Overseas Visitors

To undertake a permitted paid engagement in the UK the individual must be able to demonstrate they meet these eligibility requirements:

• They must have a written invitation from the Department/Institute/Centre inviting them to undertake the engagement (see example letter template).
• The permitted paid engagement must have been arranged and confirmed in advance of their visit and is relevant to their field of expertise.
• They must be able to show they are an expert in their profession; for example by holding an academic post overseas, or by their published work.
• They can only undertake the permitted paid engagements as set out by the Home Office. At LSE, these will normally be giving a lecture or a series of lectures, speaking at a conference, or to act as a student examiner or assessor.
• They can only undertake a permitted paid engagement within 30 days of the date they entered the UK.

Please use the Casual Payment process to request a payment for the individual.  

When making a casual payment request you will need to send the following to HR to demonstrate the individual is eligible to undertake a permitted paid engagement: 

• A copy of a boarding card (digital or scanned paper copy) showing the date of arrival, and
• A copy of the photo page of the passport, and
• A formal invitation letter dated before the engagement takes place (see our example template). It must state the date of the engagement and be within 30 days of the date of arrival to the UK.

Please ensure that you share these new Home Office requirements with overseas visitors before they commence their paid engagement so that they are aware they must retain their boarding card. 

Requests without these documents cannot be paid.

• You will need to demonstrate that you have sought formal approval for the visit via the School’s Visiting Appointment process before the individual arrives.   
• You will need to commit to a start date from the outset as once the visa is granted, the start date cannot be postponed. 
• The individual will need to commit to coming onto LSE campus during their visit.
• The visa is restricted – this means they can only undertake the activities that they are being sponsored for. 
• You must ensure that the individual presents their documents to HR for a right to work check before they start their visit 
• Any changes to their circumstances must be reported to the Home Office within 10 working days – this means that line managers have a responsibility to actively monitor contract changes and ensure that these are notified to HR immediately.

To be eligible for sponsorship the research visit/fellowship must meet all the following criteria. 

• The sole purpose of the visit must be for conducting short-term research or a fellowship at LSE 
• The visit must be funded from an external grant provider for the entire duration of the visit 
• The funding that the individual received must be more than the National Minimum Wage
• The skills required for the research must be at least RQF level 3 or above (equivalent to A-Level) 
• The visit must be supernumerary – i.e. the research will be over and above your normal staffing requirements for researchers – and the individual must not be considered as an employee 
• The individual must obtain ATAS clearance before they can apply for their visa (if the research is in an area on the government’s sensitive subjects list) 

The government require all individuals who are coming to the UK to undertake research in an area that is stated on the list of sensitive subjects to obtain ATAS clearance before they apply for their visa.  Some nationals are exempt from the ATAS requirement. 

Please review our guide on ATAS for further information on the government’s list of sensitive subjects. 

Please also see our  ATAS form for Departments/Institutes/Centres to complete and submit with your nomination form. 

Please note that you need to complete a separate form for each person who is visiting, even if the research is not on the on the government’s list of sensitive subjects.  This is so that we can demonstrate due diligence for auditing purposes.

If you wish to invite a researcher to undertake a short-term research visit or fellowship at LSE then the steps are: 

• Submit a nomination form for them under the School’s Visiting Appointment process
• Complete a Temporary Worker (Government Authorised Exchange) nomination form and send by email to the Immigration Compliance team, together with the following documents:
  • The funding letter which needs to confirm:
    1)   The name of the funding provider
    2)   The dates of the funding 
    3)   The amount of the funding (and any additional allowances, if applicable)
    4)   The name of the individual they are giving the award to – or the grant papers if the funding is being given to LSE directly, and 
    5)   Confirmation that the purpose of the funding is to undertake a period of research or a research fellowship in the UK at LSE   
  • The job description (or you can use one of the School’s research role profiles if suitable) 
  • The individual’s CV 
  • A completed ATAS form  
• The Immigration Compliance team will review the documentation and confirm if the criteria for the Temporary Worker (Government Authorised Exchange) visa are met. 
• If the criteria are met, send the Immigration Compliance team a copy of the Visiting Appointment letter to show that the visit has been formally approved by the School. 
• The Immigration Compliance team will then contact the candidate directly to let them know the next steps. 

Please note that if the criteria are not met then the visit will not be allowed to take place, and the individual will not be offered sponsorship.  They will then either need to change the purpose of their visit or obtain an alternative visa which will allow them to undertake research activities. 

