As a visitor, you may do business that is directly linked to your employment or business abroad. You must not do work for which you would need a work permit. You should get your salary from abroad. You may receive reasonable travel and living expenses from sources in the United Kingdom.

As a visitor you may:
» Go to meetings, trade fairs, conferences and seminars;
» Buy things, and negotiate contracts with United Kingdom businesses;
» Undertake fact finding missions, check details or examine goods; and
» Receive training through observation and classroom instruction only.

You may also enter the United Kingdom as a business visitor if you:
» Deliver goods from abroad; for example, if you are an international lorry driver;
» Come as a representative of a foreign IT company to install, service their product;
» Come as a representative of a foreign machine manufacturer to install, service or repair machinery; (As part of a contract of purchase and supply, you may install machinery that is too large to be delivered in one piece)
» Come as an adviser or consultant to a UK firm; (You must be employed abroad, either directly or under contract, by the same company or group of companies that the client firm belongs to. Advisers must not get involved in project management.)
» Come to give certain kinds of training; (The training must be for a specific purpose, not go beyond classroom instruction and must not be readily available anywhere else in the United Kingdom.)
»Come as a guest speaker at a conference or seminar; (This must be a single or occasional event and not a commercial venture that you are part of.)
»Come to run a conference or seminar; (Events must last no more than five days, and be single or occasional, involving a specialist subject that attracts a wide audience, including people from outside the United Kingdom.)
»Come as an expert to talk to United Kingdom businessmen about overseas export requirements; or
»Come as a sports person or entertainer for trials or auditions, or for personal appearances which do not involve performances.

If you are a visa national, you will need a visa to enter the United Kingdom. For more information visit UK visas. If you are not a visa national, you will find it helpful to carry documents showing the immigration officer why you are visiting.

Under the Immigration Rules a 'business' is:
» A sole trader
» A partnership, or
» A company registered in the UK.
You must get a visa to set up in business in the UK.
All applications, except for those made under the European Community Association Agreements (ECAA), are referred to the Home Office in the UK before a decision can be made and a visa issued.

To qualify, you must be able to show evidence for the following.
» You have at least £200,000 under your control, which is available for you to use in the UK and which is held in your name (it is not held by trust or other investment arrangements), with the aim of investing it in a business in the UK.
» You have enough extra funds to support yourself and any dependants, and live without needing any help from public funds or taking employment (other than work for the business) until the business earns you income.
» You intend to be actively involved full-time in trading or providing services on your own account or in partnership, or in promoting and managing the company as a director.
» You intend to keep a level of financial investment proportional to your interest in the business.
» You intend to have either a controlling or equal interest in the business, and any partnership or directorship must not amount to disguised employment. (This is when a person claims to be running the business but is really an employee.)
» You can afford your share of any liabilities.
» You intend to provide investment and services for which there is a genuine need in the UK.
» You expect to receive a share of the profits from the business, which will be enough to support yourself and any dependants, and live without needing any help from public funds or taking employment (other than the business).
» You do not intend to take or look for any other employment in the UK other than your work for the business.
If you are taking over or joining as a partner or director in an existing business, you should provide:
» a written statement of the terms on which you will join or take over the business
» audited accounts from the business for previous years, and
» evidence that your services and investment will lead to an overall increase in the employment the business provides and so create at least two new full-time jobs for people already settled in the UK.
If you are setting up a new business in the UK, you should provide evidence that:
» you will bring enough funds of your own to the UK to set up the business, and
» the business will create at least two new full-time jobs for people already settled in the UK.

As well as the general rules about setting up in business listed above, nationals of Bulgaria and Romania can apply for a visa to set themselves up in business under the special provisions of the European Community Association Agreements (ECAA). If you qualify for a visa, you do not need a work permit.
To qualify for a visa, you must:
» put into the business money that is under your control and that is enough to set yourself up in business.
» have enough extra funds to support yourself and any dependants, and live without any help from public funds or taking employment (other than work for the business) until you earn income from the business
» receive a share of the business’s profits, which will be enough to support yourself and any dependants, and live without needing any help from public funds or taking employment (other than with the business), and
» not intend to take or look for any other employment in the UK (other than your work for the business).
If you are setting yourself up in a new business or taking over an existing company, you must provide evidence that:» you a national of either Bulgaria or Romania
»you will have a controlling interest in the company
» you will be actively involved in promoting and managing the company
» the company will be registered in the UK and be trading or providing services in the UK
» the company will own the assets of the business, and
» you are taking over or joining an existing business, and providing audited accounts for the past three years.
If you are setting yourself up in self-employment or as a partner in an existing business, you must provide evidence that:
» you are a national of either Bulgaria or Romania
» you will be actively involved in trading or providing services on your own account or in partnership in the UK
» you alone, or together with partners, will own the assets of the business
» where you are a partner in a business, your part in the business will not amount to disguised employment (see above), and
» you are taking over or joining an existing company and providing audited accounts from previous years.

Members of the legal profession can qualify under special concessionary arrangements outside the Immigration Rules. Applications do not need to be referred to the Home Office in the UK.
Solicitors and law consultants setting up or entering into a partnership in an existing practice in the UK, and barristers setting up in chambers, can enter the UK as long as the following evidence is provided or action taken.
Barristers:
» You must produce a letter of admission from the General Council of the Bar (England and Wales, Scotland or Northern Ireland ) or evidence of a place in chambers.
» You must have enough funds to meet a share of the cost of rent and salaries.
Solicitors:
» You must produce a letter of admission to the Roll of Solicitors from the appropriate law society (England and Wales, Scotland or Northern Ireland).
» You must have enough funds to either set up a new practice or enter into partnership with an existing practice from which you will receive a share of the profits.
Consultants in overseas law
» You must show evidence of your qualifications.
» You must produce a letter from the appropriate law society (England and Wales, Scotland or Northern Ireland) confirming that there is no objection to you being given entry clearance for this purpose.
» You must have enough funds to either set up a new practice or enter into partnership with an existing practice from which you will receive a share of the profits.
The requirements for investment and job creation do not apply for people setting up in business within the legal profession in the UK.
The requirements for maintenance and accommodation are the same as for the other types of business covered in this guidance.