UK Visa Options

Apply for the visa most appropriate for your stay

Australian, New Zealand and South African candidates are all able to apply for 4 main types of visas to live and work in the UK:

•  Working holiday visa
•  Highly skilled migrant visa
• Ancestral / partiality visas
• Work permits

We would strongly recommend where possible that candidates apply for either a; Highly skilled migrant visa, or Ancestral visa if you have British heritage as these visas enable you full working rights in the UK.

For further details please:

• Refer to the visa section in this guide 
• Email our global opportunities consultant for comprehensive advice
• Visit www.ukvisas.gov.uk

Top Tip: Don’t forget to make sure that you have applied for all appropriate visas to any country that you are visiting if you are planning on travelling on the way. The 4 main options to consdier are as follows:

1 - Working holiday visa

The working holidaymaker scheme allows young Commonwealth nationals and also young persons who are British Overseas Citizens, British Overseas Territories Citizens, or British Nationals (Overseas), to come to the United Kingdom for an extended holiday (up to a maximum of 2 years), during which they may take work, which is incidental to the holiday.

To qualify You must:

• Be aged between 17 and 30
• Not intend to set yourself up in or run a business, or work as a professional sportsperson during your stay Single, or that you are married to, or the civil partner of someone who also qualifies as a working holidaymaker and you plan to take the working holiday together
• Not have any dependent children aged five or over, or who will be five before your holiday ends
• Able to support yourself and live in the UK without needing any help from public funds
• Have not spent time in the UK on a previous working holidaymaker visa, and
• Intend to leave the UK at the end of your holiday.

This visa entitles you to live in the UK for 2 years and to work for 12 months of that period in order to fund your holidays.

Entry Clearance is required.

No extensions are given to the working holiday visa category. To remain in the UK therefore all working holidaymakers will need to another visa category. It is possible to switch to a HSMP in country or to switch to an Ancestral Visa or Work Permit if you return home to your country of origin to have your new entry clearance validated.

If you enter the UK after your Working holiday visa has started you are not able to have your visa extended to make up for lost time.

Because you are restricted to working for 12 months this generally means that you will only be considered for contract roles.

You can take most types of work including voluntary work, but you may not engage in any business, or provide services as a professional sportsperson. (Any other type of professional work is permitted.) You can choose when to work and when to take your holiday breaks as you wish, but you must not work for more than a total of 12 months or you will be breaking the conditions of your stay. NB: People issued with a working holidaymaker visa before 8 February 2005 do not have any restrictions upon the amount or type of work that they may do."

If a WHV maker is being paid PAYE they are able to work for 12 months of the visa. Industry standard for measuring this is that they have 52 weeks they can work. If one day has been worked of the week then that means that week is to be counted towards the 52 week total. Any paid leave and all weekends are to be included into this total of 52 weeks.

If a candidate has been self-employed (i.e. director of a ltd co) they can work for 365 days, this means that they can technically work for more than a year, as they don't have to calculate weekends and unpaid leave towards the total days. Candidates can only claim this benefit if they have only worked as the Director of a limited company. If for one day they have been a shareholder of a limited company or have been paid through an Umbrella company or paid normally through PAYE then they are not able to make this claim.

Where a working holiday maker engages solely in self employment during stay within category and so is paid by persons or companies whether located here in the UK or overseas for whom they provide services only for work he performs and has not at any stage during stay been an employee employed for any length of time by employer he may spend maximum of 365 days working during stay as a working holiday visa maker.

It is possible to apply for this visa online at www.visa4uk.fco.gov.uk alternately applications may be sent to:

If you cannot apply online you will need to fill in a visa application form (VAF 1 – non-settlement). You can download the form from this website, or get one free of charge from your nearest British mission overseas where there is a visa section.
 
Other Eligibility Requirements include:

• You should not have financial commitments that require a regular income.
• You must declare any criminal convictions - some will result in ineligibility.
• You must not have previously had a working holiday visa for the United Kingdom.
• If you are married your spouse must be intending to take a working holiday with you and you must both meet all requirements.
• If you have a child (or children) accompanying you to the UK as a working holidaymaker you and the child(ren) are required to leave the UK before the child turns 5 years of age.
• Proof of Funds - Evidence must be provided of sufficient funds for partial support, and onward / return travel.Approximately AUD$4,500 is sufficient.

Validity / Timing Your working holiday visa is valid for two years from the date of issue by the British High Commission in Canberra. You can't enter Britain before the "valid from" date on your visa.

Entry & Re-entry Your working holiday visa allows multiple entries into the UK during its period of validity.

Employment Issues - All work restrictions have been removed. Applicants may work in whatever profession they choose. Work must be incidental to a holiday and for only half the intended length of stay in the UK.

As a Working holiday visa maker you are not entitled to operate as a business. Many contractors favour being paid through a limited company set up and at the moment the legality of this is considered to be a grey area.