Please avoid directing candidates to the Immigration Compliance team before the visiting appointment has been formally approved by the School and you have sent us the documents we need to confirm if the visa sponsorship criteria have been met.  We need all this information before we are in a position to offer sponsorship to an individual and before we can initiate the visa sponsorship process. 

There are many variables which affect how long it takes to obtain a visa, for example: 

• If they are applying from the UK or overseas 
• Volume of applications 
• If they need to obtain additional documents, such as proof if their English language, or a Tuberculosis test certificate 
• If they need to apply for an ATAS certificate before they can apply for their visa 

We recommend allowing at least 3 months for the individual to get their visa and start their role however it may vary depending on where the person is applying from and whether they need to obtain any additional documentation before they can apply for their visa.  Therefore, you (and the individual) may need to adjust the start date if there are any delays to the visa process.

Individuals applying from overseas cannot start until the date their visa starts.  They must ensure that they arrive in the UK by this date so that they can conduct their right to work check and start work.  They cannot start working from abroad and then come to the UK later. 

Please note that you must ensure that the visitor undertakes a right to work check before they start any research activity at the School. 

You can read more about the School’s process for right to work checks on our website. 

Changes to start dates after the visa has been granted are not normally allowed by the immigration rules, unless there are very specific and/or unforeseen reasons which have delayed an individual from starting on the agreed start date.   

Therefore, it is essential that you agree a realistic start date with the individual from the outset and commit to it as changes can only be made in a very small number of limited circumstances, such as illness or other serious and/or compelling situations. 

If the start date needs to be postponed before the decision has been made, then we may be able to change the start date if a caseworker has not considered the application.  Contact us with the specific details of the case. 

One of LSE’s sponsorship obligations is  that it to demonstrate that it maintains a weekly record of attendance and has reported any changes in circumstances to the Home Office within 10 days.

To meet this obligation the School has a process whereby Departments/Institutes/Centres need to send an email each week to HR to confirm any changes.  

Please refer to our guidance on changes which need to be reported to the Home Office. 

Departments/Institutes/Centres need to send HR an email on a weekly basis which confirms if:

• there has been no changes of circumstances, or
• there is something to report, and if so, what that change is

Most Departments/Institutes/Centres find it helpful to set up a weekly calendar reminder to ensure that they send the weekly email to HR.  

If you are unable to report on occasion, for example you are on leave or are off sick, please delegate this responsibility to another person to take action in your absence.

All sponsored individuals are advised that they need to engage with the weekly process in their area and that it is an important part of their visa conditions.  

So please explain to them at the start of their sponsorship how this process works in your area to ensure the sponsorship obligations are met as easily as possible.

Please be aware that if LSE fails to report a change within the Home Office’s timescales of 10 days, then it could be liable for a significant financial penalty or the School’s licences could be revoked. 

In addition, the individual’s visa could be impacted, particularly if they wish to apply for indefinite leave to remain in the future and they have not kept their reported absences with the Home Office up-to-date.

Yes, providing the other work is:

• For no more than 20 hours per week; and
• Is on the Table 1 List of Eligible Occupations and Codes, and
• Is outside of the contracted working hours for which their Skilled Worker, Tier 2 or Temporary Worker (Government Authorised Exchange) CoS was assigned.

If you are doing other research work, you may need to have an ATAS certificate if the additional research work is in one of the government's list of sensitive subjects. See our guide on ATAS for further information. 

From a visa perspective, individuals do not require any specific approval from the Home Office, or from HR in order to take on additional work providing it meets the supplementary work rules. However, individuals are encouraged to discuss any additional work they may wish to take with their host Department, so as not to impact their fellowship. 

If a visitor needs sponosrhip for their visit, it is issued on the understanding that they will attend LSE campus. An individual is free to leave the UK and re-enter during the validity of their visa.  However, there may be some implications to their sponsorship depending on the reason that they are away and for how long. 

If they will spend more time overseas or away from campus then this could impact their sponsorship. Therefore, please ensure that your visitors do attend campus regularly and if they need to leave temporarily then please report it to us. 

The Temporary Worker - Government Authorised Exchange visa has a maximum duration of 2 years.

Once the visit has ended, the individual will need to make arrangments to either leave the UK before their visa expires or apply for a different visa so that they can stay in the UK. There may be also be other visa options that they are eligible for which they can look into themselves.