| Meetings and trade fairs only | ETA, no visa |
| Your company wants a UK presence but does not trade there yet | UK Expansion Worker |
| Your group already runs a UK business | Senior or Specialist Worker, or Skilled Worker |
| A new, innovative business idea | Innovator Founder |
| Recognised in tech, research or the arts | Global Talent |
| You want to settle | pick a route that leads to settlement: Skilled Worker, Scale-up, Global Talent, Innovator Founder |
Five questions that lead you to the right visa
- 1
Do you already have a right to live in the UK?
Settled or pre-settled status, indefinite leave to remain or a British passport make any work visa unnecessary. What is left to plan is the company and the tax.
- 2
Are you visiting, or working in the UK?
Meetings, negotiations, trade fairs and internal training work with an ETA. Once you deliver the actual service to a UK client, or live and work in the UK, you need a visa.
- 3
Does your company exist, and is it trading in the UK?
An established company with no UK business: UK Expansion Worker. A company with a UK entity already running: Senior or Specialist Worker for people transferred within the group, Skilled Worker for everyone else. No company, just a new idea: Innovator Founder.
- 4
Are you recognised in your field?
If you are a leader in digital technology, research or the arts, look at Global Talent first: no sponsor, no salary floor, settlement after three or five years.
- 5
Do you want to stay?
Then what matters is whether the route leads to settlement. The Global Business Mobility visas and the HPI do not. Plan the switch to another route before you reach the maximum stay.
Typical situations and the route that fits
| Your situation | Route | Why |
|---|---|---|
| You own a company at home, want to set up a UK subsidiary and move over to run it | UK Expansion Worker, then Skilled Worker | The company does not trade in the UK yet; Expansion Worker for up to 2 years, then a switch to a route that leads to settlement |
| Your mid-sized company has a UK sales subsidiary and sends a manager for 3 years | Senior or Specialist Worker | Intra-group transfer, salary from £52,500, no English test |
| You have a UK limited company with real customers and want to live in the UK | Skilled Worker through your own company | Self-sponsorship with a sponsor licence, settlement after 5 years |
| A founder with new technology and no company yet | Innovator Founder | Endorsement instead of an employer, settlement after 3 years |
| A software entrepreneur with an international profile | Global Talent | No sponsor, free to do any work |
| An engineer delivering and commissioning equipment for a UK customer | Business visit with an ETA or Service Supplier | Installation under a supply contract is allowed as a visitor; a longer service contract needs a visa |
| A professional with an offer from a fast-growing UK company | Scale-up Worker | Free of the sponsor after 6 months, settlement after 5 years |
Our reading of GOV.UK guidance, as of November 2026; the details of each case decide
The company comes first
For business owners the visa almost always follows a business decision. Whether you come as a UK Expansion Worker or as a Skilled Worker through your own limited company depends on whether the UK company is already trading. Whether you can be sponsored at all depends on the company getting a sponsor licence, and only a company with genuine trading activity in the UK gets one, or, for the UK Expansion Worker, a company with a UK footprint.
So planning starts with the company: subsidiary or branch, who runs it, the bank account, payroll and how profit moves between parent and subsidiary. The company itself is set up through our UK Company Setup; what the licence demands is on our sponsor licence page.
Staying or going home
Plenty of business owners only want a few years in the UK. Then a time-limited route without settlement is not a drawback, it is simply honest. If you want to stay, choose a route that leads to indefinite leave to remain from day one, and know the absence rule: no more than 180 days outside the UK in any 12-month period. From 26 March 2027, settlement on most work routes also needs B2 English. The earned settlement proposal would lengthen the wait for many people; it has not been adopted.
However long you stay, living in the UK makes you UK tax resident, and your visa does not decide that. We explain how the two fit together under status and tax.
Think about the family too
On almost every route your partner and children can come with you. Sometimes, though, your partner has the better route, for example because they hold settled status or qualify for Global Talent. Then the family comes as dependants on their visa. More on family and dependants.
Frequently asked questions
Can I work in the UK without a visa as managing director of a company back home?
For meetings, negotiations and visits, yes, with an ETA. Not for working in the UK over a longer period or delivering services to UK clients.
What is the fastest way to permanent residence?
Global Talent and Innovator Founder, with three years. Every other work route currently takes five years.
Do I need a UK company for my visa?
For the UK Expansion Worker your company needs a UK footprint, such as a subsidiary or branch registered at Companies House. To sponsor yourself as a Skilled Worker you need a UK company with genuine trading activity and a sponsor licence. For Global Talent and the HPI you need no company at all.
Sources: GOV.UK: UK Expansion Worker visa; GOV.UK: Senior or Specialist Worker visa; GOV.UK: Skilled Worker visa; GOV.UK: Innovator Founder visa; GOV.UK: Global Talent visa; GOV.UK: Scale-up Worker visa; GOV.UK: Visit the UK as a Standard Visitor; GOV.UK: Workers and Temporary Workers, guidance for sponsors part 1; GOV.UK: Indefinite leave to remain with a Skilled Worker visa; GOV.UK: Statement of changes HC 1691, explanatory memorandum; GOV.UK: Earned settlement (consultation)
