The UK closed down its previous ‘Representative of Overseas Business’ visa on 11 April 2022 and launched a new Global Business Mobility category. This category encompasses five visas, and the UK expansion worker visa is one of them. If an overseas business wants to set up its first UK branch or subsidiary and assigns this task to one of its employees, that employee needs to apply for a UK expansion worker visa. The employee of that overseas business must be a senior manager or a specialist employee.
The salary for an Expansion worker has been increased to minimum of £52500 from the changes to the Immigration Rules. If you have not been working overseas for the company for 12 months of more then the salary should be £73,900.
The UK expansion worker visa is a temporary visa. An expansion worker’s dependants, such as their partner or children, can accompany them in the UK, provided they meet the relevant eligibility requirements for dependants.
If you are in the UK as an expansion worker and you want your partner and children to join you or stay with you in the UK as your ‘dependants’, they can apply for it if they’re eligible.
Your dependant partner or child must be one of the following:
You’ll need to provide evidence of your relationship to your dependant at the time of your application.
Dependants of individuals in the UK on an expansion worker visa can apply to join them. They can apply at the same time as the main applicant or later. If your partner or child’s application as your dependants is successful, their visa will usually expire on the same date as yours. If a child’s parents' visas end on different dates, the child’s visa will expire on the earlier date.
In this article, we are going to discuss a few important points as part of an overview of the UK expansion worker dependant visa.
You must be able to prove one of the following:
If you are not living with your partner, you will need to prove that you and your partner have an ongoing commitment to each other through evidence. For example, you communicate with each other regularly, or you support each other financially.
Your dependent child must:
Your partner and children who are applying as dependants must show that they have the required amount of money available to support themselves while they are in the UK.
You, or your dependant partner or child, will require the following amount of money:
• For your partner - £285
• For one child - £315
• For each additional child - £200
You or your dependant partner or child will need to prove that the money has been available for at least 28 consecutive days, and the 28th day has to be within 31 days of you or them applying for a UK expansion worker visa.
You’ll usually need to satisfy the financial requirement when they apply, unless you have all been in the UK for 12 or more months with a valid visa. If your partner or child applies later, they’ll only need to demonstrate that the money is available with them if they have been in the UK for less than 12 months.
Your partner or child (children who have turned 18 during your stay) needs to apply to switch their UK expansion worker dependant visa, either at the same time as you or at any time before the expiry of their current visa.
If your partner or children are currently in the UK on visas such as a UK visit visa, short-term student visa, seasonal worker visa, or on a parent of a child student visa, they cannot apply to switch to your visa as your dependants.
If your partner or child is in the UK currently on a UK student visa, they can only switch as dependants if they have either completed the course of study they were sponsored for or studied for a PhD for at least 2 years.
How to Apply?
The application form will tell you whether your partner or child needs to apply separately or if you can include them in your application. If your partner or child applies separately, they’ll need to apply online and prove their identity as part of their application.
They must not travel outside of the UK, Ireland, the Isle of Man, or the Channel Islands before they receive a decision. If they do so, their UK expansion worker visa dependants application will be withdrawn.
When your partner and child apply from outside the UK, they need to apply online separately as your partner and as your child. Each family member applying as your dependant will need to apply separately and pay the visa fee. They must apply for the visa before they travel to the UK.
They will also need to prove their identity as part of their application.
If your partner or child is switching to a UK expansion worker dependant visa they will usually get a decision within 8 weeks.
On the other hand, if they are applying from outside the UK, they will usually get a decision within 3 weeks. They may also avail of a paid ‘super priority’ service for faster decisions.
Your partner or child can study, work (except as a sportsperson or coach), and travel overseas and come back to the UK.
However, they will not be able to apply for most benefits (public funds), or the State Pension.
We are an established immigration agency in London. We help non-UK individuals in the UK on a valid visa bring their family members to live with them in the UK. If you want your partner and child to join you or stay with you through a UK expansion worker dependant visa, we help you complete the application process, starting with meeting the eligibility criteria, proving the relationship requirement, meeting financial requirements, collating the necessary documents, and completing and submitting the application form.
We have helped several families obtain their UK expansion worker dependant visa. You can reach out to our team at +44 (0) 20 3411 1261 to learn more.
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