Do you need to bring an employee to the UK from Poland? Immigration and employment law considerations

When looking for suitable individuals to join a business, HR departments often look beyond their own country’s borders. Hiring an employee from abroad in the UK – the focus of this article – involves more than simply agreeing on a salary and start date. In the post-Brexit landscape, UK employers who want to employ EU citizens must comply with the UK Immigration Rules[1] in addition to their usual employment law obligations, to ensure compliance and avoid potential penalties. Understanding immigration law has become even more important due to current trends in UK immigration policy, which aim to reduce net migration. Bringing employees from abroad, including from the EU, is still possible, but now requires more resources, in terms of knowing the rules and financial investment, than before 31^st December 2020.

Unless an individual has a right to work in the UK, for example, through indefinite leave to remain, pre-settled or settled status, or British citizenship, they will, in the vast majority of cases, require a work visa. It is not always the case that a visa is required because certain activities, often referred to as ‘business permitted activities’, can be undertaken in the UK without a visa; these will be described in more detail later in this article.

To apply for a work visa, an individual typically needs a sponsor in the UK, which in most cases is their future employer. To become a sponsor, a UK-based business must apply to the Home Office and be granted a sponsor licence. This means that it’s not enough for a business to exist; only companies on the Home Office’s approved list of sponsors may hire from abroad.

There are different types of sponsor licences, depending on whether the role is for temporary workers or for long-term skilled employment. To be granted a licence, a business must designate certain mandatory roles within the organisation: Authorising Officer (AO), namely a senior and competent person responsible for the actions of staff and representatives who use the Sponsorship Management System (SMS); Key Contact – the main point of contact between the business and UK Visas and Immigration (UKVI), and Level 1 User, responsible for day-to-day management of the sponsor licence using the SMS. These roles may be filled by the same individual or by different people. A UK-based legal representative may be appointed as the key contact when applying; the representative must be qualified to give immigration advice or services. Because a business cannot hire from abroad before obtaining a licence, these roles must be fulfilled by the existing UK workforce. This can be challenging for overseas businesses just starting to expand into the UK market.

A future employee applying for a UK work visa must be allocated a Certificate of Sponsorship (CoS). A CoS is an electronic record with a unique reference number assigned by the sponsor to that employee. It is not the case that a sponsor can generate an unlimited number of certificates as it wants; each CoS must be applied for individually via the SMS. Importantly, this process is not free of charge. At the time of writing, a typical CoS for a worker costs £525, and the business cannot require the future employee to pay this fee.

Once the CoS has been allocated and the reference number provided to the employee, they can then submit their visa application. The application form includes a specific field where the CoS reference number must be entered, so it is not possible to apply for the visa before the certificate is issued. Because the visa application process can be burdensome, employers sometimes provide assistance to future employees, whether through their HR or legal departments, or via external law firms. The level of support may depend on factors such as the seniority of the role and the terms negotiated between the parties. In some cases, employers agree to cover the costs of such process. While I have not included the fees of the sponsor licence or visa in this article, as they are subject to change, this information is readily available on the UK government website.

There are types of work visas in the UK, quite a few of them for both permanent and temporary roles, and due to limited space in this article, I will provide just a few typical usually used by businesses who either want to hire someone permanently from abroad, or send the person to the UK for particular job linked with their overseas employment.

Skilled worker visa
The Skilled Worker visa is the main route to work in the UK on a long-term basis. It is for individuals who have received a job offer from a UK sponsor-employer in an occupation on the Home Office’s list of eligible roles[2] and whose earnings meet the minimum salary threshold set for this visa type. To qualify, applicants must also demonstrate English language proficiency at B2 level and show they can support themselves financially, currently by holding at least £1,270 in their account, unless the employer certifies maintenance. Once granted, the visa allows the holder to live and work in the UK for the sponsoring employer, can be extended, and may lead to settlement (indefinite leave to remain) after five years.

