WH Solicitors
Detention/Removals
WH Solicitors
Global Mobility
The Secondment Worker visa is intended for overseas workers who are taking up a temporary work position in the UK as part of a high-value contract, investment, or project. This is a brand-new visa scheme that was launched by the Government alongside reforms to other types of Global Mobility Visa.
There are strict entry requirements for anyone who wishes to apply for a Secondment Worker visa. This makes it even more important to put forward the strongest possible application with supporting evidence to demonstrate exactly why you qualify and how you’ll be an asset to your employer and the organisation you’ll be on secondment to.
This guide explains more about the Global Business Mobility: Secondment Worker visa. Read on to learn more about how the experienced WH Solicitors team could help you to file a successful visa application.
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H2: What is the Global Business Mobility Visa Scheme?
On 15 March 2022, the UK Government launched a new set of visa schemes under the revised points-based immigration system. The Global Mobility visa scheme was established at this time, and provides skilled workers with a variety of routes to enter and work in the UK for a temporary period.
H2: Global Business Mobility Visa –Requirements for Secondment Workers
To qualify for a Global Business Mobility – Secondment Worker Visa, you will need to show that you meet the relevant requirements. You must:
- Get a valid Certificate of Sponsorship from a UK employer with a sponsor licence from the Home Office.
- Have been approved for a secondment to a UK business or organisation that has a contract with your overseas employer for the work that you will do.
- Have worked for your overseas employer, or a member of the same business group, for at least 12 months before making an application.
- Have been sponsored for a job that is on the government’s list of eligible occupations.
- Be paid at least the minimum eligible salary for the role you are taking.
- Be able to show that you have sufficient funds to maintain yourself when you come to the UK.
H2: Getting a Certificate of Sponsorship
To get approved for a Secondment Worker visa, you will need a valid Certificate of Sponsorship from a UK business that has received a sponsorship licence from the Home Office. The sponsorship certificate will provide details of the work that you will do whilst in the UK, and show that your overseas employer is connected to the secondment business by common ownership or control.
In some cases, the Home Office may consider whether there is a genuine need for the job described in the Certificate of Sponsorship. They may also wish to investigate the sponsor’s history with the immigration system to determine whether they are likely to comply with the relevant rules including those relating to pay and working conditions for migrant workers.
H2: Visa Conditions
Once you have been approved for a Secondment Worker visa, you will be able to stay in the UK for the shorter of either a period of 12 months, or for a maximum of 14 days longer than the date shown on your sponsorship certificate.
Whilst in the UK, you will be permitted to work for your sponsor in the job that is described on your certificate of sponsorship, start an educational course and study, bring your dependant partner, spouse or children to the UK if they are eligible, undertake voluntary or charity work, and travel overseas and return to the UK.
Secondment Worker visa holders are not permitted to do the following:
- apply for public funds, most benefits, or the State Pension;
- change to another job without updating their visa;
- take on a second job;
- apply for Indefinite Leave to Remain to stay in the UK permanently.
H2: How We Can Help
WH Solicitors is a specialist immigration law practice that offers expert advice and practical help that allows businesses and individual migrants to navigate the UK legal system. We make it easy for clients to apply for a visa and assist companies as they apply for a sponsorship licence.
For a personal, professional approach to immigration law, contact our expert team today by calling (+44) 01483 608 786 or by emailing contact@whsolicitors.co.uk.
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Secondment Worker Visa
FAQs
Yes, all Global Business Mobility visa routes require sponsorship from an employer with a valid sponsorship licence. You will not be able to gain leave to remain as a secondment worker without a valid certificate of sponsorship.
When applying for a Secondment Worker visa, you will usually need to pay:
- the £259 application fee; and
- the healthcare surcharge for each year of your stay in the UK.
You will also need to show that you have enough money to support yourself and any dependants when you come to the UK.
If you will not be coming to the UK on secondment for a project or major contract, you will need to apply for leave to remain under another visa category and will not be able to attain a valid certificate of sponsorship.
Applications for a Secondment Worker visa can be made up to 3 months before the day you intend to start work in the UK. This date should be listed on your certificate of sponsorship.
Once your application has been submitted, it could take up to three weeks for a decision to be made if you are applying from outside the UK, or 8 weeks if you’re already in the country.
The contents of this webpage are provided for informational purposes only and are not intended to constitute legal advice. All information is correct as of the date of publication, and any individual or organisation should be careful to seek qualified advice from a specialist immigration lawyer before acting on any of the topics referenced by this content.
Immigration Reporting, Detention and Removals: Everything You Need to Know
The Home Office carries out immigration detention for several reasons. It could be because you do not have immigration status, either because it has not been awarded or it has been removed. Immigrants whose visa status runs out can also be put in detention. Not everyone who can be detained is detained. Detention can be a precursor to removal.
