Employing someone from the US in the UK
Discussion
Do any employers here have advice on the realities in terms of work permits/ visas etc of employing someone from the US in the UK? I've found someone very good I'd like to employ (after looking very hard for an appropriate person in the UK) but not sure of the complications that might be involved. It would be in the civil engineering/ environmental sector.
Thanks in advance.
Thanks in advance.
Edited by ViperPict on Wednesday 23 July 17:39
Firstly, you will need a certificate of sponsorship, this will detail all the information about the role and pay etc. for the person that you are hoping to bring over, then you will need to apply for a work permit for your new employee.
It is difficult for anyone to recommend the type of permit that you need, without having more information, but this site:
https://www.gov.uk/browse/visas-immigration/work-v...
Is the best place to start and sort everything out.
Now, the US citizen will of course have to sort their tax affairs with the US based IRS - and the responsibility lies with them and not you the employer.
The whole process will likely take a few months for completion, but there are ways to expedite your application.
In general, I would avoid using the agencies etc. that advertise for quicker turnarounds etc. most are not that useful.
Feel free to PM me if you need any help.
Of course, the cynic in me would suggest to bring them across illegally and have the UK government sort everything out
Chris
It is difficult for anyone to recommend the type of permit that you need, without having more information, but this site:
https://www.gov.uk/browse/visas-immigration/work-v...
Is the best place to start and sort everything out.
Now, the US citizen will of course have to sort their tax affairs with the US based IRS - and the responsibility lies with them and not you the employer.
The whole process will likely take a few months for completion, but there are ways to expedite your application.
In general, I would avoid using the agencies etc. that advertise for quicker turnarounds etc. most are not that useful.
Feel free to PM me if you need any help.
Of course, the cynic in me would suggest to bring them across illegally and have the UK government sort everything out
Chris
Hi,
First you need to register as a sponsor:
https://www.gov.uk/apply-sponsor-licence
You'll need to provide audited accounts among a load of other evidence that you are legit.
Once you are registered (it took us about 6 weeks) you should hope that you get an allowance CoS (Certificates of Sponsorship as mentioned by previous poster). Being set up as a sponsor doesn't necessarily mean you will get a quota...
Assuming that you get a quota of CoS you then need to start the resident market test. This is where you advertise the role as per the guidelines for your industry. You need to do this for 28 days.
Assuming that you don't find someone after that time then you can use one of your CoS to sponsor the US migrant for most likely a Tier 2 visa (their visa is tied to employment with you). They will apply for the visa and use the CoS as evidence of sponsorship.
The process is a bit convoluted but perfectly doable as long as you are diligent about it. The govt guidance is all there even if it sometimes doesn't make much sense. The helpline is also surprisingly helpful.
First you need to register as a sponsor:
https://www.gov.uk/apply-sponsor-licence
You'll need to provide audited accounts among a load of other evidence that you are legit.
Once you are registered (it took us about 6 weeks) you should hope that you get an allowance CoS (Certificates of Sponsorship as mentioned by previous poster). Being set up as a sponsor doesn't necessarily mean you will get a quota...
Assuming that you get a quota of CoS you then need to start the resident market test. This is where you advertise the role as per the guidelines for your industry. You need to do this for 28 days.
Assuming that you don't find someone after that time then you can use one of your CoS to sponsor the US migrant for most likely a Tier 2 visa (their visa is tied to employment with you). They will apply for the visa and use the CoS as evidence of sponsorship.
The process is a bit convoluted but perfectly doable as long as you are diligent about it. The govt guidance is all there even if it sometimes doesn't make much sense. The helpline is also surprisingly helpful.
Are you sure about "audited accounts"?
The vast bulk of limited companies in the UK are no longer required under Company Law to have their accounts formally audited.
Non-limited company business - such as partnerships or sole traders, have NEVER been required to prepare audited accounts.
The vast bulk of limited companies in the UK are no longer required under Company Law to have their accounts formally audited.
Non-limited company business - such as partnerships or sole traders, have NEVER been required to prepare audited accounts.
I've just found this: https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploa...
Looks like you could probably get away without the audited accounts as long as the other pieces of evidence exist. That makes it a bit easier than it used to be!
Looks like you could probably get away without the audited accounts as long as the other pieces of evidence exist. That makes it a bit easier than it used to be!
bga said:
It was one of the pieces of supporting evidence required when we registered a few years back (along with VAT reg details, HMRC reg, Company Tax filings - a pain it was too!) that may have changed in the meantime which should help the OP.
Small companies have been exempted from statutory audits since about 1992 - so not a recent development (although the criteria for audit exemption have been widened considerably over the years).Based on what you are saying, about 90% of trading limited companies in the UK would be ineligible to accept non-EU foreign workers - which I am sure is not the case.
Edited to insert the actual wording -
"Current Financial Report OR Audited Annual Report with the
name of the Accountant clearly shown. The Accountant should
be a member of an Accredited Accounting Body (CIMA, CIPFA,
ACCA, ACA etc)"
A signed financial report whether audited OR unaudited - is all that is needed. However, it demonstrates another good reason for using a properly qualified accountant
Edited by Eric Mc on Thursday 24th July 13:12
The change is the dropping the UKBA requirement for the accounts to be audited. This is separate from statutory requirements. At the time it was explained to me by UKBA that there a lot of small businesses playing the system (in actual fact it's the big ones that take liberties in my experience). The cost of getting accounts audited and the additional rigour was supposed to put them off.
It would be absolutely dumb (and counter productive) to force small businesses to have to pay for an audit just because they wanted to take on a legitimate non-EU worker.
It's bad enough for a small limited company to have to hold an audit but what about small trading entities that have no mechanism or recognised systems for having their accounts audited - such as sole traders.
You can only have your accounts audited if there is existing legislation that defines in statute what they mean by audit - such as the Companies Act or the Friendly Societies Act. If there is no such legislation, then the entity is blocked at the first hurdle as there is no definition as to what an audit of their records would actually entail.
It was right that the requirement was dropped as it was unworkable and probably unenforceable.
It's bad enough for a small limited company to have to hold an audit but what about small trading entities that have no mechanism or recognised systems for having their accounts audited - such as sole traders.
You can only have your accounts audited if there is existing legislation that defines in statute what they mean by audit - such as the Companies Act or the Friendly Societies Act. If there is no such legislation, then the entity is blocked at the first hurdle as there is no definition as to what an audit of their records would actually entail.
It was right that the requirement was dropped as it was unworkable and probably unenforceable.
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