FAQs

A Tier 2 work permit visa is an employer specific work permit designed for professionals, executives or highly skilled persons who bring value to the UK and their employer. There is no age limit for Tier 2 work permits.

A Tier 5 Youth Mobility Scheme visa allows Commonwealth citizens aged between 17-30 years to stay in the UK for a maximum of two years. Youth Mobility Scheme visa holders must intend to take employment incidental to their holiday for no more than 12 months. Currently only citizens of Australia, New Zealand, Canada and Japan are eligible to participate in the Youth Mobility Scheme.

The HSMP is designed to allow highly skilled individuals to migrate to the UK to seek work or self-employment opportunities.

To qualify for the HSMP you are required to score 75 points across a range of assessment criteria including:

• Age;
• Previous earnings;
• Qualifications; and
• Previous UK experience.

There is also an English language requirement that must be met.

Only overseas nationals in the following categories are allowed to switch to a work permit from within the UK:

• Students who have successfully graduated on a degree course;
• Postgraduate doctors or dentists or trainee general practitioners;
• Student nurses may switch to a work permit;
• Working Holiday Visa holders who are switching to shortage occupations;
• HSMP visa holders;
• Candidates in the UK on an Innovators visa.

In most cases you can make an in-country switch to a work permit if your occupation is on the shortage occupation list.

The HSMP visa has some distinct advantages over a work permit.

Firstly, the HSMP offers more flexibility because unlike a work permit, with the HSMP visa, you do not need a specific UK job offer UK to apply.

The HSMP also differs from the work permit scheme in that you do not require an employer to apply for a work permit for you, and therefore as an HSMP visa holder you have the added flexibility of not being tied to an employer.

Whether or not you can employ an overseas worker to fill a vacant position is dependent on the candidate’s nationality, and in the case of a work permit application, the position for which you are seeking to employ the candidate.

Yes, you may be eligible for a work permit depending on your current UK visa status and your skills and qualifications.

A work permit can be granted for any period between one day and five years.

HSMP application times vary depending on Home Office processing times. At present HSMP applications are taking between 5 to 14 weeks.

Depending on your current immigration status you may be able to work while your work permit application is being processed. Contact one of Visalogic’s qualified consultants to discuss the specific details of your work permit application.

You can only work while your HSMP application is being processed if your current visa allows you to work and is still valid at the time you apply for the HSMP.

Non-EEA nationals are subject to immigration control and must obtain permission to work in the UK prior to seeking or taking up employment. Certain categories of people do not require work permits to work. These include:

• Business visitors;
• Commonwealth citizens who have been given leave to enter or remain in the UK on the basis that they have at least one grandparent who was born in the UK;
• Commonwealth citizens whose parent was a British citizen and who have the Right to Abode in the United Kingdom;
• Persons with indefinite leave to remain in the UK;
• Persons admitted to the UK for a period of at least 12 months as students are entitled to work part-time (up to 20 hours a week) during term time and full-time during vacations.

Your HSMP visa will initially be issued for a period of 24 months, during which you may seek work or self-employment opportunities.

After the initial 24 month period, you can apply for a HSMP extension of up to five years as long as you, and your family if applicable, have been able to support yourselves and you continue to meet the HSMP criteria.

Yes, you must have a job offer before you can apply for a work permit.

Unfortunately the answer is no. Visalogic is a specialist immigration consultancy who can help you to get a work permit once you have received a valid job offer. Once you receive an offer of employment from an employer who is willing to apply for a work permit on your behalf, Visalogic will complete and submit the work permit application on behalf of your prospective employer.

Applications for work permits can only be made by UK-based employers on behalf of the person they wish to employ. As an individual you cannot apply for a work permit on your own behalf.

HSMP extension applications can be submitted 28 days before your current HSMP visa expires.

If you are a non-EEA national and you do not already have a valid visa to work in the UK you will require a work permit.

Prior to allowing a foreign national to start work you should request that they provide documentary evidence indicating that they have the right to work in the UK. You must also check that the documents provided appear to relate to the candidate, and either retain their documentation or take a copy of it and keep it for the duration of the candidates employment.

You should also keep a copy of the information for at least three years after their employment has terminated. You have a defence against conviction if you can prove that you have checked that your employee is in possession of one of a range of documents. For further information regarding checking employee documents please contact us or ask@visalogic.net.

If you are a work permit holder your spouse, unmarried partner and children may be admitted to the UK as your dependants. Your spouse/unmarried partner will be given conditions of stay which do not place any restrictions, other than those that normally apply to a resident worker, on their taking employment or engaging in business.

Therefore a dependant of a work permit holder is free to work in the UK as long as the endorsement in their passport places no restriction on their employment here. Please contact Visalogic for assistance regarding this part of your work permit application.

A work permit can often be issued in a matter of days, however the time taken to process a work permit varies depending on the type of work permit applied for. In general the time taken to process a work permit application is also largely dependent on the timeliness of the work permit documentation being forwarded to Visalogic.