When does Detention Happen?
There are some key trigger points for detention, and these include:-
- Entry or re-entry to the UK
- If your application for immigration status or asylum is pending and you are regularly reporting to a local Home Office reporting centre or a police station. If your application has been refused, you may not know this when you report
- When you claim asylum, if the Home Office classifies your case as a non-suspensive appeal case
- If your asylum claim is refused and you have exhausted all rights of appeal
- When your visa or leave to remain has expired
- When your application has been refused, and there is no right of appeal
- If you do not have any immigration status or applications outstanding
Removal from the UK
You can be removed from the UK if you do not have immigration status (also called Leave to Remain) or have not applied for any. You can also be removed if your immigration application or asylum claim has been refused.
Notice Periods
The Home Office must give you notice if they intend to remove you. Removal directions include the date, which must be after the notice period has expired. If you are already in detention, the notice period is 72 hours, which must include at least two working days. The notice period is seven calendar days if you are not currently detained. The rules differ in non-suspensive appeal cases, and the standard notice periods also do not apply in port cases.
When You Cannot Be Removed
You should not be removed from the UK if your asylum claim is ongoing and undecided. You can be removed if your asylum claim is ruled inadmissible because you have travelled through another country.
You should not be removed if you are appealing a refusal of your claim or application, but you must have a right of appeal attached to the process. This does not include non-suspensive appeal cases where you can be removed even if the application is pending.
You should also not be removed if you are in the process of submitting a fresh claim, although you must be able to prove that this is the case otherwise it will be viewed as a delaying tactic to removal and disregarded.
You should not be removed if you have an injunction from the Courts preventing removal.
Are you at Risk of Detention in the UK or Removal or Deportation?
UK immigration law is complicated and subject to rapid change as new laws are passed and different aspects of the regulations are challenged via the legal process.
Involving an immigration specialist from the outset can help with visa applications and asylum claims. A legal professional will advise on how to manage detention if it is imminent, the grounds on which you may be able to challenge this, and your removal from the UK.
WH Solicitors, Experts in All Aspects of Immigration
WH Solicitors are renowned immigration specialists with many years of experience representing clients throughout the process of visa applications and asylum claims, detention cases, and potential removal from the UK. Our friendly and supportive team provides practical and up-to-date advice, including signposting support from other organisations.
Why Use WH Solicitors?
WH Solicitors provides specialist immigration advice from friendly and approachable experts. We handle all aspects of immigration and visa applications and asylum claims. We also represent people facing detention or removal from the UK. Our advice is proactive and forward-thinking. Our costs are transparent and fully set out before we start work. There are no hidden charges.
Here’s how we can help.
- Review your case and consider the risk of detention and/or removal from the UK in a swift and empathetic manner
- Write a letter on your behalf to the Home Office whilst we prepare your case to demonstrate that you will have a pending application and to reduce the risk of detention
- Help you prepare a checklist of essential information and contacts in case you are detained and advise on how to manage other issues such as where you are living, any medicine you may be taking, and the arrangements for children – this is often called a Signing Support System
- Compile and present specialist evidence to demonstrate that you fall within the list of Home Office exemptions to detention and should not be detained
- Represent you if you are detained, including whether you have an exception to detention or the circumstances of your removal into detention were potentially unlawful
- Support an application for immigration bail if appropriate
- Provide information about support groups that can help you if you are in detention
- Consider challenges to removal or deportation and whether a right to remove you is legal
Frequently Asked Questions
What are the different types of Detention Centres?
There are reporting centres, short-term holding facilities, and longer-term detention centres. The Home Office refers to centres as IRCs (Immigration Removal Centres), giving the impression that detention is just the prelude to deportation from the UK. However, this is not always the case. Some people stay in IRCs for long periods, whilst others are allowed back into the UK community.
Are there any exceptions to detention?
The Home Office ‘Adults at Risk in Immigration Detention’ Policy includes exceptions to detention for vulnerable people. These include pregnant women who can only be detained for a maximum of 72 hours, although this can be extended subject to ministerial approval. People suffering from a mental health condition or serious physical disability, victims of torture, human trafficking, or modern slavery are listed as exceptions, as are those aged 70 or over or unaccompanied minors. However, people in these categories can still be detained if immigration considerations outweigh any potential harm to that person’s physical or mental health. It is necessary to provide evidence to prove the exception.
Contact WH Solicitors for advice on all aspects of immigration and asylum applications, including appeals and detention or removal from the UK. Our services are accessible, supportive, and fast, providing accurate information and practical guidance and helping to take the worry out of your situation.
The contents of this webpage are provided for informational purposes only and are not intended to constitute legal advice. All information is correct as of the date of publication, and any individual or organisation should be careful to seek qualified advice from a specialist immigration lawyer before acting on any of the topics referenced by this content.