Intra Company Transfer – UK Visa
These are the requirements you must meet to get a sponsor licence for the Tier 2 (Intra company transfer) category of the points-based system.
How to prove common ownership -
To get a licence, your entity must show that it has a direct link by common ownership or control with the overseas entities that you want to bring migrants to the UK from.
Common ownership or control can be:
1. 1 entity controls the composition of the other entity's board; or
2. 1 entity is in a position to cast, or control the casting of, more than half the maximum number of votes that might be cast at a general meeting of the other entity; or
3. 1 entity holds more than half the issued share capital of the other entity (excluding any part of that issued share capital that carries no right to participate beyond a specified amount in a distribution of either profits or capital); or
4. both entities have a common parent entity that itself or through other entities meets 1 of the requirements of the first 3 bullet points above in relation to both entities that are the subject of the intra company transfer; or
5. 1 entity is related to the other entity as both entities are party to a joint venture agreement; or
6. 1 entity is related to the other entity in that 1 entity is party to a joint venture agreement and the other entity is the entity formed by that joint venture agreement; or
7. 1 entity is related to the other entity by agreement that would constitute a joint venture agreement other than for the fact that joint venture agreements are not permitted in the country of operation or 1 of the entities is not permitted to enter into joint ventures in the country of operation; or
8. 1 entity is related to the other entity in that 1 entity is party to an agreement that would constitute a joint venture agreement other than for the fact that joint venture agreements are not permitted in the country of operation or that entity is not permitted to enter into joint ventures in the country of operation and the other entity is the entity formed by that agreement; or
9. where both entities are either accountancy or law firms, 1 entity is related to the other entity by agreement which allows both entities to use a trademark which is registered or established under the laws of the UK and the jurisdiction of the other entity's country of operation; or
10. where both entities are either accountancy or law firms, 1 entity is related to the other entity by agreement which allows both entities to operate under the same name in the UK and in the jurisdiction of the other entity's country of operation.
If you already hold a Tier 2 (Intra company transfer) licence, you can assign certificates of sponsorship in any of the sub-categories below if you meet the requirements for that sub-category.
Long-term staff and Short-term staff
These sub-categories are for established employees to be transferred to the UK to fill a post which cannot be filled by a settled worker. Migrants in this sub-category must have been working for the sponsoring organisation for at least 12 months directly prior to their transfer, either:
Outside the UK;
1. inside the UK as a Tier 2 (Intra company transfer - Long-term staff) or Tier 2 (Intra company transfer - Short-term staff) migrant;
2. inside the UK as a Tier 2 (Intra company transfer - Established staff) migrant undert the rules that were in place before 6 April 2011;
3. inside the UK as a Tier 2 (Intra company transfer) migrant under the rules that were in place before 6 April 2010;
4. inside the UK as an intra-company transfer work permit holder;
5. inside the UK as a representative of an overseas business; or
6. any combination of the above.
Time spent in the UK in the Graduate trainee or Skills transfer sub-categories does not count towards the 12-month qualifying period.
The only exception to the 12-month rule is where a migrant has been absent due to a period of:
1. maternity, paternity or adoption leave; or
2. long-term sick leave that lasted for 1 month or longer.
If this is the case, and the migrant has been employed by the sponsoring organisation for at least 12 months during the past 24 months, they can still be employed as an intra company transferee provided they meet all the other requirements. An example might be where a migrant has worked for 6 months, then taken 12 months' maternity leave, then worked for another 6 months.
Graduate trainee
The Graduate trainee sub-category allows multinational organisations to transfer recent graduate recruits to a UK branch of their organisation for the purpose of training. (This route must not be used to fill long-term posts.) Migrants in this sub-category must be coming to the UK as part of a structured graduate training programme, with clearly defined progression towards a managerial or specialist role within the organisation.
This sub-category is open only to migrants who work in graduate occupations. Graduate occupations are listed in the codes of practice, which you can find on the Codes of practice page. The sub-category must not be used by a sponsor to transfer all its graduate recruits; it is only for those on accelerated promotion schemes.
The migrant must have been employed outside the UK by the sponsoring organisation for at least 3 months directly before they come to the UK. Time spent in the UK in the Skills transfer sub-category does not count towards the 3-month qualifying period.
As this scheme is specifically targeted at the very best graduate recruits, sponsors can transfer no more than 5 migrants per financial year in this sub-category.
Skills transfer
The Skills transfer sub-category allows migrants employed overseas to transfer to a UK branch of a multinational organisation in order to acquire the skills and knowledge needed to perform in their role overseas, or to impart their specialist skills to the UK workforce. Migrants are not required to have been employed for a minimum period to qualify for this sub-category, which is open only to migrants who work in graduate occupations. Graduate occupations are listed in the codes of practice, which you can find on the Codes of practice page.
The sole purpose of the transfer must be to acquire skills and knowledge, and it should be incidental to the transferee's employment overseas. The transferee's role must be additional to the sponsor's staffing requirements in the UK; if it were not for the need for the skills transfer, the role in the UK would not exist. This sub-category must not be used to fill UK vacancies or to displace resident workers by, for example, filling positions in a UK-based project or by rotating the admission of skills transferees in order to effectively fill long-term positions in the UK. On-the-job training and work for the purposes of skills transfer is allowed, as long as the work undertaken is in line with the skills transfer. It is not acceptable, for example, for a Skills transfer migrant to learn about the sponsor's finance systems but then to undertake work in another area of the sponsor's business while in the UK.
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