Tensor has several key export markets for its range of solutions in the security, law enforcement and intelligence sectors. One of the major issues it has encountered recently is the ability of senior delegates from overseas countries to visit its factory in the UK.
Customers – particularly new customers – want to visit a new supplier’s premises to ensure that a full on-site audit is conducted and to ascertain that the supplier is actually a manufacturer, explains Group Chief Executive, Ashley Smith.
“Over the past 18 months, we have increasingly been frustrated by decisions made by the UK Visa & Immigration service (UKVI) where business visitor visas applications have been rejected, resulting in entire delegation visits from potential new customers and existing customers being cancelled,” he says.
This has led to situations where either Tensor has not gained the order or the order has been significantly delayed. This has also added to costs as the company has had to send teams of people to either mutual countries or the country where the customer is based to conduct in-depth workshops.
Irfan Ali and Nick Gore, Partners at Carter Thomas Solicitors observe that it usually takes the Home Office around three weeks to process a visitor visa application from the date of the biometric appointment and that it can take up to two weeks to secure a biometric appointment from the date of submission.
Shradha Virji, Managing Associate at Freeths (London) notes there are priority and super priority servicing options dependant on where the application is being made.
“These services reduce processing time to five working days and one working day (at a cost of £500 and £1,000) respectively,” she says. “However, it is advisable to apply several months in advance to account for any potential delays.”
Reasons for rejecting an application include business activities deemed to be considered work, lack of and/or missing documents, issues with the individual’s personal immigration history and doubts around connections in the applicant’s home country.
“Although the government has expanded the business visitor route, it is still very restrictive for a lot of companies,” says Ali.
Virji adds that factors such as political relations, security concerns and the applicant’s country of origin can influence the scrutiny and processing time of visa applications – meaning visitors from some countries may face longer wait times and more stringent documentation requirements.
“Applicants from most visa-national jurisdictions face significant challenges when applying for a UK visit visa but these difficulties are particularly pronounced for individuals from Pakistan, Bangladesh, Nigeria and other countries classified as high risk jurisdictions,” says Jay Moghal, Partner at Rove Legal.
The starting assumption for such applications is often that the applicant does not have genuine intentions to visit the UK unless strong evidence suggests otherwise.
“The majority of non-visa nationals are also now required to apply for an electronic travel authorisation or ETA, which is quite straightforward but can lead to having to apply for a visit visa formally if they have previously had convictions,” adds Moghal.
Smith says the problem has been particularly acute where Tensor has been dealing with new customers from East and West Africa.
He suggests the government needs to align new trade deals with the UKVI to make it easier for business visitor visas to the UK to be issued from these countries.
A recent example is that of Nigeria where the UK government announced closer working with that country in late 2024. “However, we still expect the issuance of business visas to the UK for Nigerians to be difficult,” adds Smith.