Current advice that we have received is that Working Holiday Makers can trade through a Directorship company; there is no legislation against this. As long as they are not employing workers or are intending to run a small business.

There are many case examples of working holiday makers who have operated through a limited company set up successfully having HSMP applications granted which indicates through case law that using a limited company whilst on a Working holiday visa category is legal.

Further there is provision for self employed contractors to be able to submit earnings within the Border and Immigration Case Work – Earnings noteshttp://www.ind.homeoffice.gov.uk/documents/caseworkguidance/previousearnings?view=Binary

Be aware that you may only submit dividends from a Limited Co set up if you are working for the company on a full time basis, or the payment is directly related to your employment.

Also please be aware that your limited company must be completely IR35 compliant and that any dividends presented as earnings will have the appropriate tax applied before they are considered.

Working holiday makers are able to be paid through an umbrella based company, which treats tem as an employee and applies full PAYE tax at source to their salary.

We would encourage all working holidaymakers to seek independent legal and financial advice before considering a Limited Company set up if they are planning to switch to a HSMP.

Official websites

• www.ukvisas.gov.uk
• www.workingintheuk.gov.uk

2 – Highly Skilled Migrant Visa

Since 28 January 2002, the Highly Skilled Migrant Programme has provided talented people with professional skills the opportunity to come to the UK to seek work. Applicants now must hold a University degree.This visa offers the most flexibility. Candidates are not tied to a sponsor and are able to remain in the UK thus are entitled to apply for both temporary contract and permanent roles.

HSMP is currently the only points-based immigration route into the UK. On 7 November 2006, the Government announced significant changes to the Highly Skilled Migrant Programme (HSMP).

Points are now scored in four main areas:

1 Qualifications 2 Past Earnings 3 Age Assessment 4 UK Experience

You will also be required to supply specified required evidence to meet the mandatory English Language requirement. Total points required for entry – 75

You should apply to the Highly Skilled Migrant Programme Team at Work Permits (UK) (WPUK) in Sheffield. You can apply from abroad and in most cases; you can also apply from inside the UK if you are here with Home Office permission.

Postal applications should be directed to:

HSMP
PO Box: 3468
Sheffield
S3 8WA

The programme is designed to allow highly skilled people to migrate to the United Kingdom to look for work or self-employment opportunities.

The HSMP is different from the work permit arrangements because you do not need a specific job offer in the UK to apply.

The visa is issued in 2 stages totalling 5 years. Once you have lived in the UK for 5 years you are eligible to apply for your Indefinite leave to remain. Once you have had Indefinite leave to remain for 1 year you may further apply for a British passport.

Because this visa enables the candidate to reside permanently in the UK ultimately, this visa accords the holder full working rights without restrictions. Candidates with this visa status can therefore accept both contract and permanent roles.

HSMP holders can also own their own business thus there is no conflict of interest at all with trading through a Directorship based Limited company.

Current processing times for HSMP visas vary between 8 – 16 weeks.

Applicants must also apply for entry clearance to the UK. Ordinarily this needs to be lodged within 6 months of approval of the HSMP application.

Applicants must be willing and able to make the UK their main home. Your spouse and dependant children under the age of 18 may apply to accompany you or join you in the UK.

Working holiday visa, student visa and work permit holders are eligible to apply to switch to this visa in the UK. Australian citizens who do not hold this status will need to apply from Australia.

The fee for the consideration of a HSMP application is £400 per application. The fee for entry clearance is a further £350.

We recommend the services of Voyage Relocations who are able to offer a free HSMP assessment to our candidates.

Voyage run a no visa no fee scheme and offer Martin Ward Anderson candidates a significant discount to process visas. Voyage charge £550 + VAT to process a basic HSMP applications. Further charges apply if you have been operating through a Limited Company.

The home office application fee of £400 plus entry clearance costs of £350 are also required to be paid.£550+VAT+£400+£350 £1396.25

We recommend Voyage Relocations, as they are able to have a HSMP visa application assessed in approximately 2 – 4 weeks. Also because more than 75 % of independent applications at the Home Office are failing.

Using an immigration agent whilst costly circumvents failed applications (it costs £400 per independent HSMP application lodged) and ensures that your application is processed smoothly and efficiently.

Voyage Relocations International Ltd
170 Piccadilly, Mayfair
London, W1J 9EJ

+44 (0) 207 518 3980
www.voyagerelocations.com

Official websites

www.ukvisas.gov.uk
www.workingintheuk.gov.uk

3 – Work Permit sponsorship

The Business and Commercial Work Permit arrangements allows employers in this country to recruit people from outside the European Economic Area (EEA) who are going to be filling a vacancy that may otherwise be filled by a 'resident worker'.

Applications for work permits can only be made by UK-based employers on behalf of the person they wish to employ. There is no provision within the current arrangements for individuals to apply on their own behalf.

