Successful Sponsor Licence Application
Efficient and helpful. Amer and his Team are quick to respond to queries, even over the weekends and at night. Sponsor Licence granted after only 4 weeks. Thanks.
Daniel Johnson
Intra Company Transfers
Place your faith in Cranbrook Legal’s Intra company transfers solicitors when you are interested in securing a Tier 2 ICT visa to enable you to work at your employer’s UK branch. We will project manage your case from start to finish.
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Our experts in intra company transfers can be by your side at every stage of the process of applying for an Intra company Transfer visa. We also assist those who are applying to extend their existing Tier 2 Intra company Transfer visa, or who wish to switch to this visa category from another visa type.
As the holder of an Intra company Transfer visa, you will be able to come to or stay in the UK, and undertake work in an eligible role at your multinational employer’s branch in the UK. In addition to working for your sponsor in the job detailed in your Certificate of Sponsorship, the UK Intra company Transfer visa gives you certain other rights, including to study, carry out voluntary work, and bring your partner and children with you as your ‘dependants’, subject to eligibility requirements.
Book your consultation now with our Intra company transfers lawyers, so that we can begin providing you with the most complete service.
Cranbrook Legal is an award-winning legal firm in central London, specialising in immigration law. We have more than 25 years’ experience in the UK immigration sector, and take pride in recruiting talented solicitors with a dynamic and progressive mindset. This, in turn, enables us to provide a highly comprehensive service, whereby we project manage our clients’ cases from start to finish.
You may be looking to apply for an Intra company visa for the first time, or to extend your present visa. Or perhaps you are interested in switching between visa types – for example, from the Tier 2 ICT to the Skilled Worker visa? Whatever your circumstances, needs and aspirations may be, we will provide you with a service characterised by care, dignity and total transparency.
Even more importantly, we have an excellent success rate in helping our clients to win Home Office approval for the Tier 2 ICT visa route. This, combined with the fixed fees we agree with you at the beginning of our relationship, will enable you to feel confident in choosing our skilled and experienced Intra company transfers solicitors.
The requirements for an ICT Intracompany Transfer visa can be complex to negotiate, and we walk our clients through every step of the process. As part of this, we liaise with our clients’ employers to ensure the necessary documents are compliant and up to date – thereby maximising the chances of a positive outcome from each client’s visa application. For more information, please call 0208 215 0053.
The Intra company visa route is designed for employees of multinational organisations that need to transfer employees to their UK branch to undertake skilled work in the UK.
There are two types of visa for intra company transfers to be aware of:
Being a holder of an Intra company visa will entitle you to do the following:
Someone on this visa is not, however, allowed to:
If you are successful in being approved for an Intra company Transfer visa, you will receive a full list of what you are permitted to do on this visa, and what you cannot do.
For further advice and guidance with regard to the suitability of this visa route for you, and to learn more about the process, please book your consultation today with our Intra company transfers solicitors.
Qualifying for an Intra company Transfer visa depends on fulfilling the following requirements:
There are other specific eligibility requirements for an Intra company Transfer visa, depending on your job. For a more detailed discussion about intra company transfers and the requirements that will apply to this visa for you, please make an enquiry with our award-winning immigration lawyers today.
You will not be eligible for the Tier 2 Intra company Transfer visa unless you do a job that is on the Home Office’s list of eligible occupations.
To determine whether your job is eligible for this visa, you will need to know its four-digit occupation code. This code will appear on your Certificate of Sponsorship, or you can request it from your employer.
Once you know the occupation code for your role, you can check it against the list of eligible occupations and codes maintained by UK Visas and Immigration (UKVI), which is part of the Home Office.
If you are already in the UK on a different type of visa, you may have the option of applying to change, or ‘switch’, to an Intra company Transfer visa. This will be subject to you meeting the eligibility requirements for this visa.
It is not possible to switch to an Intra company Graduate Trainee visa from outside the UK. If you wish your ‘dependant’ partner and/or children to join you in the UK on the Tier 2 ICT visa, they will need to make their own separate visa applications.
You will not be eligible to apply to switch to the Tier 2 Intra company Transfer visa if you are presently in the UK:
If you are in one of the above categories, you will only be able to apply for an ICT visa if you first leave the UK and apply for the visa from abroad.
Please contact our Intra company transfers lawyers today for further information and advice about the process of applying to switch to an ICT visa.
When you apply for an ICT visa, the Home Office will carefully consider your case, and will make a decision on whether to grant or refuse entry clearance.
If the Home Office is not satisfied that your application meets all of the suitability and eligibility requirements for the visa, or if there are any grounds for refusal in accordance with the UK government’s immigration rules, your application for entry clearance may be refused.
If this does occur, you will not have the right to appeal against the decision. In the event, however, that you believe the Home Office has made a mistake in its consideration of your application, you will have the option of applying for an Administrative Review (AR).
The process of applying for an AR differs slightly for those lodging an application from inside or outside the UK.
