International Agreement

The International Agreement visa is for those who are coming to the United Kingdom under contract to provide a service covered under international law, including:

• private servants in diplomatic households;
• employees of overseas governments and international organisations;
• the General Agreement on Trade in Services (GATS); and
• similar agreements between the United Kingdom or European Union and another country or other countries.

International agreement visa category does not include the intra corporate transfer commitment of GATS or similar commitments in other agreements. Those coming to the United Kingdom under these arrangements should come under Tier 2 (Intra Company Transfer) of the Points-Based System.

Length of stay

Usually until one month after the period of work stated on your certificate of sponsorship, and up to 2 years with extensions.

You may be able to stay for longer if you are applying as an employee of an overseas government or international organisation or as a private servant in a diplomatic household.

English language requirement

Tier 5 visa applicants may be required to complete an English test if they are not nationals of an English-speaking country or have not completed any academic courses in English.

Further information, help, and advice

As one of the leading immigration lawyers in Holborn London, we also work on a broad range of other immigration applications with an experienced in-house team of lawyers to represent applicants who have grounds to apply for visas that involve marriage, civil partnership, asylum, human rights and the European Union free movement.