Monday 27 January 2025

If an individual wishes to visit the UK to carry out a business activity on a short-term basis, this may be permitted under the visitor route.

If a visa national (a national of a country on the ‘visa national list’) they must first be granted a visit visa.

Whereas historically, all non-visa nationals (nationals of countries not on the visa national list) were not required to obtain a visa in advance of travel and could simply be granted entry as a visitor on arrival.

This however is changing as the rollout this year of the UK’s Electronic Travel Authorisation (ETA) scheme (see our FAQs here) will require non-visa nationals visitors to apply for and obtain an ETA before travel to the UK.

What is not changing is the importance of understanding whether the intended activities in the UK are permitted as a visitor.

This can be difficult to assess and can often not be determined by considering the intended activity in isolation as it depends on numerous factors including the proposed duration of the visit and the full context of the proposed visit.

Key features of the visitor route

The visitor route is for individuals who wish to travel to the UK for a temporary period, usually for up to six months, for purposes such as tourism, visiting friends/family, a short course of study or carrying out a business activity.

The Immigration Rules categorise visitors into three main types: Standard visitors, which includes tourists as well as business visitors, Marriage/Civil Partnership visitors, and Transit visitors.

General requirements

There are certain general requirements all visitors must meet.

Applicants must not fall foul of certain suitability requirements (known as the general grounds for refusal), which involves consideration of an individual’s background including whether they have criminal convictions, have previously breached immigration laws or used deception or false representations in previous applications.

The Home Office must be satisfied that the individual is a ‘genuine visitor’, in particular that they:

• will leave at the end of their visit;
• intend only to undertake permitted activities;
• have sufficient funds to cover the cost of their visit, including for travel, maintenance and accommodation;
• will not be living in/making the UK their home through frequent and successive visits; and
• will not be doing any prohibited activities.

Prohibited activities

Visitors must not intend to work in the UK unless the kind of work they are planning to carry out is expressly permitted. Activities which are not allowed, include:

• taking employment in the UK
• doing work for an organisation or business in the UK
• establishing or running a business
• doing a work placement or internship
• direct selling to the public
• providing goods and services

Crucially, even where a visitor’s activities fall within the permitted activities described below, they must not amount to the visitor undertaking employment or carrying out work if this involves them filling a role, or providing short-term cover for a role, within a UK-based organisation. This is common scenario for global clients who wish to explore bringing someone over as a visitor from the overseas office to cover a UK role for a short period. This is strictly prohibited and an example of how the intended activities cannot be assessed in isolation without reference to all the circumstances.

Visitors must not receive payment from a UK source for any activities undertaken in the UK other than in limited circumstances (including reasonable expenses and where all requirements are met to be a permitted paid engagement).

Permitted business activities

Provided none of the lines are crossed in terms of prohibited activities, there are thankfully a raft of permitted business activities which visitors are allowed to do. These include general business activities, intra-corporate activities, permitted paid engagements as well as more sector specific type activities for example ‘manufacture and supply of goods to the UK’, ‘Legal’ and ‘Science and academia’.

The permitted general business activities allow a visitor to:

• attend meetings, conferences, seminars or interviews
• give a one-off or short series of talks and speeches provided the events are not commercial and will not make a profit for the organiser
• negotiate and sign deals and contracts
• attend trade fairs, for promotional work only (provided the visitor is not directly selling)
• carry out site visits and inspections
• gather information for employment overseas
• be briefed on the requirements of a UK-based customer, provided any work is done outside UK
• undertake activities relating to employment overseas remotely from within UK, providing this is not the primary purpose of the visit.

Intra-corporate activities are permitted provided the visitor is an employee of an overseas company working on a specific internal project with UK employees of the same corporate group. Provided these requirements are satisfied the visitor can:

• advise and consult
• troubleshoot
• provide training
• share skills and knowledge

Permitted paid engagements include a list of specific UK activities for which a visitor can be paid from a UK source, provided certain requirements are met. These include provisions for academics, experts coming to give lectures, lawyers and professional sportspeople and the activity must not last more than one month.

Remote working

Following the pandemic, more employees are working remotely globally which has led to a significant increase in clients asking whether it is permitted for individuals to work remotely in their overseas roles while visiting the UK. The short answer is – it depends. The longer answer requires assessment of the finer details.

Remote work is permitted but only where it is not the primary purpose of the visit, which must be for a permitted activity.