If, for instance, you are an ICT visa candidate who is presently outside the UK, and you are refused entry clearance, you will be told in your application letter whether you can request an AR. If you are entitled to do so, you will be required to request an AR within 28 days of getting a decision on your visa. The fee for this is £80.
The Home Office will then have a fresh look at the decision made, to consider whether the errors have been made that you pointed out in your AR request. You can usually expect to be told about the outcome of the Administrative Review within 28 calendar days. You will then not be able to request any further Administrative Reviews, unless the result of the first review found new reasons for the Home Office refusing your application.
Alternatively, you may have applied for your Tier 2 ICT visa while already in the UK. If this is the case, and your application was refused or your application was granted but you are not satisfied with the amount or the conditions of your leave, you will have the option of requesting an AR.
If the above is the situation for you, and the Home Office refused your application, you will be required to apply for an Administrative Review within 14 days of being told of the visa application decision. The refusal letter will explain how you can apply, and there will be an £80 fee for this service. If you have been detained, you will be required to apply within seven days.
In the event that you successfully applied for an Intra company visa from within the UK but you are unhappy with the amount or conditions of your leave, you must email the Home Office to request your AR within 14 days of receiving your biometric residence permit. You can then normally expect to be told of the result of your AR within 28 days.
Our Intra company transfers lawyers can advise and assist you in relation to application refusals and Administrative Reviews. Please feel free to book your consultation with us today.
Why Choose Us For Your Intra Company Transfers?
Applicants for the Tier 2 ICT visa are required to have a ‘Certificate of Sponsorship’, or CoS, from a sponsor that has been approved by the Home Office. According to the UK government’s points-based system, the applicant is required to score 60 points in total, with 20 of these being awarded on the basis of suitable sponsorship.
As an applicant for an Intra company Transfer visa, you are expected to have a valid CoS for the job that you intend to do. Certain requirements will need to be met in order for the CoS to be valid, including that the document must:
The sponsor needs to be a holder of a valid Intra company route sponsor licence. It is also necessary for the sponsor to be A-rated, unless the applicant is applying for an extension to enable them to continue working for the same sponsor. For further advice and guidance, please call our team on 0208 215 0053.
It is not possible to use an Intra company visa as a route to settling permanently in the UK. If, therefore, you wish to eventually obtain the status of ‘indefinite leave to remain’, you will need to consider an alternative visa route.
If you are unsure as to your options when it comes to securing a visa for the UK and taking steps to settlement, please do not hesitate to contact our Intracompany transfers solicitors. We will advise and guide you on the possibilities, so that you make the most suitable and informed choices based around your aspirations and needs.
The period of time for which you will be permitted to stay in the UK on an Intra company Transfer visa will depend on the exact visa for which you are applying, as well as how long your employer will be sponsoring you for.
If it is the Intra company Transfer visa that you apply for, you will be allowed to stay in the UK on this visa for whichever is the shorter of the following:
The below is the maximum permitted total stay for an Intra company Transfer visa:
You have the right to extend your Intra company Transfer visa or to apply for another visa up to the maximum allowed total stay. If, prior to your application for the Tier 2 ICT visa, you have already been in the UK as a holder of an Intra company Transfer visa, that time will be included in your total permitted stay.
Alternatively, you may be interested in applying for the Intra company Graduate Trainee visa. If this is the case, you will be allowed to stay in the UK on this visa for whichever is the shorter of:
It is not possible to extend an existing Intra company Graduate Trainee visa, but you do have the option of applying for another Intra company Graduate Trainee visa from outside the UK. You need to have spent a minimum of three months working for your sponsor outside the UK, prior to the date of your visa application.
The maximum permitted total stay for an Intra company Graduate Trainee visa is five years in any six-year period. If, before applying for this visa, you have already been in the UK on an Intra company visa, this time will be included in your total stay.
In the event of your employer losing their sponsor licence, you will be required to leave your job and leave the UK – unless you lodge a new visa application to stay in the UK.
You could also be impacted as an ICT Intra company Transfer visa holder if:
If you are already in the UK and your sponsor loses their licence, the following will occur:
In this circumstance, you must leave your job and leave the UK unless you submit a new visa application within the time left on your visa.
If you are involved in the reasons for your sponsor losing their licence, your visa will be withdrawn and you will be required to leave the UK immediately.
In the event of you being outside the UK when your sponsor loses their licence, the exact consequences will depend on the stage of the Tier 2 ICT visa application process you have reached.
If you have applied for a visa but have not yet received a decision, you can expect the Home Office to refuse your application. If you have been approved for a visa but have not yet travelled to the UK, the Home Office will cancel your visa, and you won’t be permitted to enter the UK.
For more advice and guidance about the consequences for your ICT Intra company Transfer visa if your sponsor’s licence is lost, suspended or not renewed, please do not hesitate to contact our Intra Company transfer solicitors.
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