Tier 2 Intra Company Transfer Visa

You will need to show that:

- you hold a Certificate of Sponsorship from a licensed employer;

- for Tier 2 ICT Short Term, Graduate Trainee or Skills Transfer:

- your salary will be more than £24,500 or the minimum level set out in the Standard Occupation Codes guidance for your job type (whichever is higher);*

- for Tier 2 ICT Long Term: your salary will be more than £41,000 or the minimum level set out in the Standard Occupation Codes guidance for your job type (whichever is higher);* and

- you are capable of maintaining yourself in the UK according to a set criteria.

Certificates of Sponsorship can be issued for people who have either a degree level qualification (or higher) or specialist skills acquired through doing the type of job for which the permit is being sought. Generally the job should be considered to be at NQF level 6 (degree level). Jobs below this skill threshold only qualify for Tier 2 work permission in certain circumstances, for example, jobs in the creative sector must be at level NQF4 or above, or if the employee has previously held work permission for a post at NQF3 prior to 6 April 2010.

An initial visa can be granted for up to 3 years.

Tier 2 Intra Company Transfer (ICTs) is a common type of application used by multi-national organisations which need to transfer employees from an overseas office, subsidiary or sister company to fill a skilled post in the UK which cannot be filled by a locally recruited employee. Minimum salary thresholds and prior employment requirements can apply.

There are 4 sub-categories of Tier 2 ICT:

Long-term Staff: For established, skilled employees to be transferred to the UK branch of the company for more than 12 months to fill a post that cannot be filled locally.

Short-term Staff: For established, skilled employees to be transferred to the UK branch of the company for 12 months or less to fill a post that cannot be filled locally.

Graduate Trainee: For recent graduate employees to be transferred to a UK branch of the company as part of a structured graduate training programme which clearly defines progression towards a managerial or specialist role.

Skills Transfer: For new graduate employees to be transferred to a UK branch of the company to learn the skills and knowledge required to perform their job overseas, or to impart their specialist skills or knowledge to the UK workforce.

Applicants must be able to demonstrate that they can support themselves and any dependants financially for the entire duration of their stay in the UK without recourse to public funds.

In order to show this they may need to provide evidence of a consistent level of cash funds for a 90-day period.

The maintenance thresholds are: £945 for a single applicant plus an additional £630 for each dependant.

It is possible for an A-rated sponsoring employer to certify the maintenance requirement on behalf of an employee and any dependants.

Outside the UK

Applicants not presently in the UK must apply for a Tier 2 Intra Company Transfer visa to enter the UK in the correct capacity. The application should be lodged at the nearest British overseas post authorised to deal with such matters. The process involves submission of an online application and original specified evidence and attendance at a biometric appointment.

Applicants from certain specified countries may be required to undertake a tuberculosis test.

Processing times vary enormously between countries and can be from 1-6 weeks or more.

Outside the UK

Tier 2 ICT Short Term Staff, Skills Transfer and Graduate Training £454

Tier 2 ICT Long Term Staff £575

A new fee was introduced on 6th April 2014 making it possible to apply for an initial visa in the Long Term Staff category of up to 5 years. The fee for this service is £1151.

Some (but not all) British visa application centres around the world offer a Priority Service. This is an additional cost service that will place your application at the front of the processing queue. Use of this service may speed up the processing time for your application, however, the Home Office do not guarantee expedited treatment.

Inside the UK

Short Term Staff, Skills Transfer and Graduate Training

Postal application £454

Priority application £829

Premium application £954

Long Term Staff

Postal application £664

Priority application £1050

Premium application £1164 

If you are still required by your employer and you continue to meet the requirements, you can extend your permission for up to 6 years.

A Tier 2 Intra Company Transferee can be accompanied by their spouse/civil partner/long term partner and children under the age of 18 to the UK.

Intra company transferees who obtained their visa permission after 6 April 2010 cannot qualify for indefinite leave to remain (settlement) in the UK.

Those issued with Tier 2 ICT permission before this date will qualify for indefinite leave to remain after 5 years.

An intra company transferee must within the 5-year continuous period have spent time in the following categories:

- a Tier 2 (Intra company transfer) migrant under the Immigration Rules in place before 6 April 2010;

- or a qualifying work permit holder, provided that the work permit was granted because you were the subject of an intra-company transfer.

Once the above criteria are satisfied and the Tier 2 ICT worker has completed 5 years continuous lawful stay in this category, they can apply for settlement provided that they are still required for the employment in question and that they are paid at or above the appropriate specified salary as defined by the Standard Occupation Codes.

From 6 April 2016, a worker applying for indefinite leave to remain must earn £35,000 or more (or £35,500 if applying on or after 6 April 2018).

Intra-company transfer workers who acquired Tier 2 permission after 6 April 2010 will not qualify for settlement but can stay in the UK for up to a maximum period of 9 years in this category. If your absences exceed the permitted limits, you can still apply for an extension of permission.

- Comprehensive legal advice.

- Ensuring your application meets the legal requirements.

- Assistance with compiling the evidence required for this category.

- Completion and submission of all forms.

- Booking a biometric appointment.

- Ongoing liaison with the authorities where possible.

If you would like to discuss your Tier 2 ICT requirements in more detail, please contact us on +44 (0)20 7038 3980, email us at info@rlegal.com or use our online form.