, entertainers and cultural artists who are established in their profession and working at a high level can apply for special work permits to come to the UK to work for a specified period, including a short period.

 

Orchestras, theatre, opera or ballet companies with a history of performing together have the option of applying for a single work permit as a ‘unit company’.

 

Technical and support staff with technical and specialist skills whose work is directly related too that of sportspeople and entertainers, or to a particular production, can make applications in the sports and entertainment category.

 

Student Internship Work Permits

 

Employers can apply for permits for students studying overseas at degree level or above to come to the UK to do a short internship with the UK employer.