The Home Office has confirmed that effective from 9AM on 11 April 2022, the Sole Representative visa route will be closed to new applicants.
Self Sponsorship is a good alternative to consider if you’re considering business opportunities within the UK. A UK Sponsor is not required and this can lead to permanent residency and British citizenship for yourself and your family.
Our client, Ms K, instructed us to prepare for his application as a sole representative of an overseas business.
Ms K is a national and resident of India and has been employed by an IT company for 2 years, previously working at a world-leading tech company. The parent company specialises in Data Science and Data Analytics with clients ranging from start-up companies to global organisations.
Having worked with many UK-based clients, the parent company saw an opportunity to expand their business in the UK due to the increasing demand for Data Science related services and decided to open a branch in the UK.
Due to her previous work experience with UK companies and experience in both the technical and managerial aspects of the business, Ms K was nominated as the sole representative of the parent company and instructed us to represent her in her entry clearance application.
How AY & J helped Ms S with her application:
After an initial discussion with our client, it was established that this is a strong application because of a number of factors. Firstly, the company has an active and strong presence in the industry in India, and was able to provide numerous reference letters and evidence of trading activities such as invoices, commercial contracts and tax returns. It was also able to provide evidence of its ability to maintain and generate business in the UK by providing evidence of previous and upcoming projects with their UK clients, which demonstrates the need for them to set up a branch in the UK in order to strengthen their reach to their clients.
Ms S was also able to prove her suitability for this role. Having completed a Bachelor’s and a Master’s degree in related fields and worked in the industry for over 10 years, Ms S has continued to undertake professional training courses to keep herself up to date with her knowledge.
We reviewed and collated Ms S’ supporting documents to showcase both the strengths and potential of the company and the candidate with a detailed explanation of how each requirement under the sole representative route was met.
Result:
Whilst waiting for a decision for visa applications can be nerve-wracking, within 2 weeks of submitting the application, we received good news from Ms K that her application has been successful, and she has been granted leave to enter the UK as the sole representative of her employer.
