• Representative of an Overseas Business Visa

Representative of an Overseas Business Visa

This visa is intended for representatives of media organisations (e.g. broadcast news, newspapers or a news agency) who are on long-term assignment to the UK. Representatives of other types of business may instead want to consider a different UK work visa such as those in the Global Business Mobility category.

This visa lasts for an initial period of three years, and can be extended by a further two years.

Applicants will be expected to provide:

  • written confirmation from their company that they will be taking up a full-time role in the UK
  • information about their company’s activities and assets
  • evidence that they are able to financially support themselves and any accompanying dependants during their stay in the UK
  • details of where they intend to stay once in the UK
  • tuberculosis test results if applying from a country for which this is required

Applicants may also need to show evidence that they have English language ability to at least an A1 level on the CEFR scale. This is most commonly achieved by passing an approved English language test in speaking and listening or having a university degree that was taught in English. Applicants from certain countries or territories where English is widely spoken may be exempt from the English language requirement for this visa.

Check your eligibility for this visa

Process and cost

You will be required to attend a visa application centre to have your photograph and fingerprints taken before your application will be submitted for assessment by the Home Office. You should allow sufficient time to plan potential travel to an application centre if the nearest one to where you live is in another city or country, however the earliest you can apply is three months before you intend to travel to the UK.

Once your application has been submitted, it can take up to three weeks to receive a decision when applying from within the UK and up to eight weeks when applying from outside the UK. Some visa application centres outside the UK permit the payment of an additional fee to get a ‘premium’ or ‘super premium’ service and receive a decision within a matter of days rather than weeks.

Any dependants who wish to apply to join you in the UK on this visa should submit their own application. They will also need to attend a visa application centre to provide their biometric information.

The Home Office fee to apply for an Representative of an Overseas Business Visa is £827 from within the UK or £719 if applying from outside the UK. Applicants will also need to pay a healthcare surcharge for each year that their visa will be valid.

Demetris Demetriou

Demetris is a dual-qualified lawyer in the UK (Solicitor) and Cyprus (Advocate) with 10+ years of experience in UK immigration. He completed his legal studies at University College London and City University London. Over the course of his career, he held key roles as Head of Immigration at Legal 500 firms and within the Big4, overseeing teams of 15+ fee earners handling 2000+ applications annually.

Demetris went on to co-establish his firm in London and continues to offer innovative solutions and strategic immigration planning to multinationals, SMEs, and private clients.

He personally represented 1500+ clients in 30+ visa routes including investors, entrepreneurs, innovators, sole representatives, students, family visas, global talent, UK ancestry, administrative reviews and appeals. Demetris has managed corporate relocations, conducted immigration law training and implemented post-Brexit immigration policies for corporate clients.

Demetris has been featured in various events and publications focusing on UK immigration, notably at the Cambridge Network, the Westminster Policy Forum and most recently at DGEMS, a global mobility summit hosted by Forbes India.

If you would like to discuss your UK immigration matter or have any questions about your options for immigrating to the UK, you can book a consultation here.

Tatiani Preifelt

Tatiani has a wealth of expertise in global mobility and corporate immigration. Her ample skills were acquired within leading immigration practices including three out of the Big4 firms in both the UK and Sweden. Tatiani went on to co-establish her firm in London where she continues to advise clients predominantly in corporate, business and skilled work migration.

Having personally relocated to 10 different countries, Tatiani understands the importance of an expedient and successful immigration process and takes pride in delivering a seamless experience to her clients as well.

Over the course of her career, she has assisted over 500 individuals and businesses to obtain the appropriate visa permits in the UK.

Her awarded academic work at The University of Oxford, The London School of Economics, and at The Geneva University is in the fields of Political Science, International Human Rights Law, and Global Migration Governance.

She regularly provides immigration training and has recently participated as a speaker and panellist at DGEMS 2023, a global mobility summit hosted by Forbes India.

If you would like to discuss your UK immigration matter or have any questions about your options for immigrating to the UK, you can book a consultation here.