The Business and Commercial Work Permit allows employers in this country to recruit people from outside the European Economic Area (EEA) who are going to be filling a vacancy that may otherwise be filled by a 'resident worker'. Please use form WP1 when applying for: - Business and Commercial work permits; Multiple Entry Work Permits; and for changes of employment, or use form WP1X for extensions to existing work permits. For Sponsored Researchers use the form SR1 to apply for new, change of employment and extension applications.

The Training and Work Experience Scheme enables people from outside the EEA to undertake work-based training for a professional or specialist qualification, or a period of work experience. Please use form WP1 when applying for Training and Work Experience work permits and for changes of employment or use WP1X for extensions to existing work permits.

The Sports and Entertainments arrangements allow employers in this country to employ established sportspeople, entertainers, cultural artists and some technical/support people from outside the EEA. Please use form WP3 when applying for Sports and Entertainments work permits, Multiple Entry Work Permits and for changes of employment or use WP3X for extensions to existing work permits.

The Student Internship arrangements allow students from outside the EEA studying first or higher degree courses overseas to undertake an internship with an employer in this country. Please use form WPSI when making an Internship application. Please see the 'Student Internship guidance for employers' (Student Internship notes) for further details.

The General Agreement on Trade in Services arrangements allow employees of companies that are based outside the European Union to work in the UK on a service contract awarded to their employer by a UK-based organisation. This is a special and exceptional arrangement within the normal work permit rules made under the General Agreement on Trade in Services (GATS). The company abroad that is contracted to provide the service needs to apply using the application form GATS-A. Please see the 'Guidance notes for employers on how to apply for a General Agreement on Trade in Services work permit' (GATSA (notes), and associated guidance in GATSB (notes) if necessary) for further details.

The Sectors Based Scheme (SBS) allows employers in this country to recruit people from outside the EEA to fill vacancies that they are unable to fill with 'resident workers'. SBS is sector based and currently operates in the hospitality and food manufacturing sectors. SBS only covers those posts within a given sector that are recognised as hard to fill by Work Permits (UK), and are specified in the Sectors Based Scheme Guidance Notes. The posts specified in the guidance notes are at a level that would not meet the skills criteria of the Business and Commercial arrangements, but which have been identified as hard to fill within the UK. The SBS is quota based. Please use form SB1 when applying for an SBS work permit or a change of employment under these arrangements or form SB1X for an extension to an existing work permit. Please see the 'Guidance notes for employers on how to apply for a Sectors Based Scheme work permit' (Sectors Based Scheme notes) and the website: http://www.workingintheuk.gov.uk/ for further details.

You can download our guidelines and application form from our website http://www.workingintheuk.gov.uk/ using the 'All Forms' link on the right hand side of the homepage. Alternatively, you can request a copy to be posted to you by calling our Distribution Centre on 08705 210 224.

The employer submits a work permit application on the appropriate form. For the Business and Commercial Work Permit this is a WP1 form and there is a £153 administration fee.

Once approval against the work permit criteria has been given or before the expiry date of the applicant?s current Leave to Remain the individual must then apply to vary their (and any dependant's) leave to remain if they are residing in the UK. This must be done using form FLR (IED), enclosing the appropriate fee (£335) and documents relevant to the application. The individuals passport and those of any dependants must be sent with the FLR (IED) to be endorsed.

Please be aware that only overseas nationals in the following categories will be allowed to switch on to a work permit from within the UK:
• A student and have successfully graduated from an educational institution in the UK; or

• A post graduate doctor or dentist or trainee general practitioner who holds a valid work permit approval for employment as a doctor or dentist; or

• An overseas national here to undertake the PLAB test, a clinical attachment or a dental observation post who holds a valid work permit approval for employment as a doctor or dentist; or

• A student nurse who holds a valid work permit approval for employment as a nurse; or

• A working holiday maker who has been in the UK for more than twelve months who holds a valid work permit approval for an occupation listed on the Work Permits (UK) shortage occupation list, at the time of issue; or

• An overseas national on the Highly Skilled Migrant Programme; or

• An Innovator; or

• An overseas national on a Science and Engineering Graduate Scheme.

