Service Supplier Visa UK

Page Contents

• Understand the Service Supplier Visa for UK
• Service Supplier Visa Eligibility Criteria
• Eligible Jobs for Service Supplier Visa
• How to Apply for a Service Supplier Visa UK?
• Required Documents Service Supplier Visa
• Getting a Certificate of Sponsorship
• Application Cost of a Service Supplier Visa
• Service Supplier Visa Processing Time
• Common Reasons for Unsuccessful Applications
• Your Partner and Children: Service Supplier Visa
• Extending your Service Supplier Visa
• Updating your Service Supplier Visa
• Switching to a Service Supplier Visa in UK
• What You Can and Cannot Do with Service Supplier Visa
• Service Supplier Visas: Advantages for Employers
• Permanent Settlement and Citizenship
• How Manchester Immigration Lawyers Can Help You
• Frequently Asked Questions

Understand the Service Supplier Visa for UK

The Service Supplier visa is a category of the Global Business Mobility visa, and helps overseas professionals work in the UK.

The Service Supplier visa allows either employees of overseas companies or self-employed overseas professionals to perform contracted services in the UK. If you work for an overseas service provider or are self-employed and have a contract to provide services to a UK company, the Service Supplier visa may be suitable.

This visa allows the holder to remain in the UK for 6 or 12 months, or for the period stated on your certificate of sponsorship plus 14 additional days, whichever is shorter. The duration will depend on the trade contract under which you are delivering services.

The Service Supplier visa does not provide a direct route to UK permanent settlement or citizenship.

Service Supplier Visa Eligibility Criteria

To be eligible for this visa, you will need to satisfy the following criteria:

• Be either employed by an overseas company or a self-employed overseas service provider
• Have a contract for providing a service to a UK company ( the contract must be covered by a valid international trade agreement)
• The job you will be performing must be eligible ( you must have the right qualifications and professional experience for the job in question)
• Have a certificate of sponsorship from the UK company for which you will be providing the service
• Have either worked for your overseas employer for at least 12 months or, in the case of self-employed applicants, have 12 months of professional experience in the same sector

Eligible Jobs for Service Supplier Visa

Your job will need to be on the list of eligible jobs in order for you to apply for a Service Supplier visa. Qualifying roles include:

• Engineering managers
• Building service managers
• Quarry managers
• Scientists
• Civil engineers
• Electrical engineers
• IT managers
• Programmers and software engineers
• Conservation professionals
• Legal professionals
• Architects
• Chartered surveyors
• Archivists
• Public relations professionals

If your job is not eligible, you will need to satisfy additional eligibility criteria. Generally, you will need to have either a degree or a degree-equivalent technical qualification. You will also need to have 3 years of professional experience related to the service in question, or 6 years of professional experience for self-employed applicants.

How to Apply for a Service Supplier Visa UK?

When applying for a Service Supplier visa, you will need to complete a number of steps:

1. Check your eligibility and gather the required documentation.
2. Complete the required application forms.
3. Verify your identity either via the ‘UK Immigration: ID Check’ app or at a UK visa application centre.
4. You will need to wait for your application to be processed. If you are successful, you will be able to enter the UK and start work with the UK company for which you are contracted to provide services.

Required Documents Service Supplier Visa

When applying for a Service Supplier visa, you will need to provide the following:

• Valid passport
• Certificate of sponsorship reference number (provided by the UK company for which you will be providing services)
• Job title and occupation code
• Sponsor name and license number
• Proof of sufficient personal finances to support you during your stay
• Proof of relationship with any dependants who are also applying alongside you
• Tuberculosis test results (if applicable)

In some cases, you may need to provide proof that you worked for your overseas employer for at least 12 months, or that you have been doing related work for at least 12 months if self-employed.

Getting a Certificate of Sponsorship

When applying for a Service Supplier visa, you must provide a certificate of sponsorship (CoS) from your UK employer. This is a digital record that details the role you will be performing and includes a reference number you will need to use in your visa application.

To assign you CoS, the UK company will need a valid UK Home Office sponsor licence.

Application Cost of a Service Supplier Visa

You must pay a UK Service Supplier visa application fee of £340. Any dependants applying with your application will also need to pay this fee.

You will also need to provide evidence that you have sufficient savings to support yourself during your stay. You should have at least £1,270 in your bank account, and must have been available for at least 28 consecutive days within 31 days of when you apply.

Visa holders will also need to pay the UK Immigration Health Surcharge, which allows you to receive healthcare from the National Health Service, costing £1035 annually.

Service Supplier Visa Processing Time

After submitting your visa application, you will need to wait for it to be processed.

If you applied from within the UK, you should receive a decision within 8 weeks of submitting your application. If you applied from outside of the UK, however, you should hear back within 3 weeks.

These waiting times should be taken into account when deciding when to submit your application. You will be able to submit your application within 3 months before your proposed start date in the UK.

Common Reasons for Unsuccessful Applications

Your application for a Service Supplier visa may be rejected for a number of reasons, such as:

• You have not been employed outside of the UK by your company for at least 12 months
• You do not have at least 12 months of relevant professional experience, in the case of self-employed service providers
• You have previously broken the terms of an earlier UK visa, such as overstaying beyond the authorised period
• The contract under which you would be providing the service is not covered by a valid international trade agreement
• No valid certificate of sponsorship
• No evidence of sufficient personal finances to support you for the duration of your UK stay

Before applying for a Service Supplier visa, you should ensure you meet the eligibility criteria and have sufficient supporting documentation.