When assessing if an applicant’s primary purpose is to undertake remote work, the Home Office should consider both the proposed length of the visit and whether this period of stay would be financially viable without remote working on an ongoing basis. It would typically be expected that visitors are likely to stay for less than one month while undertaking remote work because they will be in employment overseas.

Therefore, if an overseas employee asks if they can base themselves in the UK office for a few months as they fancy a change of scenery (and there are clearly no actual business reasons for the individual to visit the UK) this would not be permitted. Whereas if the main purpose of their trip is to attend business meetings spread over a few weeks, they shall be permitted to undertake some duties of their overseas role remotely as this would be incidental to their main purpose of stay.

Duration of stay

Technically an individual is usually permitted to visit the UK for up to six months at a time and there is no specific restriction on the amount of time a visitor can spend in the UK during a 12-month period, provided their visit does not exceed the period granted. However, in reality, even if they are undertaking permitted activities, should a business visitor be spending more time in the UK than outside it, the Home Office may doubt they are a genuine visitor and consider that they are making the UK their home through frequent and successive visits.

Narrow in scope

The various types of permitted business activities may initially appear straightforward but when analysed, they reveal themselves significantly narrower in scope. For example, an employee of an overseas company is permitted under the visitor rules to install, dismantle, repair, service or advise on machinery, equipment, computer software or hardware in the UK. However, this is only allowed in circumstances where there is a contract of purchase, supply or lease with a UK organisation and either the overseas company is the manufacturer/supplier or is part of a contractual arrangement for after sales services agreed at the time of the sale or lease. Often the specific set of facts shall not fit neatly within these very prescribed requirements and therefore other potential (and often far more onerous) routes must be explored such as the Global Business Mobility-Service Supplier route.

Consequences of a refusal/breaching

Visitor applications where there has been a previous refusal inevitably have a higher bar to clear to surmount the issues which caused that refusal.

Depending on the reasons for refusal, new applications can be far more likely to be refused. Of particular note is that  if the Home Office considers deception to have been used in an application (whether or not to the applicant’s knowledge), a refusal can result in all subsequent UK immigration applications submitted from outside the UK in the following 10 year period to be automatically refused.

Other significant restrictions can be imposed, if a business visitor is found to have breached the visitor rules during a visit. Non-visa nationals can be turned away at the border if an Immigration Officer deems their proposed activities or duration of stay to be contrary to the visitor rules.

UK companies with a sponsor licence can attract Home Office scrutiny where business visitors intending to come to the UK to carry out work on their behalf, have visitor applications refused or are found to have breached the conditions of their visitor permission.

ETA scheme

An added consideration to factor in for non-visa national business visitors is the introduction of the ETA scheme, which has already been rolled out to all non-European non-visa nationals (nothing is changing for visa nationals, they must still obtain visit visas in advance of travel).

EU and Swiss nationals can apply from 5 March 2025 for all journeys where they will be arriving in the UK from 2 April 2025 onwards. ETA’s currently cost £10 (increasing to £16 later this year subject to parliamentary approval) and are valid for two years or until the holder’s passport expires, whichever is sooner.

Individuals should apply for their ETA as soon as possible before their planned trip and at least three working days before.

It is crucial to understand that an ETA is only permission to travel, the application form does not ask the applicant about the reason for the visit and therefore despite having obtained an ETA the individual can still be refused entry to the UK if their intended activities are not permitted under the visitor route.

Whilst ETA applications should be straightforward for those with an unblemished background (including not having an adverse criminal/UK immigration history), issues and delays shall arise for those with previous criminal convictions, who have had a previous refusal as a visitor or who have been found to have previously breached UK immigration conditions.

Reasons for mandatory refusals of ETA applications include for example where an individual has previously overstayed their permission (of any kind) or had a previous visit refusal, unless they have subsequently been granted permission as a visitor where the Home Office had knowledge of the previous refusal or breach.  The potential remedy for such individuals shall be to apply for a visit visa.

It should therefore prove prudent to consider a potential non-visa national visitor’s background before deciding whether they should apply for an ETA or a visit visa.

Conclusion

The visitor rules are complex and the evidential requirements imprecise. What might appear to be a straightforward business trip to the UK should never be taken lightly as the consequences of having an application refused or to be found to have breached the conditions of the visitor route, can be widespread and long-lasting. The roll out of the ETA scheme shall require additional forward planning including consideration of a potential business visitor’s background.

LDI can assist with reviewing proposed business activities, advise on an individual’s eligibility to qualify as a visitor and prepare visit visa applications, where required. For further information, please contact your dedicated LDI lawyer or enquiries@lauradevine.com.