UK Immigration Visa Update: Select Business Scheme UK

Last week, the Home Office announced the ‘Select Business Scheme UK’, which will be available to members of the China-Britain Business Council (CBBC) and the British Chamber of Commerce in China. The new scheme is a way of simplifying the process  of inviting colleagues from Chinese companies to the UK.

Dominique Hardy: the Scheme demonstrates a Further Strengthening of the Relationship between the UK & China

The reduction of the number of documents required under the ‘Select Business Scheme’ means that representatives of the Chinese businesses will only have to provide an application form, an invitation letter and a letter of employment to support their visa application. Furthermore, under the new scheme UK Visas & Immigration (UKVI) will provide members of CBBC with a welcome pack and will be allocated a single point of contact within UKVI for support.

The Regional Manager of China and DPRK, UK Visas and Immigration, Dominique Hardy commented on the new scheme:

“The introduction of the scheme demonstrates a further strengthening of the relationship between UK Visas and Immigration, the China-Britain Business Council and the British Chamber of Commerce in China.”

The chairmen of CBBC added:

“I wholeheartedly welcome the Select Business Scheme UK, which will streamline the process for companies, and I very much hope that CBBC’s members will take advantage of the service to strengthen links between Chinese and British companies.”

Changes relating to Business Visitors

The business visitor category is for people who want to come and do business in the UK for a short time. Business visitors coming to the UK may include academic visitors, visiting professors, teachers accompanying students, film crews and representatives of overseas news media. We reported last week that the Home Office had published the statement of changes to a number of UK visa routes. Changes relating to Business visitors are the following:

  • Allowing scientists and researchers to share knowledge, expertise and advice on an international project which is being led by the UK, Page 6 of 18 provided the visitor is not carrying out research that should be undertaken on a Tier 5 (temporary worker) or Tier 2 (skilled work) visa;
  • Creating a provision for overseas lawyers, who are employees of international law firms which have offices in the UK, to provide direct advice to clients in the UK on litigation or international transactions provided they remain paid and employed overseas;
  • Allowing graduates of an overseas nursing school to be admitted as a Business Visitor in order to the sit the Objective Structured Clinical Examination (OSCE) which is required before any overseas nurse can work in the UK under the Tier 2 route. This provision has been included in Part 3 of the Immigration Rules where similar provisions exist for medical graduates taking the Professional and Linguistic Assessments Board (PLAB) Test who are processed as Business Visitors.

Successful UK Business Visitor Visas

Our team of experienced and professionally qualified immigration solicitors and barristers will be able to guide you through the process of making an application step by step and limit the possibility of failure by complying with the strict letter of law.

We also undertake a great deal of appeal work before the Immigration and Asylum Tribunal and have a successful track record of successful results for our clients. We have the experience and the knowledge required to take your case forward successfully. If you have had an application refused, contact us to discuss your case so that we can provide you with a case assessment.

Contact us so that we can review your case and provide you with an assessment.

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