Your Partner and Children: Service Supplier Visa

When applying for a Service Supplier visa, your partner and child(ren) may also be able to apply to join you in the UK as your dependants. To be eligible, they must meet several criteria.

Dependents must be one of the following:

• Your spouse or unmarried partner
• Your minor child (including children born in the UK)
• Any adult children who already have permission to be in the UK as your dependents

If your partner applies to join you, they must be one of the following:

• Husband, wife, or civil partner
• Partner with whom you have cohabited for at least 2 years
• Partner with whom you have been in a relationship for at least 2 years, but with whom you have been unable to cohabit (often due to long distance or cultural considerations). You will need to provide evidence that you were in an ongoing committed relationship despite living apart

If your child is applying to join you, they will need to live with you (unless away from home due to full-time education) and not be married or in a civil partnership.

Extending your Service Supplier Visa

It may be possible for you to extend your Service Supplier visa if you haven’t yet been in the UK on that visa for the maximum duration of 12 months.

To extend your visa, you must meet the following:

• Not reached the total maximum stay of 12 months
• Still contracted to provide services for the UK company in question
• Still performing a role which satisfies the eligibility requirements

Any dependants in the UK with you will need to apply separately to extend their own visas, as they will not be extended automatically, even if yours is. If they successfully obtain an extension, their visa will generally expire on the same day as yours.

Updating your Service Supplier Visa

If your job changes and you have a new occupation code, you will need to apply to update your Service Supplier visa. You should do this via the UK government website, and any dependants in the UK must also apply for an update.

You will be able to apply for your visa update from 3 months before the proposed start date of the new role. You should not begin your new role until you have received updated permission from the Home Office.

Holders are also advised not to travel outside of the UK, Ireland, Channel Islands, or Isle of Man until you have received a decision, as it could invalidate yoru application.

When applying for a visa update, you will need to re-verify your identity. This will be done either via the UK Immigration: ID Check’ app or at a UK Visa and Citizenship Application Services (UKVCAS) service point.

The service you are performing must still be for the UK company which issued your certificate of sponsorship; the updated visa only permits you to perform a new role for the same company.

Switching to a Service Supplier Visa in UK

If you are already in the UK on a different visa, you may be able to apply to switch to a Service Supplier visa. This means that you can apply for a Service Supplier visa from within the UK, whilst legally present on a different visa. However, must satisfy the Service Supplier visa criteria.

One common route to switching to a Service Supplier visa is to graduate from a UK university as an international student and then submit a Service Supplier visa application to provide services for a UK company. To be eligible for this route, you mut have:

• Completed your course
• Have a job start date which is after the end date of your course
• Be a full-time PhD student (and have been for at least the past 24 months)

You are not able to switch to a Service Supplier visa from within the UK if you are in the UK under any of the following circumstances:

• Visitor visa
• Short-Term Student visa
• Parent of a Child Student visa
• Seasonal Worker visa
• Domestic Worker in a Private Household visa
• Immigration bail
• Permission to stay outside of ordinary immigration rules, e.g. compassionate grounds

In all of the above cases, you will need to first leave the UK and then apply for a Service Supplier visa from your usual country of residence.

What You Can and Cannot Do with Service Supplier Visa

Successfully obtaining a Service Supplier visa offers many advantages to its holders. For example, you will be able to do each of the following:

• Work for your UK sponsor completing the role specified in your certificate of sponsorship
• Volunteer for one of the following:
  • Registered charity
  • Voluntary organisation
  • Fundraising body which is associated with either a charity or voluntary organisation
  • Statutory body
• Leave and re-enter the UK
• Study
• Bring your partner and child(ren) as dependants (if they satisfy the aforementioned eligibility criteria)

However, there is also a number of things you are not permitted to do, including:

• Apply for state benefits
• Change jobs (unless you update your visa)
• Apply for indefinite leave to remain within the UK (i.e. permanent settlement status)
• Perform a second job

Service Supplier Visas: Advantages for Employers

For employers who need help with a particular service but do not want to hire a permanent member of staff, the Service Supplier visa can be a good option. This allows you to secure the services of an overseas service provider for up to 12 months, depending on the nature of the services.

This visa route also allows UK companies to enter into contracts with self-employed professionals, rather than only with overseas companies. Additionally, the person providing the service will not need to meet an English-language requirement; they will only need to have sufficient qualifications and experience to provide the service in question.

If you wish to secure the services of a professional on a more permanent basis, there may be more suitable visa routes, such as the Skilled Worker visa, which would allow companies to hire overseas workers long-term.

Permanent Settlement and Citizenship

The Service Supplier visa does not provide a direct route to UK permanent settlement or citizenship, as it is a Temporary Work visa intended to allow the holder to perform specific services in the UK. It only allows the holder to remain in the UK for up to 1 year.

In the event that the company hiring your services would prefer to hire you on a permanent basis, sponsoring you for a Skilled Worker could be applicable. The company would need to hold a suitable Home Office sponsor licence.

How Manchester Immigration Lawyers Can Help You

If you are hoping to enter the UK in order to perform services for a UK company, it is likely that you will require a Service Supplier visa. This visa will allow you to live and work in the UK so that you can provide the services for which you or your company have been contracted.

However, applying for a Service Supplier visa is often complicated. You will need to comply with a number of immigration rules, which can be difficult to navigate.

At Manchester Immigration Lawyers, we can help to ensure that this process runs as smoothly as possible. Contact us online today or on 0161 826 9783 to learn more about our full range of services, such as our Application and Advice packages, and to get started with your UK Global Business Mobility visa Service Supplier application.