E M P L O Y M E N T
OR
AS A DEPENDANT OF SOMEONE COMING FOR EMPLOYMENT

DO I NEED A WORK PERMIT?

If you are in one of the following groups, you do not need a work permit to come to the United Kingdom for employment:

• A European Economic Area national (a national of a Member State of the European Union, Iceland, Liechtenstein and Norway).

• A Commonwealth citizen, one of whose grandparents was born in the United Kingdom and Islands. (If you are such a person, and want to come to the United Kingdom to take or seek employment.

• Someone whose employment falls into one of the categories listed below under 'Employment for which a work permit is not required.'

Anyone else who is subject to immigration control needs a work permit to come to the United Kingdom solely for employment.
However, people coming to the United Kingdom for reasons other than employment – for instance because they are married to someone settled here – may also be free to take employment without having a work permit. The visa officer will be able to give you details.

WORK PERMITS

Work permits are issued by the Department for Education and Employment. A work permit relates to a specific individual and a particular job. Regular work permits are only issued for jobs involving a high level of skill and experience for which no resident labour is available in the United Kingdom or elsewhere in the European Union. Permits may, however, be issued to enable overseas nationals to come to the United Kingdom for training or work experience.

You cannot apply for a work permit. This has to be done on your behalf by an employer in the United Kingdom who wants to employ you. The employer will pay the appropriate fee of Overseas Labour Services to apply through recruiters engaged with the relevant company.

EMPLOYMENT FOR WHICH A WORK PERMIT IS NOT REQUIRED

• A Minister of religion, a missionary or a member of a religious order.

• The representative of an overseas firm which has no branch, subsidiary or
   other representative in the United Kingdom.

• A representative of an overseas newspaper, news agency or broadcasting
   organization, on long term, assignment to the United Kingdom.

• A domestic worker of a member of the staff of a diplomatic or consular
   mission; or
• A domestic worker in a private household; or

• A teacher or language assistant coming to a school in the UK under an exchange scheme; or

• A member of the operational ground staff (but not other staff) of an overseas-owned airline; or

• Postgraduate doctor/dentist coming for training; or

• Seasonal Worker at an agricultural camp.


DO I NEED A VISA

Unless you are a non-visa national going to the UK as a Seasonal Worker, Overseas Government Employee or Post Graduate Doctor/Dentist you must apply for a visa. The principal requirements which you will have to meet are as follows:

MINISTER OF RELIGION, MISSIONARY OR MEMBER OF A RELIGIOUS ORDER:

(i) A minister of religion must have either been working for at least one year as a minister of religion
   or, where ordination is prescribed by a religious faith as the sole means of entering the ministry,
   have been ordained as a minister of religion following at least one year's full-time or two year's
   part-time training for the ministry.

(ii) A missionary must have been trained as a missionary or worked as a missionary and is being
    sent to the UK by an overseas organization;

(iii) A member of a religious order must be coming to the UK to live in a community maintained by
     the religious order of which he/she is a member and, if the member is intending to teach, he/she
     can do so only at an establishment maintained by his/her order.


SOLE REPRESENTATIVE OF AN OVERSEAS FIRM IN THE UK
A person applying to be the Sole Representative of an overseas firm in the UK must meet the following requirements:

(i) has been recruited and taken on as an employee outside the UK as a representative of a firm which has its headquarters and principal place of business outside the UK and which has no   branch, subsidiary or other representative in the UK; and

(ii) is seeking entry to the UK as a senior employee with full authority to take operational decisions on behalf of the overseas firm for the purpose of representing it in the UK by establishing and
operating a registered branch of wholly-owned subsidiary of that overseas firm; and

(iii) Intends to be employed full-time as a representative of that overseas firm; and

(iv) is not a majority shareholder in that overseas firm; and

(v) does not intend to take employment except within the terms as stated above; and

(vi) can maintain and accommodate him or herself and any dependants adequately, without


(vii) recourse to public funds. .

REPRESENTATIVES OF OVERSEAS NEWSPAPERS, NEWS AGENCIES &
BROADCASTING ORGANIZATIONS

A person seeking entry to the UK as a representative of an overseas newspaper, news agency or broadcasting organization must meet the following requirements:

(i) has been engaged by that organization outside the UK and is being posted to the UK on a long-
    term assignment as a representative; and

(ii) intends to work full-time as a representative of that overseas newspaper, news agency or
    broadcasting organization; and

(iii) does not intend to take employment except within the terms as stated above; and

(iv) can maintain and accommodate him or herself and any dependants adequately without recourse
     to public funds. The above includes correspondents who work for overseas magazines and
     periodicals mainly concerned with news reporting, and newspersons who work for overseas
     broadcasting organizations.


