UK Sole Representative Visa Extension

If you are currently in the UK on a UK Sole Representative Visa (sometimes referred to as the Representative of an Overseas Business visa) that is due to expire, you can still extend your stay if you meet the eligibility requirements. This is despite the fact the Representative of an Overseas Business visa has been replaced by the UK Expansion Worker visa under the Global Business Mobility route.

It is important to apply to extend your UK Sole Representative Visa before the initial 3-year period granted expires. If your extension application is successful, you will be able to stay in the UK for another 2 years (i.e. 5 years in total). After 5 years in the UK on a UK Sole Representative Visa, you may be eligible to apply for Indefinite Leave to Remain (ILR), allowing you to remain in the UK permanently.

Sole representative visa extension requirements

In order to extend your Sole Representative visa, you must meet the following eligibility criteria:

• Be in the UK when you apply
• Hold a valid (i.e. non-expired) Sole Representative visa
• Be either a representative of an overseas business or an employee of an overseas newspaper, news agency or broadcasting organisation
• Be working for the same employer as when you were first granted your Sole Representative visa
• Your employer’s principal place of business must still be outside of the UK, and
• You must still be supervising the UK branch or subsidiary that you established for the overseas business (assuming you are a sole representative)

If you are unsure if you meet any of the eligibility requirements for a Sole Representative visa, speak to our immigration solicitors who will be able to advise you. In general, as long as you are still in the UK for the same reason that you were first granted your visa, you should be eligible for a visa renewal.

Required documents for sole representative visa extension

Before applying for a sole representative visa extension, it is advisable to gather all of the necessary documents that you will need to submit to support your application. UK Visas and Immigration (UKVI) will tell you which documents to provide with your application. The exact documents you will need to provide will depend on whether you are here as a sole representative or a newspaper, news agency or broadcast employee. The documents needed are set out below.

Sole representatives

• Evidence of ongoing business activity in the UK – e.g. accounts, invoices or letters from UK organisations that you have dealt with
• Evidence that the UK branch or subsidiary has been registered with Companies House in the UK – i.e. a certificate of registration as a UK establishment (for a branch) or a certificate of incorporation (for a subsidiary)
• Evidence that the UK business is wholly owned by your overseas employer
• A letter from your overseas employer stating that you are still needed to work in the same role and
• Details of your pay or salary

Newspaper, news agency or broadcast employees

• A letter from your overseas employer stating that you are still needed to work in the same role and
• Details of your pay or salary

Can your dependents apply for a visa extension?

Yes, your dependants (i.e. your husband, wife or partner and children under 18) will also be able to extend their visa. It is important to bear in mind that a separate extension application must be prepared and submitted for each of your dependant family members. This is because your partner or child’s visa will not be automatically extended when yours is renewed. Your partner and children can either apply at the same time as you or at a different time as long as they do so before their current visa expires. In most cases, their existing visa expiry date will be the same as yours.

In general, your partner and children will need to meet the same eligibility requirements they met when they first applied. For your partner, this includes not owning or controlling a majority of the overseas business that you represent. If they have become a majority owner or controller since gaining their initial dependent visa, they will not be eligible for a dependent visa extension.

Your partner and children will need to pay the application fee of £827 if applying from inside the UK or £719 if applying from outside the UK. They will also need to pay the healthcare surcharge for the duration of the visa extension. If you are unsure how much healthcare surcharge you and your family will need to pay to extend your visa, the UKVI healthcare surcharge calculator will help you to work this out.