Business Visitor Visa

The following information is given in order to provide you with a generalised overview of the criteria required for the UK business visit visa. However if you wish for us to assess whether you qualify for the UK business visit visa, or you wish to engage our services and/or require further information regarding this particular application, please complete the ‘Contact Box’ on this page to enable a member of our team to contact you and advise you further.

It is imperative if an individual wishes to enter the UK under the category of business visitor visa they must be able to illustrate that they:

• Only want to visit the UK for up to six months;
• Plan to leave the UK at the end of their visit;
• Have enough money to support and accommodate themselves without working in the UK or receiving assistance from UK public funds;
• Do not intend to charge members of the public for services provided or goods received;
• Do not intend to study;
• Can meet the cost of their return or onward journey;
• Are based abroad and have no intention of transferring their base to the UK even temporarily;
• Receives their salary from abroad.

Further the individual would also need to show that they plan to carry out one or more of the following permissible activities. The permissible activities are:

• Attending meetings, including interviews that have been arranged before coming to the UK, or conferences;
• Arranging deals or negotiating or signing trade agreements or contracts;
• Undertaking fact finding missions;
• Conducting site visits;
• Delivering goods and passengers from abroad such as lorry drivers and coach drivers provided they are genuinely working an international  route;
• Tour group couriers who are contracted to a firm outside the UK, who are seeking entry to accompany a tour group and who intend to leave with that tour group;
• Speaking at a conference where this is not run as a commercial concern and the conference is a 'one-off';
• Representing computer software companies by coming to install, debug or enhance their products;
• Representing foreign manufacturers by coming to service or repair their company's products within their initial period of guarantee;
• Representing foreign machine manufacturers by coming to erect and install machinery too heavy to be delivered in one piece, as part of the contract of purchase and supply;
• Interpreting or translating for visiting business persons, provided the interpreter/translator is employed by the overseas company and is coming solely to provide this service for the visiting company member;
• Monteurs - workers, for example fitters or servicepersons coming for up to six months to erect, dismantle, install, service, repair or advise on the development of foreign-made machinery;
• Board-level directors attending board meetings in the UK provided they are not employed by a UK company, although they may be paid a fee for attending the meeting.