Hi all,

Does anybody know about the visa requirements for working in UK as a IT contractor for a few months ?

Here is my current status:

Nationality (Passport) : India
Residence : Germany
Job Status : Freelancer (actually, currently employed as full time, but already given resignation).
Visa : Daueraufenthalt-EG (Permanent Residence and Work Permit in all EU countries except UK,Ireland and Denmark)

My contract will be with a UK company (a service provider) and the contract would say that I would provide "Consultancy Services" to their client, and that I would paid X EUROS per hour for the job.

Could you please tell me, whether I can perform the above mentioned type of Consulting in UK, with a VISITOR visa ?

If no, what kind of visa do I need to perform the above mentioned contract job ?
How can I obtain it ?
Which all documents are required from each party (myself, the agency in UK, their client) for that ?

What's the maximum possible duration (6 months, 1 year, 2 years etc.) for such a kind of visa ?

How much time, it may take to get the visa processed ?

Actually, I have across something called "Van der Elst" visa, which sounds to go in the same direction. Here's the info link (Section 21.4.20) : http://www.ukvisas.gov.uk/servlet/Front?pagename=OpenMarket/Xcelerate/ShowPage&c=Page&cid=1036679156328

Anybody who have used it ?

I would appreciate, if any of you had come across a similar situation, and how it was solved.
Also, any tips or hints would help.

Thank you for your time and reply,

AJ

Hi AJ,

well, the UK is changing their immigration system at the end of the month (http://www.ind.homeoffice.gov.uk/) so the rules will change, but basically the new system is based on the previous HSMP (point scoring) only now its not just for highly skilled migrants, but for all categories.

To be honest, even though the British immigration regime tends to be lighter than the continental one, legal immigration is one of the areas that they rather keep to themselves, and they have consistently opted out of all EU directives regarding legal immigration. Still they tend to view the Van der Elst visa more as an internal market thing as an immigration issue as it primarily does not lead to permanent settlement.

However, for this type of visa each country decides the requirements, for example Germany has these requirements (http://www.london.diplo.de/Vertretung/london/en/06/Visabestimmungen/Van__der__Elst__visa__seite.html) and the Netherlands these (http://www.learn4good.com/travel/groups/work_permit.htm)

From your link, you would need to check that you fulfill the requisites.

As you are from the Commonwealth you might have some other avenues, for example working holiday.

I have some PDFs if you want me to email you.

cheers,
-a

Hi aalvarez,

Thanks a lot for your reply. Well, the main issue I see with the Van der Elst visa is the following condition:


"The requirements to be met by the employee are that he/she is lawfully and habitually employed by an employer who is temporarily providing a service in the UK"


I dont know, if a "freelancer" satisfies the above condition. Well, another possibility is that I "use" my current employer in Germany (where I have been since last 2 years, before giving my resignation last week), and claim to the British consulate that I'm going on behalf of that company. But, then I need official lettter for that from the company, which I think is not possible.

Anyways, could you please send me the PDF's you have ?. My email address is hello_ajith at yahoo.com


Thanks,

AJ

the way i would do this is to apply and get a hsmp that way you are secure for a couple of years and you can do anything you want