There is a fee of £153 for the consideration of a work permit. An application for Further Leave to Remain on an FLR (IED) form costs £335.

A Business and Commercial Work Permit can be issued for up to 5 years.

To qualify for a Business and Commercial work permit the job must meet the following criteria:EITHER – the job must require the following

Qualifications:

a) A UK equivalent degree level qualification; Or
b) A Higher National Diploma (HND) level qualification, which is relevant to the post on offer; Or
c) 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:
d) 3 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.

To apply for a work permit the business must adequately demonstrate that they have sought to fill the role with a resident worker.

That means that the company must be able to show that they have not received a suitable application from anyone in the UK, EU or EEA region.

To satisfy the Home Office the role must be advertised for a one-month period in suitable press that is readily available throughout the UK and EU. This may be within trade journals, employment sections of national newspapers and in some instances job web boards.

Advertisements should normally give:

• Details of the post (including job description);
• Location of the job;
• Qualifications and experience needed;
• An indication of the salary or salary range;
• Closing date for applications; and
• Name and address of the employer

The Home Office will accept any advertising of the role that has been done in the last 6 months.

Many companies employ solicitors to lodge applications and also manage the application process. This can therefore make the process quite expensive with fees going up to £2000.

Also because the role needs to be advertised for a month many companies view this as a long drawn out process.

With the HSMP visa process delivering well qualified candidates into the UK most companies prefer to offer sponsorship as a last resort when the role has already been advertised for the required month in national press and still has not been filled. This can often be the case for specialist finance roles where there is a very short supply of candidates.

Companies may also look to sponsor individuals who are on a Working holiday visa and who have not earned enough to apply for a HSMP visa.

Generally candidates who are sponsored from a Working holiday visa are required to go home to Australia at a point during the sponsorship process to have their further leave to remain processed from their home country which again makes sponsoring a drawn out process.

It is very rare that MWA have clients who will sponsor a candidate that is currently based over seas. Only very seldom do practice firms and just 1 of our banking clients offer sponsorship to candidates still based in Australia.

Official websites

www.ukvisas.gov.uk
www.workingintheuk.gov.uk

4 – Ancestry

Commonwealth citizens with a grandparent born in the United Kingdom and Islands, can apply for an Ancestral visa to come to the United Kingdom to work.

The main requirements are:

• A grandparent born in the United Kingdom, Channel Islands and Isle of Man at any time; or a grandparent born in what is now the Republic of Ireland on or before March 31, 1922
• You are a citizen of a Commonwealth country (it does not matter how citizenship was acquired). Zimbabwe remains a Commonwealth country for visa purposes.
• Aged 17 or over
• Intend to undertake employment in the UK
• You are able to support yourself in the United Kingdom without recourse to public funds

The Entry Clearance is valid for five years. After this one may apply for an extension or alternatively apply for Indefinite Leave to Remain (ILR). ILR will normally only be granted if the five years have been spent in employment in the UK.

This Entry Clearance does not allow full time study in the United Kingdom as the holder is expected to work. This is possible only after ILR is obtained, or if the person obtains a student visa.

Indefinite Leave to Remain

After acquiring Indefinite Leave to Remain, it is possible to apply for British citizenship by naturalisation after meeting normal residence requirements.

The increase in the period of time under UK Ancestry to 5 years before ILR can be applied for effectively means that applicants (who are usually not married to British citizens) must wait 6 years for British citizenship. This is because naturalisation as a British citizen for a person not married to a British citizen requires that ILR or its equivalent be held for 12 months.

Children born in the United Kingdom to persons with UK Ancestry (since 1983) are not British citizens by birth. However the child can be registered a British citizen once the parent obtains ILR if the child is still under 18 (it is not necessary to wait for the parent to become British).

A grandparent born in Northern Ireland, or what is now the Republic of Ireland prior to 1 April 1922, gives rise to an entitlement to a right to admission under UK Ancestry. However there may also be an entitlement to register as an Irish citizen by descent which grants full permanent residency in the UK immediately. See Irish nationality lawThis may be possible as an alternative to, or in addition to, a UK Ancestry Entry Clearance.

Possible Abolition

On 26 October 2005, The Times newspaper in Britain and several other reputable news papers published articles outlining possible plans by the British Home Office to abolish admission under UK Ancestry in favour of a points based migration system.

The issue had apparently been raised in the House of Commons Home Affairs Select Committee. The possibility of abolition alarmed many people with British-born grandparents living in Commonwealth countries.

However, details of a new points based system announced on 7 March 2006 made it clear that ancestry routes to the UK would not be affected. The new points system covers those workers wishing to enter the UK without EU/EEA member state citizenship or ancestral links to the UK.

Official websites

• www.ukvisas.gov.uk
• www.workingintheuk.gov.uk