When you apply you’ll need to provide:

• your certificate of sponsorship reference number - your employer or sponsor in the UK will give you this

• a valid passport or other document that shows your identity and nationality

• your job title and your job’s occupation code

• the name of your sponsor and their sponsor licence number - this will be on your certificate of sponsorship

• evidence that you have enough personal savings to support yourself in the UK, for example bank statements (unless your certificate of sponsorship shows your sponsor can support you)

• proof of your relationship with your partner or children if they’re applying with you

• your tuberculosis test results if you’re from a listed country

Ask your sponsor for a copy of your certificate of sponsorship if you do not have one.

Other documents you might need

Depending on your circumstances, you might be asked to provide:

• evidence you’ve worked for your employer outside the UK

• a valid ATAS certificate if your employer tells you that you need one because your job involves researching a sensitive subject at PhD level or higher

• proof of your degree or qualifications

You’ll need a blank page in your passport for your visa if you need to give your biometric information (fingerprints and a photograph) at a visa application centre. You’ll be told if you need to do this when you apply.

If your documents are not in English or Welsh you’ll also need to provide a certified translation.

Evidence you’ve worked for your employer outside the UK

After you apply you might be asked to show that you have:

• worked for your overseas employer outside the UK for 12 months

• been doing relevant work for the 12 months immediately before you apply if you’re self-employed

If you’re an overseas employee, you’ll need to show you’ve been paid by your employer over this time period. You can provide:

• printed payslips

• online payslips supported by a letter from your sponsor signed by a senior staff member

• bank or building society statements

• a building society pass book

If you’re self-employed, you’ll need to show evidence of work you’ve done over this time period. You can provide:

• invoices for work you’ve done

• copies of your business accounts

• an accountant’s letter confirming the activity of the business and its profits

• leases on business premises

• adverts or marketing material for the business

• business or personal bank statements to prove the income of the business

You will need to have cash funds of at least £1,270 available.

You will need to have held the money for at least 28 consecutive days ending not more than 31 days before the date of your Service Supplier Visa application.

You will be exempt from the financial requirement if your sponsor is willing, if necessary, to maintain and accommodate you up to the end of the first month of your employment, to an amount of at least £1,270, if necessary.  Your sponsor will need to confirm this on your Certificate of Sponsorship.

If you are applying for permission to stay and have been in the UK with permission for 12 months or more at the date of application, you will meet the financial requirement and will not need to show funds.

Once you’ve applied, proved your identity and provided your documents, you’ll usually get a decision on your visa within:

• 3 weeks, if you’re outside the UK

• 8 weeks, if you’re inside the UK

You may be able to pay to get a faster decision.

You can:

• work for your sponsor in the job described in your certificate of sponsorship

• study

• bring your partner and children with you as your ‘dependants’, if they’re eligible

• do voluntary work

• travel abroad and return to the UK

You cannot:

• apply for most benefits (public funds), or the State Pension

• change jobs unless you update your visa

• apply to settle permanently in the UK (also known as ‘indefinite leave to remain’)

• do a second job

How long you can stay in the UK depends on the type of trade agreement you’re providing services under.

You can stay for whichever is the shorter of:

• 6 months or 12 months - this depends on the trade agreement you’re providing services under

• the time given on your certificate of sponsorship plus 14 days

If you’ve spent time in the UK on a Service Supplier visa or another visa before

You can only stay in the UK for a maximum of 5 years in any 6 year period if you’ve spent time on any of these visas:

• Intra-company Graduate Trainee visa

• Intra-company Transfer visa

• Graduate Trainee visa (Global Business Mobility)

• Secondment Worker visa (Global Business Mobility)

• Senior or Specialist Worker visa (Global Business Mobility)

• Service Supplier visa (Global Business Mobility)

• UK Expansion Worker visa (Global Business Mobility)

Your partner and children can also apply to join you or stay in the UK as your ‘dependants’ if they’re eligible.

If your partner or child’s application is successful, their visa will usually end on the same date as yours. If a child’s parents have visas with different expiry dates, the child’s visa will end on the earlier date.

A dependant partner or child is any of the following:

• your husband, wife, civil partner or unmarried partner

• your child under 18 - including if they were born in the UK during your stay

• your child over 18 if they’re currently in the UK as your dependant

You’ll need to provide evidence of your relationship to your dependant when you apply.

Your partner

You must be able to prove one of the following:

• you’re in a civil partnership or marriage that’s recognised in the UK

• you’ve been living together in a relationship for at least 2 years when you apply

• you’ve been in a relationship for at least 2 years when you apply but you cannot live together, for example because you’re working or studying in different places, or it’s not accepted in your culture

If you’re not living together, you’ll need to prove that you have an ongoing commitment to each other, for example by providing evidence that you:

• communicate regularly with each other

• support each other financially

• care for any children you have together

• spend time together as a couple, for example on holiday or at events

Your child

They must:

• live with you, unless they’re living away from home in full-time education - for example, at boarding school or university

• not be married or in a civil partnership

You’ll need to provide evidence of their address, such as:

• a bank statement

• credit card bills

• driving licence

• NHS registration document

• an official letter from their university or college

Money they need to support themselves

Your partner and children must have a certain amount of money available to support themselves while they’re in the UK.

You - or your partner or child - will need:

• £285 for your partner

• £315 for one child

• £200 for each additional child

You - or your partner or child - will need to have had the money available for at least 28 days in a row. Day 28 must be within 31 days of you or them applying for this visa.

You’ll usually need to show proof of this when they apply, unless either:

• you have all been in the UK with a valid visa for at least 12 months

• your sponsor can cover your family’s costs during your first month in the UK - this must be confirmed on your certificate of sponsorship

If your partner or child is applying at a different time to you, they’ll only need to prove they have enough money to support themselves if they have been in the UK for less than 1 year.

Service Supplier Visa does not lead directly to settlement in the UK. However, once in the UK, you may be able to switch into another immigration route which does lead to settlement, such as the Skilled Worker route or the Start-up route when combined with the Innovator route.  You will need to satisfy the requirements of the immigration route that you wish to extend into. You may also be eligible to extend your stay until you qualify for settlement on the basis of Long Residence.