This visa was put in place to help trading companies outside of the UK who have no current UK presence. This visa makes it possible to send a member of staff to the UK in order to gain a UK presence.

You must have a genuine business that has been set up longer than one year in order to apply for this visa. If you have only been operating for less than one year you wont be considered for this visa.

If you send someone over to the UK as a sole representative you must be sending them for your business benefit and not for the immigration convenience of the candidate. The chosen candidate should be a senior employee and they will need to demonstrate a background that is appropriate to the role they will be playing as a sole representative.

In a successful application that has resulted in you sending a sole representative to the UK the majority of your business should still continue to be carried out overseas. This is because if it seems as though you are planning to move your headquarters to the UK your application for this visa will be turned down.

In order for you to make a Sole Representative Visa application you will need the following documents:

• Accounts showing your assets, turnover, and full details of share distribution for the previous year.
• A letter confirming that you will establish a wholly owned subsidiary or register a branch in the United Kingdom;
• The candidate's contract of employment
• Confirmation that the applicant is familiar with your activities and that he/she has full powers to negotiate and take operational decisions about the planned UK entity without reference to you  
• A notarised statement from you stating that the applicant will be your sole representative and that you have no other branch, subsidiary, or representative in the UK
• A notarised statement confirming that your operations will remain centred overseas
• A notarised statement that the candidate will not engage in business of his or her own nor will he or she represent any other company's interest
• The passport of the candidate.

If you are granted this visa you will be able to stay in the UK for two years; however once these two years are up you will have the option of applying to extend your stay for another three years. Your extension applications must be made in the UK and they need to be accompanied by proof that the candidate is still the sole representative, the accounts of the business that was operated in the first year of business and proof that the candidate has been properly paid. If once these five years are up the candidate is still needed as the sole representative they can apply for settlement within the UK, which will grant them permanent Residence.

If you would like more information about coming to the UK on a Sole Representative Visa then contact Immigration Consult today and we will help you in anyway that we can.