Global Business Mobility (GBM)
GBM is an umbrella term for visas designed for a limited time and purpose, which do not lead to settlement in the UK. They are intended for overseas workers with specific tasks to complete in the UK, after which they are expected to return to their home country. The visas under this umbrella are: Senior or Specialist Worker visa, Graduate Trainee visa, UK Expansion Worker visa, Secondment Worker visa, and Service Supplier visa. Each route requires a UK sponsor, but they generally don’t require the worker to demonstrate English language proficiency. In short, the visas can be described as follows:

• Senior or Specialist Worker visa: For senior employees or specialists of an overseas business coming to the specialist projects within a UK branch or subsidiary.
• Graduate Trainee visa: For individuals to come to the UK to work for their employer’s UK branch as part of a graduate training programme for a managerial or specialist role.
• UK Expansion Worker visa: For an employee of an overseas business who is sent to the UK to set up a new branch or subsidiary.
• Secondment Worker visa: For employees temporarily assigned to the UK by their overseas employer to fill a specific role in an existing UK business.
• Service Supplier visa: For employees of an overseas service company coming to the UK to provide a contractual service to a UK business.

Business permitted activities
There are circumstances in which a work visa (and sponsorship) is not required, and these are often situations where overseas businesses seek to send workers to the UK or UK businesses look to bring workers from abroad for a short time. This is possible because citizens of non-visa countries (including all EU countries) can generally enter the UK as visitors for up to six months, provided a border officer is satisfied that the individual is a genuine visitor. Being a genuine visitor means that the person will leave the UK at the end of their stay; will not live in the UK through frequent or successive visits or make it their main home; is genuinely seeking entry for a permitted purpose; and will not undertake prohibited activities, such as working (as for working you need a visa)

In practice, this means that the law allows some business-related activities to be carried out in the UK by visitors who do not require a visa (if they are from non-visa countries, like EU countries). Two key types of these activities are described as Permitted Activities 5 and Permitted Activities 7[3].

Permitted Activity 5 – Intra-corporate activities
In short, employees of an overseas company may come to the UK to advise, consult, trouble-shoot, or provide training or share skills and knowledge on specific internal projects with UK employees of the same corporate group. These activities may also occur directly with clients, but only if client-facing work is incidental to their overseas employment and supports a project led by the UK branch and not delivered independently to UK clients. The crucial part here is that the intra-corporate activities should be short in duration and linked to a specific project. If the primary purpose of the visit is to work directly with clients independently of the UK branch, the application should be refused. Applicants must not be filling a role that requires a visa under the Global Business Mobility routes described above.

Permitted Activity 7 – Manufacturing and supply of goods
This option will be of particular interest to those companies in the UK who need to purchase equipment and machinery from abroad and have it installed by workers hired by the seller overseas (or by the seller’s contractor abroad). From the other side, it will also be relevant for overseas companies that need to send their workers to the UK for such a project. The absolutely crucial point is that these workers from abroad will not be working in the UK but performing a contract for their overseas employer. Why is this crucial? Because if an officer hears something like this at the border, they may require a visa. Remember, you cannot work in the UK without a visa, but you can perform a contract if you qualify under PA7.

According to PA7, employees of an overseas company may come to the UK to install, dismantle, repair, service, or advise on machinery, equipment, computer software, or hardware, or to train UK-based workers to provide these services, where there is a contract of purchase, supply, or lease with a UK company or organisation. This is permitted if:

• The overseas company is the manufacturer or supplier, or
• The overseas company is part of an after-sales service arrangement, including warranty or service contracts agreed at the time of sale or lease.

For example, a company in Poland, being part of a larger corporate group, supplies machinery or equipment to a UK-based business. The service, installation, or repair can be carried out by employees of another company within the same corporate group if this arrangement was clear at the time the supply contract was concluded.

Another example: A company based in France manufactures and supplies machinery to a UK business. In accordance with PA7, a technician employed by the French company may travel to the UK to install or service the machinery as part of the contractual agreement.

