Table Of Contents:
- What is a Sole Representative Visa
- Global Business Mobility Route Replaced Sole Representative Visa
- Global Business Mobility – UK Expansion Worker Visa
- How do the Sole Representative and Global Business Mobility: UK Expansion Worker visas differ
- Summary
The UK sole representative visa was closed on 11 April 2022 to new main applicants. On the same day, the UK expansion worker visa was introduced under the ‘Global Business Mobility’ route. The Global Business Mobility has 5 routes, including the UK expansion worker visa.
The UK expansion worker visa replaced the previous UK sole representative visa. A sole representative visa allows senior employees of overseas businesses to come to the UK for the purpose of establishing a branch or subsidiary of their overseas business in the UK. On the other hand, the Global Business Mobility – UK expansion worker visa is a sponsored route that allows more than one overseas worker (only senior managers or specialist employees) to undertake temporary work assignments to expand their overseas business to the UK.
What is a Sole Representative Visa?
The UK sole representative visa is a non-sponsored route that, before its closure, allowed overseas businesses to send their senior employees to the UK to set up a branch or subsidiary of their overseas business in the UK. This visa was not a part of the point-based system.
The sole representative visa was launched on 1 October 2009. This visa immigration rules underwent dramatic changes after its closure on 11 April 2022, when the new framework for representatives of overseas businesses was established under the Global Business Mobility route. Successful applicants were entitled to live and work in the UK for three years.
The route was closed for new main applicants, but existing holders still maintain established rights.
Global Business Mobility Route Replaced Sole Representative Visa
The Global Business Mobility, which was launched on 11 April 2022, is an umbrella category of five different types of UK work visas, namely:
- UK Senior or Specialist Worker Visa
- UK Graduate Trainee Visa
- UK Expansion Worker Visa
- UK Service Supplier Visa
- UK Secondment Worker Visa
These five visas have been designed for employees of overseas businesses to undertake specific types of work or assignments in the UK.
These visas also consolidate and expand upon existing business-related visas, providing overseas businesses with different pathways to send their workers to the UK for various purposes. For example, the UK sole representative visa was replaced by the UK expansion worker visa.
Global Business Mobility – UK Expansion Worker Visa
The UK Expansion Worker route, which replaced the provisions for Sole Representatives with the previous sole representative visa, is not considered a legacy route. Workers in the UK with permission on the sole representative route can continue to apply for their extensions and settlement (after five years’ continuous residence) in that route. These representatives in the UK are not expected to switch to Global Business Mobility, even though they can if they meet the requirements. However, once they switch to a UK expansion worker visa, they will not be able to settle on this route.
How do the Sole Representative and Global Business Mobility: UK Expansion Worker visas differ?
Even though the purpose of both visas seems similar, there are various significant distinctions between the previous sole representative visa and the newer UK expansion worker visa.
1. The UK Expansion Worker Route is a Sponsored Route
The UK expansion worker visa is a sponsored route, which means anyone who applies for this visa is required to have a valid CoS (Certificate of Sponsorship) from their employer. On the other hand, a sole representative visa is
an unsponsored route.
For a UK expansion worker visa, the sponsoring entity needs to be a UK branch or wholly owned subsidiary of an established overseas business.
This new entity in the UK will need to apply for and obtain a valid sponsor licence, and then assign a CoS to their first expansion workers to enable them to apply for an expansion worker visa.
2. UK Expansion Worker Visa Allows up to 5 Expansion Workers
The previous sole representative visa, as its name suggests, only allowed one senior employee of an overseas
business to enter the UK to establish its new branch or subsidiary here.
By contrast, an employer on the Global Business Mobility: UK Expansion Worker route can sponsor a maximum of five UK Expansion Workers. This provides the given overseas business an advantage as this visa enables the employer to send a team (of only senior managers or specialist employees) with different, but complementary skill sets to carry out the work of setting up a UK branch.
3. The Eligibility Requirements for UK Expansion Worker Visa are Stricter
The UK sole representative visa was not a sponsored route; therefore, it did not require the applicants to be offered a job that is on the Home Office’s list of eligible occupations. Apart from this, they also did not require to be paid a minimum salary. However, the applicants were required to hold a senior position within the business, possess the necessary knowledge, skills, and experience, enabling them to carry out the business expansion work in the UK.
On the other hand, because the UK expansion worker visa is a sponsored route, it has stricter eligibility requirements when compared to those for the sole representative visa. Such eligibility requirements include the UK Expansion Worker needing to be offered a job that is on the Home Office’s list of eligible occupations. They must also be paid at least £ 52,500 or the going rate or the “going rate” for the occupation – whichever is higher.
4. A Shorter Length of Stay in the UK is Granted to the UK Expansion Workers
Someone coming to the UK on a Global Business Mobility: UK expansion worker visa can be granted a shorter
period of stay in the UK, compared to the period of stay allowed on a sole representative visa. Successful applicants for the sole representative visa were granted a leave of up to an initial period of three years. It also allowed them to apply for an extension of their visa for a further two years.
On the other hand, the UK expansion worker visa only grants the successful applicants an initial stay of one year. Holders of this visa can apply to extend the visa by a further year, but they cannot apply for further extension, which means two years is the maximum total period they can stay in the UK on this route.
5. The UK Expansion Worker visa doesn’t lead to Settlement
Sole representative visa holders were able to apply for indefinite leave to remain (also known as ‘settlement’) after having lived in the UK for five years continuously. However, the newer UK expansion worker visa is a
temporary visa and therefore it does not lead to settlement in the UK.
Even if a UK expansion worker visa holder later switches to another visa from inside the UK, for example, a UK skilled worker visa that can lead to settlement, the time they spent in the UK with the UK Expansion Worker visa will not count towards the five years of continuous residence required for ILR.
Please note that the UK government has proposed in its latest White Paper, released on 12 May 2025, to increase the qualifying period for settlement from five years to ten years. You should check the latest update before applying.
Summary
Both the sole representative visa and the UK expansion worker visa are for employees of overseas businesses who want to come to the UK to set up their UK branch or wholly owned subsidiary.
Even though the previous UK sole representative visa was closed for the new main applicants on 11 April 2022, their dependents can still apply on this route. Also, those living in the UK on a sole representative visa can apply to extend or switch to another visa. This visa also leads to settlement, followed by British Citizenship.
On the other hand, the Global Business Mobility route that was launched on the same day of 11 April 2022 has five different visas, including the UK expansion worker visa, which replaced the previous sole representative visa.
In contrast, the UK expansion worker visa is a temporary route, hence it does not lead to settlement. However, you can switch in-country to another visa and then be eligible for settlement, followed by British citizenship.