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Work permit
The main purposes for these visas are to assist businesses in their international development and in employing key staff who do not have the required working status in the UK. If you are coming to the end of your visa there may be opportunities for you as there are a number of different work permit schemes for people with very different types and levels of skill.
Types of work permit applications:
- Work permits - business and commercial, tier1 and tier2
- Work permit extensions, when the employee is required to remain longer in the UK, past the expiry date of their work permit
- Work permit change of employer, the new employer is required to lodge an application if you currently hold a work permit for a specific position within a specific company but wish to change employers
- Work permit indefinite leave to remain - the employee will need to apply for indefinite leave to remain (full residency) when they have held work permit status for five years
- The employee will be eligible to apply to become naturalised as a British citizen. Subsequently, they will also apply for a full British passport, thereby enabling the employee to be posted in other European branches.
Business and commercial scheme
The business and commercial arrangements allow employers in this country to recruit people from outside the EEA who are going to be filling a vacancy that may otherwise be filled by a 'resident worker'.
You can make a work permit application if you are an employer based in the UK and you need to employ a person to work here. You should make a work permit application for a named person to do a specific job for the employer, normally on a full-time basis. Whilst in the UK we expect the person to be your employee. There should therefore be a contract of employment between yourselves and the person. There must be a genuine vacancy. The post must not have been created for the purpose of recruiting a particular person. Work Permits UK will only issue a work permit where it is clear that the employer has clear responsibility for determining the duties and functions of the post.
Your prospective employer must apply to Work Permits (UK) for you, and must first advertise the job to ensure that no UK or EU residents can fill it (unless it's on the shortage occupation list).
To qualify for a business and commercial work permit the job must meet the following criteria:
Either - the job must require one of the following qualifications:
- A UK equivalent degree level qualification
- A Higher National Diploma (HND) level qualification which is relevant to the post on offer
- A HND level qualification, which is not relevant to the post on offer plus one year of relevant full time work experience at National/Scottish Vocational Qualification (N/SVQ) level 3 or above
Or the job must require the following skills:
- Three years full time experience of using specialist skills acquired through doing the type of job for which the permit is sought. This should be at N/SVQ level 3 or above.
In addition, a definition of an NVQ, specifically NVQ level 3, which may be applied to technical, craft, skilled and supervisory occupations is:
- Competence which involves the application of knowledge in a broad range of varied work activities, performed in a wide variety of contexts, most of which are complex and non-routine. There is considerable responsibility and autonomy, and control or guidance of others is often required.
The person should have the skills, qualifications and experience to enable them to do the job on offer (see above criteria). If the job on offer does not require specific qualifications, the person should have at least three years experience of doing the job, at N/SVQ level 3 or above.
For certain professions where the person has to be registered with a UK professional organisation, for example, GMC NMC, GDC and RCVS, we can accept the person's registration number instead of statements from previous employers.
Work Permits UK do not take into account experience gained through working illegally in the UK.
A work permit may be issued for any length of time up to five years. After completing five years on a work permit the holder may apply for residency/indefinite leave to remain in the UK.
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