Clients guide to working with expats

As a UK business wanting to tap in to a global talent pool, the system should be helping you when you need high level expats with skills you can’t find locally.  That is the theory, but in practice, the government likes to put a few obstacles in your way, so that you will try to find local staff first, and only resort to the ‘Hassle’ of engaging an expat as a last resource.

There are two initial things to consider:

  • Do you have a Sponsor Licence already?  If you do, perhaps you need a quick assessment of the appropriateness of the role/candidate (often your sincere and genuine recruitment advertising may not have ‘ticked the boxes’).
  • If you don’t want the expat as a PAYE employee, does the engagement ‘tick the boxes’ for sponsorship by your supplier (it will only do this if it is the supplier and not you that sets the duties and outcomes of the role.  In practice the role must be relatively senior, not a routine one, and the work must be a discreet task with a defined end/output and not be ongoing)

Our resources for Clients considering working with Expats include: