business visitor to Tier 2 ICT

My company (based in UK and US) does not plan to get licensed to sponsor Tier 2 ICT visas this year.  However, they may reconsider for 2012. 

If they sponsor me for a business visitor visa in 2011, can I get an ICT visa with them for 2012 if they get a new license?  Do I have to go back to the US for some period of time?

I think you may be misunderstanding the nature and requirements of a business visitor visa.  The activities that business visitors are permitted to do is quite specific and limited, it is not a visitor visa that allows you to work for a US company whilst in the UK; there is no such visa.  This is the list of permitted business visitor activities:

attending meetings, including interviews that have been arranged before coming to the UK, or conferences;
arranging deals or negotiating or signing trade agreements or contracts;
undertaking fact finding missions;
conducting site visits;
delivering goods and passengers from abroad such as lorry drivers and coach drivers provided they are genuinely working an international  route;
tour group couriers who are contracted to a firm outside the UK, who are seeking entry to accompany a tour group and who intend to leave with that tour group;
speaking at a conference where this is not run as a commercial concern and the conference is a 'one-off';
representing computer software companies by coming to install, debug or enhance their products. Representatives of such companies may also be admitted as business visitors in order to be briefed as to the requirements of a UK customer but if they are to provide a service involving the use of their expertise to make a detailed assessment of a potential customer's requirements this should be regarded as consultancy work for which entry under the points-based system would be required;
representing foreign manufacturers by coming to service or repair their company's products within their initial period of guarantee;
representing foreign machine manufacturers by coming to erect and install machinery too heavy to be delivered in one piece, as part of the contract of purchase and supply;
interpreting or translating for visiting business persons, provided the interpreter/translator is employed by the overseas company and is coming solely to provide this service for the visiting company member.
monteurs - workers, for example fitters or servicepersons coming for up to six months to erect, dismantle, install, service, repair or advise on the development of foreign-made machinery;
board-level directors attending board meetings in the UK provided they are not employed by a UK company, although they may be paid a fee for attending the meeting.

If you plan to be doing anything other than the activities listed above, then you are not eligible for a business visitor visa. 

More information here: http://www.ukba.homeoffice.gov.uk/visitingtheuk/businessandspecialvisitors/businessvisitors/

I'm following a case where UKBA found out that an American BV in a European concern, and fairly high up the ladder too, had been sending emails and having video conferences whilst here as a BV.  Now the company is in trouble.  Seem crazy? 

BV's need to be awesomely careful!

Thanks, Transpondia and historyenne.  I'd hope to qualify for a BV visa under at least one of the "other" categories. 

# secondees from overseas companies;
# advisers, consultants, trainers or trouble shooters employed abroad by the same company to which the client firm in the United Kingdom belongs, provided this does not amount to employment paid or unpaid for the UK branch  (I am a trainer, but mostly training outside clients, not colleagues)

But I've found more information about secondees that says...

Rule 46G(iii)(f) of the Immigration Rules makes provision for individuals to be seconded by overseas companies to UK companies as business visitors.

The following requirements must be met:

    * The UK company has a contract with the overseas company, whereby the UK company is contracted to provide goods or services to the overseas company (and not vice versa)
    * There is no corporate relationship between the two companies (i.e. they are not part of the same group of companies)
    * The individual will remain employed and paid by the overseas company throughout the visit
    * The individual will be seconded by the overseas company to the UK company in a supernumerary capacity to assist the UK company to deliver the contract, for example to clarify the overseas company`s requirements/specifications or to monitor the execution of the contract to ensure its terms are being complied with

Intra-company transferees are specifically excluded from relying on rule 46G(iii)(f) for secondment purposes. Intra-company transferees must apply under Tier 2 (ICT) or another relevant tier of the Points Based System.


Is there any way I might qualify for one of these, or is Tier 2 ICT my only option?  Would it be safer just to go as a non-visa national?  I've been there on business before as a 3 week trip, no visa.  But this time I would seek to go for several months, like 4.  I'm assuming the 6mo/12mo rule of thumb still applies for non-visa folk.  Any advice?

You can't choose whether or not to be a visa national.  You are American, therefore you don't need entry clearance to visit the UK.  Full stop. 

Every time you go to the UK, you get a visa.  It's the stamp that is put in your passport at immigration.  If you came for a business trip and you told the IO that you were there for that purpose, then you were a business visitor. 

If there is any grey area at all surrounding whether or not you qualify as a business visitor, then you should not try to enter as one.  You run the risk of being refused entry, which would make it very difficult to get another visa.  Honestly, I don't think you qualify as a business visitor.  As I've stated before, it is not a visitor visa that allows you to work.  It is only for people who need to go to the UK to do very specific things.  If you do anything at all other than what you said you would do at immigration, then you are in breach of your visa conditions and both you and your employer could face consequences for that. 

The only way you're going to be able to work in the UK if your employer won't transfer you is to get a Tier 2 dependent.  Don't try to circumvent the rules.  UKBA will catch you and they will show no mercy.  T2 dependents are not like spousal or fiance visas, they will refuse you if you have violated immigration rules in the past.   

Is there any way I might qualify for one of these, or is Tier 2 ICT my only option?  Would it be safer just to go as a non-visa national?  I've been there on business before as a 3 week trip, no visa.  But this time I would seek to go for several months, like 4.  I'm assuming the 6mo/12mo rule of thumb still applies for non-visa folk.  Any advice?

Basically, I think Tier 2 ICT is your only option, as I don't think you would be able to qualify for a business visitor visa.

If you go without a prior entry clearance, then you will be working illegally in the UK as you cannot work in any capacity as a general visitor - even babysitting for a friend or volunteering for charity is illegal. In fact, I would imagine that you were probably working illegally in the UK if you went there on business without the appropriate work visa.

If you want to live and work in the UK, you either need to secure your own Tier 2 ICT visa or get married to your boyfriend and apply for a Tier 2 dependent visa to move here with him as his dependent.

ETA: Cross-posted with historyenne