Visa and immigration options for setting up in the UK

27 February 2025

Senior Client Manager Ross Kennedy this week presented a webinar for the Australia-United Kingdom Chamber of Commerce on what you need to know about UK immigration routes to set up in the UK.

Below, you can watch the webinar introduced by the Australia-United Kingdom Chamber of Commerce CEO Richard Basil-Jones and delivered by Ross Kennedy. Elisabeth Bowes PSM, Deputy High Commissioner, Australian High Commission, United Kingdom also provides a foreword, discussing the new Free Trade Agreement between the two countries.

This webinar is a quick overview that would help any nationality considering moving to the UK to set up a business or expanding a UK office by bringing in more staff. It covers all the immigration aspects of moving people to the UK to work.

Crucially, Ross Kennedy explains why you should consider your immigration options as soon as possible, at the very start of your journey into the UK market.

UK immigration routes for setting up in the UK

Here is a summary of the UK immigration routes discussed in the webinar:

Skilled Worker visa

A Skilled Worker sponsor licence is the most popular means to apply for work visas to bring qualified occupations to the UK. To obtain a Skilled Worker sponsor licence, an organisation must:

• Be active and trading in the UK
• Nominate at least one British or settled worker in the UK for sponsorship duties

A sponsored Skilled Worker must be paid a guaranteed salary of at least £38,700 pa or the median ‘going rate’ for the occupation, whichever is higher.

Length of stay: Visas last up to five years, after which Skilled Workers can apply to settle – in which case they would no longer need to be sponsored.

Dependent family members permitted: Yes (NB: Dependants include a married spouse, partner and children under 18).

Expansion Worker visa

If an organisation doesn’t yet have an existing branch or subsidiary in the UK, it may send senior members of staff to establish a commercial presence in the UK market.  To obtain an Expansion Worker sponsor licence the overseas parent organisation must demonstrate that it:

• has been active and trading for at least three years (one year if applying under the UK-Australia Free Trade Agreement)
• has a credible expansion plan, including a genuine commercial reason for expanding into UK markets, sufficient market research and sufficient cash to fund the expansion.

The overseas organisation must establish a UK presence, usually a corporate subsidiary or branch office.

Length of stay: A 12-month Expansion Worker visa can be extended once for a further 12 months. This time doesn’t count towards settlement, but once in the UK, this work visa allows switching into other immigration categories, such as Skilled Worker.

Dependent family members permitted: Yes.

Other Global Business Mobility routes

Existing employees of overseas business can be transferred to a related company in the UK if the UK company has a licence to sponsor workers in the relevant category.  This can include transferring Senior or Specialist Workers or sending Graduate Trainees on a rotation to the UK as part of a structured graduate training programme.

There are also Global Business Mobility routes for overseas businesses to send workers to the UK as part of international contract for supply of services to the UK under a trade agreement (Such as the FTA and the CPTPP) or in relation to high value contracts and investment.

Length of stay: Senior or Specialist Workers can be sponsored for up to five years (or nine years for high earners).  Other categories in this route can generally be up to a year. This time doesn’t count towards settlement, but once in the UK, this work visa allows switching into other immigration categories, such as Skilled Worker.

Dependent family members permitted: Yes.

Innovator Founder visa

This is a visa for founders of innovative businesses which have not yet been launched who want to start up in the UK.

The business must be assessed by a Home Office licensed endorsing body, as being viable, innovative and scalable. The Innovator Founder visa reflects the fact that businesses often have cofounders with more than one founding team members able to apply for this visa for a single business plan if it qualifies for endorsement. Every Innovator Founder will have to demonstrate they have generated the ideas in the business plan (or significantly contributed to them) and will be involved in their day-to-day role fulfilling the business plan.

Length of stay: The visa can be renewed or lead to settlement after three years if the business has met certain targets. Innovator Founders can switch to other visas otherwise and time on their route may count towards a five-year route to settlement.

Family members permitted: Yes, but they would need five years’ residence to qualify for settlement.

Global Talent visa

Recognised experts in the fields of academia, research, entertainment, arts and culture or digital technology may apply to this non-sponsored visa which does not rely on a job offer.

Applicants must apply for recognition by an approved endorsing body, such as PACT or the Royal Academy of Engineering as a leader or potential leader in their field. To qualify for the digitech stream of the Global Talent visa, for which the endorsing body is Tech Nation, applicants should demonstrate a proven commercial, investment, or product expertise in building digital products or leading investments in significant digital product businesses.

Length of stay: This is a three-year route to settlement (five years for emerging talent).

Dependent family members permitted: Yes, but they would need five years’ residence to qualify for settlement.

Student and Graduate visas

Students accepted by an education institution which is a Home Office licensed student sponsor can apply for a UK Student visa, during which they can work part time. Once an international student has successfully completed their study at graduate or postgraduate level they may apply for a Graduate visa.

Length of stay: Student visas last for the duration of a course. Students can extend their visa for a new course or switch into a work visa – but only after completing studies. A Graduate visa allows those graduating in the UK a further two years’ stay after the end of their course. (Three years for a PhD or other doctoral qualification.)

Dependent family members permitted: No, apart from those on a Student visa studying for a PhD/doctorate or a research-based higher degree. Dependants can only join those on a Graduate visa if they were already in the UK as dependants on the Student visa that preceded it.

High Potential Individual visa

Graduates (within the last five years) from a list of around 40 top global universities may apply for a High Potential Individual visa. They do not require a job offer. A new list of universities that qualified graduates on the year they attained their degree is published every November (the University of Melbourne is the only Australian university on the list this year).

Length of stay: The HPI visa is granted for two years (three years for those with PhDs). This isn’t a route to settlement, but switching to other immigration routes is allowed.

Dependent family members permitted: Yes.

Family visa

British and Irish nationals and UK permanent residents may sponsor a spouse, civil partner, unmarried partner or children to be with them in the UK on a Family visa.

If you are joining a loved one in the UK on a spouse or partner visa they must meet a financial requirement which rose significantly in 2024: in most cases they will have income in the UK of at least £29,000 pa, or the two of you will have £88,500 in cash savings.

Length of stay: This is a five-year route to settlement.

Ancestry

Commonwealth citizens who have at least one grandparent who was born in the UK can apply for a UK Ancestry visa if they are able to and intend to work in the UK.

Length of stay: This is a five-year route to settlement with no work restrictions.

Dependent family members permitted: Yes.

Youth Mobility Scheme

This route is open to young people from Australia, Canada, New Zealand, Japan, Monaco, Hong Kong, Iceland, India, South Korea, San Marino, Taiwan, Andorra and Uruguay.  Applicants need to be aged between 18-30 (or up to 35 for Australia, Canada, New Zealand or South Korea) and cannot have any dependent children. Youth Mobility Scheme applicants from Hong Kong, Taiwan and India are subject to a ballot system which operates about twice a year.

Length of stay: Two years (with a potential one-year extension for citizens of Australia, Canada and New Zealand)

Dependent family members permitted: No.

We are always ready to discuss any UK immigration or naturalisation matter. You can contact us on enquiries@vanessaganguin.com or using the form below.

(photograph of Union Jack flag on Buckingham Palace Road by Emily Wang)