1.The employer submits a work permit application on the appropriate form. For the Business and Commercial Work Permit this is a WP1 form and there is a £153 administration fee.

2.Once approval against the work permit has been given the individual (and any dependants) will be required to apply for entry clearance at a British Diplomatic Post before travelling to the UK.

Work permit holders who have a permit for 6 months or less are not required to obtain this entry clearance unless they are a visa national. However Work Permits (UK) encourages all work permit holders to obtain entry clearance.

Normally if you have been issued with a new work permit you can not start working under the conditions of that permit until you have been granted Further Leave to Remain (FLR) to do so. However, you may work while the FLR(IED) form is being processed if you have valid leave to remain in an immigration category that allows you to do so.

For example -

If you are residing in the UK on a Working Holiday Maker Visa or a Permit-Free Training Visa, you can continue to work in the UK until a decision is made on your FLR as long as the work permit application and the associated application for Further Leave to Remain on the FLR(IED) form is received before the expiry date of your visa.

However, an interim arrangement is currently in place whereby existing work permit holders can start a new job on the strength of the work permit permission letter, providing their existing leave to remain covers all or part of the period of the new employment;

In these cases individuals will then have to submit a further leave to remain application before their existing leave expires, or within 6 months, whichever is the sooner.

As the employer's work permit will have been approved, and the individual will still have to submit a further leave to remain application, this does not undermine immigration controls in any way.

Please send the work permits application form to our payment-processing site at:

Work Permits (UK)
P.O. Box 551
Doncaster
DN1 1XU

Applications for Further Leave to Remain should be sent to:

Work Permits (UK) - FLR(IED)
Home Office
Walsall Road
Cannock
WS11 0WS

What are your processing times?

You can up obtain weekly updates on our processing times from the 'News' and 'Announcements' section of our website http://www.workingintheuk.gov.uk/.

Since work permits are issued for a named person to do a particular job for a specific employer, the new employer will need to get approval from us by applying for a new work permit before the Overseas National can start work. All our application forms and accompanying guidance notes are available to UK-based employers by downloading them from our website (http://www.workingintheuk.gov.uk/). Alternatively they can be obtained from our distribution centre by phoning 08705 210 224.

For most changes of employment applications we will already have details of the person, so you do not need to send evidence of their qualifications and experience.

Once approval against the work permit criteria has been given or before the expiry date of the applicant's current Leave to Remain the individual must apply to vary their leave to remain. This must be done using form FLR (IED), enclosing the appropriate fee of £335 and documents relevant to the application. The individuals passport and those of any dependants must be sent with the FLR (IED) to be stamped.

The procedure, which needs to be followed by people who want to do work which is supplementary to that for which their current permit was issued, is outlined below.

Supplementary employment arrangements apply to overseas nationals who already have a work permit, but who want to take on additional work to that which their permit was issued for. Under these circumstances they may do so without further permission from Work Permits (UK) provided that the work:
• is outside of their normal working hours;
• is no more than 20 hours per week;
• is in the same profession and at the same professional level for which the holder's work permit was issued; and
• is not employed by a recruitment agency, employment agency or similar business, which provides personnel to a client.

For example, a nurse who has a work permit to work for an NHS Trust and wishes to take up supplementary employment with a nursing recruitment agency would not be allowed to do so as we do not approve work permits for such agencies.

Any supplementary employment undertaken must be in a post that would meet our work permit issuing criteria; i.e. if an overseas national takes up supplementary employment in a post for which we would not normally approve a work permit, then they are in breach of their immigration conditions.

The work permit holder is not allowed to enter self-employment, set up a business or join another business as a director or partner. If a work permit holder wishes to be self-employed or set up a business they will need to apply to the Home Office (Immigration and Nationality Directorate) for the appropriate permission to do so. Please note however that if this permission is granted this will invalidate any current work permit.

The spouse, unmarried partner and children of a work permit holder may be admitted to the United Kingdom as the dependants of a work permit holder. The spouse/unmarried partner will be given conditions of stay, which do not place any restrictions, other than those that would apply to a resident worker, on their taking employment or engaging in business.