DOMESTIC WORKERS IN DIPLOMATIC HOUSEHOLDS

A person wishing to come to the UK as a domestic worker in a diplomatic household must meet the following requirements:

(i) is aged 18 or over; and

(ii) is employed as a domestic worker in the household of a member of staff of a diplomatic or
    consular mission who enjoys diplomatic privileges and immunity within the meaning of the
    Vienna Convention on Diplomatic and Consular Relations or a member of the family forming
    part of the household of such a person; and

(iii) does not intend to take employment except within the terms as stated above; and

(iv) intends to work full-time as a domestic worker within the terms as stated above; and

(v) can maintain and accommodate him or herself and any dependants adequately without recourse
    to public funds.


DOMESTIC WORKERS IN PRIVATE HOUSEHOLDS

A person wishing to come to the UK as a domestic worker in a private household must meet the following requirements:

(i) be aged 18–65 inclusive; and

(ii) be employed as a domestic worker in a private household; and

(iii) have been employed overseas by his current employer for one year or more; and

(iv) Intend to travel to the UK in the company of his employer, his employer's spouse or his
     employer's minor child; and

(v) be required to perform domestic duties in the UK which require skills which exceed those set out
    in the ILO International Standard Classification of Occupations for domestic helpers; and
(vi) can maintain and accommodate himself adequately, as certified by his employer, without
     recourse to public funds.

TEACHERS & LANGUAGE ASSISTANTS COMING TO THE UK UNDER APPROVED EXCHANGE SCHEMES

A person wishing to work in the UK as a teacher or language assistant on an approved exchange scheme must meet the following requirements:

(i) is coming to an educational establishment in the UK under an exchange scheme approved by the Education Departments or administered by the Central Bureau for Educational Visits & Exchanges  or the League for the Exchange of Commonwealth Teachers; and

(ii) intends to leave the UK at the end of his/her exchange period; and

(iii) does not intend to take employment except in the terms of the above; and

(iv) is able to maintain and accommodate him or herself and any dependants without recourse to
     public funds.
 

AIRPORT-BASED OPERATIONAL GROUND STAFF OF OVERSEAS-OWNED AIRLINES

A person seeking to work in the UK as a member of the operational ground staff of an overseas-airline must meet the following requirements:

(i) has been transferred to the UK by an overseas-owned airline which operates services to and from
    the UK, to take up duty at an international airport as a station manager, security manager or
    technical manager; and

(ii) intends to work full-time for the airline concerned; and

(iii) does not intend to take employment except within the terms as stated above; and

(iv) can maintain and accommodate him/herself and any dependants without recourse to public
     funds.

POSTGRADUATE DOCTORS & DENTISTS (TRAINING)

If you wish to train in the UK as a Postgraduate Doctor or Dentist you must meet the following requirements:

(i) be a graduate from a medical school intending to undertake Pre-Registration House Officer employment for up to 12 months, who is eligible for provisional or limited registration with the   General Medical Council; and
(ii) have not spent more than 12 months in aggregate in Pre-Registration House Officer employment  or
(iii) are a doctor or dentist eligible for full or limited registration with the General Medical Council or with the General Dental Council who intends to undertake postgraduate training in a hospital or in the Community Health Services or both.
(iv) intend to leave the UK on completion of the training period; and
(v) be able to maintain and accommodate his/herself and any dependants without recourse to public
    funds.

If you are a fully qualified doctor or dentist and wish to take employment as a doctor or dentist you will need a work permit. If you intend to establish yourself in general practice you will need to meet the requirements for admission to the UK as a self-employed person.

SEASONAL WORKER AT AGRICULTURAL CAMPS

You must meet the following requirements:

(i) be a student in full-time education aged between 18– 25 years inclusive, except if returning to the
    UK for another season at the specific request of a farmer; and

(ii) hold a valid Home Office work card issued by the operator of a scheme approved by the
    Secretary of State;

(iii) do not intend to take employment except in the terms as stated above; and

(iv) be able to maintain and accommodate him/herself and dependants without recourse to public
     funds

OVERSEAS GOVERNMENT EMPLOYEES

A person seeking to work in the UK as an employee of an overseas government must meet the following requirements:
(i) be able to produce to the Immigration Officer at a UK port of entry a United Kingdom visa issued for this capacity or satisfactory documentary evidence of his/ her status as an overseas government employee; and
(ii) intend to work full-time for the government or organization concerned; and
(iii) not intend to take employment except within the terms as stated above; and
(iv) can maintain and accommodate him/herself and any dependant without recourse to public funds.

An overseas government employee means a person employed by an overseas government or employed by the United Nations Organization or other international organization of which the United Kingdom is a member.

DEPENDANTS OF ALL CATEGORIES

The spouse and children under 18 of someone who is admitted to the United Kingdom as a work permit holder, or in one of the categories of employment for which a work permit is not required, may be admitted to the United Kingdom with them if they have a visa for this purpose. They will have to show that there will be adequate accommodation in the United Kingdom for them, and that they will be adequately maintained, without recourse to public funds. If their spouse/parent is already in the United Kingdom.