Applicants can come to the UK to act as a sole representative if they are not a European Economic Area national. A sole representative is someone who will establish a wholly owned subsidiary or register a branch in the UK for an overseas parent company. The firm must have no branch, subsidiary or other representative in the UK.

An applicant may not be a majority shareholder in the parent company.

Applicants can establish a commercial presence for the company here in the form of a registered branch or a wholly owned subsidiary, but may not do business of their own or represent any other company’s interests.

At first, applicants will be given permission to stay for 12 months. They can apply for an extension of stay for up to another 3 years.