Business Visitor Visa

The business visitor category is for people who work abroad but intend to visit the UK for a short time to do business on their own or their employer’s behalf. Business visitors include those coming for short visits as:

  • academic visitors
  • visiting professors
  • teachers accompanying students
  • film crews
  • representatives of overseas news media
  • secondees
  • religious workers
  • advisers, consultants, internal auditors, trainers or troubleshooters
  • those doing one-off training
  • overseas scientists or researchers advising on international research projects being led in the UK
  • overseas employees of international law firms with offices in the UK, and
  • those doing one or more activities specified in the business visitor rules.

Requirements for Business Visitor

There are few mandatory documents required as part of the application but a broader discretion is left for an applicant and an entry clearance officer.  An applicant for a business visitor visa must demonstrate that they intend to visit the UK for a genuine business activity. You must intend to leave the UK after the end of your visit and demonstrate that you can meet the cost of the return or onward journey

You must show that you have sufficient funds to maintain and accommodate yourself (and any dependants) without working in the UK or receiving assistance from UK public funds. Alternatively, you can show that your relatives or friends or the company will be financially supporting and/or accommodating you.

Activities not permitted on a Business Visitor Visa

  • You must not intend to study in the UK for more than 6 months
  • You must not intend to charge the public for services provided or goods received
  • You must be based abroad and have no intention of setting up a base in the UK
  • You must receive your salary/remuneration from overseas
  • You must not intend to marry or register a civil partnership in the UK
  • You must not intend to receive private medical treatment during your visit to the UK
  • You must not be a transit passenger to a country outside the Common Travel Area

Business Visa Extension

The maximum you can stay in the UK, at any single time is six months as a business visitor. If however your visa was granted for a period of less than six months, you may apply for an extension of your visa which takes you up to the maximum of six months.

Please note that upon the expiry of your visa, you are required to leave the UK. If you stay beyond the expiry of your visa, you will remain illegally in the UK and you will be considered an “overstayer”. This may have an adverse impact on your immigration record and is likely to affect any future UK immigration applications.

Visitor Visa Refusal

Applicants can often be refused a visa to enter the UK as a business visitor and will receive a detailed letter explaining the reasons for refusal. If you believe that a refusal has been incorrectly served and you do not agree with the concerns and find them inappropriate, the refusal can be challenged through a Judicial Review.  Our immigration solicitors have successfully overturned many visitor visa refusals through pre-action protocol or Judicial review.

We, therefore, advise that if applicants have been refused a business visitor visa, please seek legal advice on the procedure for submitting a fresh application.

Why Connaughts

Our expert immigration Solicitors can assist you with the right type of business visa application to visit the UK. If you qualify, we will help you to prepare your application and perform an extensive document check.

In the majority of cases, our immigration solicitors prepare and represent the case to entry clearance officers in your country. If you need to discuss your application or if you have been refused a UK visitor visa, feel free to complete the call-back inquiry form.

For further help or information Get In Touch

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