The workers may be asked to provide evidence of the contract with the UK company. Guidance published for Home Office staff is clear that under PA7, visitors are usually in the UK for less than one month, as they remain employed overseas. Longer stays are possible but will be scrutinised to ensure the applicant is not filling a UK-based role. Stays over 90 days are not automatically refused but may prompt questions about the purpose of the visit and the applicant’s ability to continue their overseas role while staying in the UK.

If you are a Polish speaker, we invite you to listen to our podcast, in which we explain the most important business immigration rules in the UK in five short episodes. We avoid legal jargon and keep the information concise, focusing only on what is essential for businesses. Here is the link: Click here

Employment considerations
If you wish to rely on the permitted activities described above, this section will not be of interest to you, as the applicable employment law will be the law governing the worker’s employment (because they don’t work in the UK; rather, they work for their overseas employer while performing tasks in the UK). However, if you hire a visa holder as a licensed sponsor, you will be bound by UK employment law. We therefore provide a brief overview of the most crucial points to remember, as a comprehensive summary would require an entire workbook.

Right-to-work checks[4]
All UK employers have a legal responsibility to prevent illegal working. They must carry out right-to-work checks for all employees, regardless of nationality, to ensure that an individual is not disqualified from undertaking the role due to their immigration status. Where the correct checks are carried out, employers obtain a statutory excuse, which provides a defence against civil penalties (up to £60,000 per illegal worker), but there are also criminal and corporate sanctions) if the individual is later found not to have the right to work in the UK.

Right-to-work checks must be completed before employment begins; it is not sufficient to carry them out at interview stage or after the employee has started work. Where an employee’s right to work is time-limited (for example, due to visa expiry), employers must also conduct follow-up checks before that permission expires in order to maintain the statutory excuse.

Minimum wage
This is a legal requirement for employers to pay at least the National Minimum Wage (NMW) for workers under 21 and apprentices, or the National Living Wage (NLW) for those aged 21 and over, though they may pay more. Current hourly rates from 1 April 2025 are £12.21 for 21+, £10 for 18–20, £7.55 for under 18, and £7.55 for apprentices; from 1 April 2026, these rise to £12.71, £10.85, £8.00, and £8.00 respectively. Apprentices are paid the apprentice rate if under 19 or in the first year of their apprenticeship; after that, they must receive at least the minimum wage for their age. Rates are reviewed and usually updated each April.

Written statement of employment particulars
The contract of employment may be written, oral or a mixture of both, and in some circumstances the court will imply it. However, if there is no written contract of employment, the law requires a document called ‘written statement of employment particulars’ to be provided by an employer to a worker. This document must include information such as identity of the parties, date employment began, date continuous employment began, any probationary periods, hours of work, pay, terms relating to holidays and holiday pay, sickness and sickness pay, pensions, length of notice and so on and so forth[5]. The statement consists of the principal statement (which must be provided on the first day of employment), and a wider statement (to be provided within two months of the start of the employment).

An employee generally cannot make a claim solely because they did not receive a written statement of employment particulars. However, if they bring a claim on another ground (for example, unfair dismissal or unlawful deduction from wages) and it appears that the employer failed to provide a compliant written statement, the tribunal may award additional compensation for the defect.

As a UK employer, you are legally responsible for the health and safety of your employees and must have Employers’ Liability insurance. All employees need to be on the payroll, and you must operate PAYE to deduct income tax and National Insurance (NI) contributions, while also paying employer NI. Before hiring your first employee, you also need to ensure proper employment contracts, right-to-work checks and workplace pension enrolment. While there are many obligations at the start, once your systems are in place, adding new employees becomes much easier.

[1] https://www.gov.uk/guidance/immigration-rules

[2] https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/skilled-worker-visa-eligible-occupations/skilled-worker-visa-eligible-occupations-and-codes

[3] Full list of permitted activities: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/immigration-rules/immigration-rules-appendix-visitor-permitted-activities

[4] https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/right-to-work-checks-employers-guide

[5] A full list can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/employment-contracts-and-conditions/written-statement-of-employment-particulars