A work permit is not a contract of employment. A work permit gives your employer the permission to employ you, but they are in no way obligated to employ you. If you are made redundant you are only entitled to notice/compensation insofar as that which may be detailed in your contract of employment.

No, you can remain in the UK while the new work permit application is considered.

No, as a work permit holder you are not allowed to enter self-employment, establish a business or join another business as a director or partner.

If the candidate is from the European Economic Area (EEA), they are free to come to England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland to seek or take up employment without the need for a work permit. If an EEA national wishes to stay in England, Scotland, Wales or Northern Ireland for longer than 6 months, they can apply or a residence permit.

It is a criminal offence to employ a foreign national who has not been granted the correct leave to enter or remain in the UK, or who does not have permission to work in the UK. Failure to comply with the relevant legislation can result in a £5,000 fine for each person identified as being employed illegally.

If you are the holder of a HSMP visa your family (spouse, partner and children) can enjoy the same benefits as UK people. This means that your family will be able to work and study in the UK without any restrictions.

If you are a HSMP visa holder and you live in the UK continuously for five years on the HSMP you can apply for Indefinite Leave to Remain in the UK.

The employer must apply for the work permit on behalf of the foreign national they wish to employ. A work permit can only be issued to a specific employer to enable them to fill a specific roll with a specific candidate.

There are two main types of work permit application - Tier 1 and Tier 2. Visit our UK work permit page for further information about Tier 1 and Tier 2 work permits.

The HSMP MBA Provision was introduced on 12 April 2005 and is aimed at attracting highly qualified and talented graduates of the top 50 business schools to work in the UK under the HSMP for up to 12 months on the completion of their MBA.

If you are a student who has graduated from one of the HSMP eligible MBA programmes (while that programme is on the list of HSMP eligible courses) you are eligible to apply for the HSMP MBA Provision. Successful HSMP MBA applicants will be awarded 75 points for their eligible MBA.

As a HSMP MBA applicant you must also demonstrate that you will be able to continue your chosen career in the UK and that you intend to make the UK your home. Furthermore, you must show that you can supportyourself and any dependants without recourse to public funds.

To be eligible for the HSMP MBA Provisionyou must have graduated while your MBA school was on the list of HSMP eligible programmes.

The first list of HSMP eligible MBA programmes was published on 2 December 2004. If you graduated on or since 2 December 2004 and your MBA is on the eligible HSMP MBA list then you are eligible to apply for the HSMP MBA Provision.

If your HSMP application is successful you can seek and take any type of work while you are in the UK under the HSMP scheme. This includes being self-employed.

You must be outside the UK on the day when your work permit application is lodged. Visalogic will lodge your work permit application on behalf of your employer once you have left the UK. Once Visalogic submits the work permit application it usually takes between five and 10 days for the application to be approved.

Once the work permit application is approved Visalogic will send you the approved work permit. You must then submit an entry clearance application at the British Diplomatic Post in the country of your legal residence. Once entry clearance has been granted you can return to the UK and resume or start working under your work permit.

Visalogic can assist with you with your entry clearance application. We suggest you discuss this with a one of Visalogic’s consultants.

Yes, entry clearance for a work permit must be applied for in your country of legal residence.

If you are in the UK on a work permit that is approaching its expiry date you may be eligible to apply for a work permit extension. If however you have completed five years on a work permit you may be eligible to apply for Indefinite Leave to Remain (permanent residence).

You should apply for a work permit extension before your current work permit expires, however the extension application can only be lodged within three months of your current work permit expiring.

Yes, if you are in the UK on a work permit you can change to another employer, however this is only allowed once your new employer has arranged for a new work permit. This will usually take about five to 10 days from the day Visalogic submits the work permit application. Please note you cannot start working for your new employer until your new work permit has been approved.

If your current employment terminates you can try to find another employer willing to sponsor your work permit visa. Note that the new role must be similar to that undertaken in the current position for which your work permit was issued. An application for a change of employment work permit must be lodged within 28 days of leaving your current employer.

Alternatively you may also want to investigate Further Leave to Remain options by speaking with one of Visalogic’s consultants.

If you leave your job you have 28 days to find a similar position with a new employer. During these 28 days, your employer must file a new work permit application on your behalf. If you do not find a new employer you must leave the UK within 28 days or you will be deemed to be in the UK illegally. Although the work permit stamp in your passport may be valid for a number of years, it is only valid while you are employed with the company that obtained your work permit.

Supplementary employment arrangements apply to overseas nationals who already have a work permit, and who want to take on additional work to that which their work permit was issued for. Under the following circumstances you may undertake additional work without further permission provided that the work is:

• Outside of their normal working hours;
• For no more than 20 hours per week;
• In the same profession and at the same professional level for which the holder’s work permit visa was issued; and
• Not for a recruitment agency, employment agency or similar business, which provide personnel to a client.

Yes, you are free to travel abroad whilst your work permit is valid for normal annual leave and company related travel.