Often corporate immigration advice can feel as though it boils down to Skilled Worker applications and little else. In amongst that “little else” is the UK Expansion Worker route, which came in to replace the sole representative route. We already have a briefing on how to apply under this route and in this post we look at how the route is working in practice and areas where improvements can and should be made.

A route of “last resort”

From time to time the Home Office goes after an immigration category and abruptly slams the door shut on new applicants.  This happened in April 2022 to the representative of an overseas business category, which had had a reasonably long-standing presence in the immigration rules. This followed the closure of the Entrepreneur (Tier 1), and the Investor (Tier 1) routes, meaning that the avenues for those wishing to set up shop in the UK have become extremely limited.

The UK Expansion Worker category is often the runner-up prize when a business is not in a position to apply for a Skilled Worker sponsor licence, potentially due to difficulties opening a UK bank account or with identifying a UK-based Authorising Officer. 

Where the UK business is not sufficiently established for a Skilled Worker sponsor licence, the UK Expansion Worker route can assist. But even then the rules are finely balanced; the UK business must not have begun trading, but must still have a UK subsidiary/branch (which confusingly would satisfy the Home Office’s definition of genuine and trading for the purpose of a Skilled Worker sponsor licence) or UK premises and a detailed business plan.

UK Expansion Worker sponsor licence issues

There seems to be a lot wrong with the UK Expansion Worker category and more than two years on, no progress tidying up these issues has been made.

The document-heavy sponsor licence application is not easy to navigate and has various concessions and oddities which further complicate the evidential requirements. Aggravatingly for those applying for a sponsor licence under the UK Expansion Worker category, there is still no priority service. For a category presumably designed to entice and welcome overseas businesses to invest in the UK, this is surprising.

Even once a company has obtained a sponsor licence, irritatingly, the system does not accommodate legal representatives being Level 1 users – so, often through screen-sharing and under instruction, the Authorising Officer will awkwardly assign their own Certificate of Sponsorship.

Once a UK Expansion Worker sponsor licence has been granted it initially has a ‘provisional’ rating and the sponsor has to upgrade their licence once the transferee has arrived in the UK. The sponsor management system does not have a tidy method in which this can be done and instead a notification is dumped into the system through an ‘Other’ change of circumstances report, with the submission sheet then signed by the Authorising Officer.  Expect this to be processed with the usual promptness of reports made on the sponsor management system, i.e. a pedestrian 18 weeks or so.

Extension applications

For many of those who were among the earliest to enter the UK using this category it has been time for extension applications as the first one year visa ends. Understandably some businesses might not wish to commit to all the costs and fees of funding a Skilled Worker sponsor licence and immigration application, particularly if the initial launch of the UK business has not produced the desired traction and revenue. Pursuing a UK Expansion Worker extension application might be a pragmatic business decision. Nevertheless, businesses that follow this option can sometimes be put through the mill by the Home Office.

It seems reasonable to hope that the Home Office would take a softened approach to sponsors requesting allocations to extend their temporary UK Expansion Workers’ permission, on the basis that they are likely doing so for commercial reasons. From recent experience, a request for a Certificate of Sponsorship allocation for a UK Expansion Worker often triggers the Home Office to send an email requesting supporting documentation.

These requests include documentation that the sponsor might reasonably not have acquired and which is not referenced in guidance. For example, evidence of Pay As You Earn registration and contributions (when the UK Expansion Worker may not even be tax liable in the UK), and evidence of a UK bank account.

If a company is unfortunate enough to be looking at extending its UK Expansion Worker’s permission, it may be precisely because it cannot provide the evidence of a UK bank account that is needed to obtain a Skilled Worker sponsor licence. The guidance is clear that the business has two years to establish a full trading presence before it needs to move on to a Skilled Worker sponsor licence.  Yet at the extension stage after one year, new businesses are being treated with suspicion and overloaded with documentary requirements suited to more established businesses.

Future role of the Authorising Officer

One of the important allures of the UK Expansion Worker category is that the sponsored worker can be the Authorising Officer, including for the subsequent Skilled Worker sponsor licence application. The Home Office’s guidance includes a carve out for this, although its wording is unclear. It suggests that once the UK Expansion Worker has become a Skilled Worker they can no longer continue to act as a sole Level 1 user (since at that point they will no longer have “valid entry clearance or permission to stay as […] a UK Expansion Worker”) – although we have had a somewhat shaky assurance from a senior caseworker at the Home Office that this is not the case.

Conclusion

So, painful lessons from recent UK Expansion Worker applications include the need to start the application processes long, long before companies wish to start UK operations or need to extend permission. Flag to clients the difficulties of extending UK Expansion Worker permission – it is not a given and the Home Office appears to have introduced evidential requirements beyond those in the guidance. Don’t forget to report on the sponsor management system the arrival of the UK Expansion Worker and request an upgrade of the sponsor licence.

Last but most important: before you start any UK Expansion Worker application, just check again that your client definitely, definitely can’t just use the Skilled Worker category instead.