- Prospective staff
- New staff
- Current staff
- Contact us
- Staff news
- Staff Association
- Benefits, rewards and recognition
- Facilities and activities
- Learning and development
- Staff health and wellbeing
- Employment
- Human Resources
- A-Z of Human Resources policies and employment information
- Codes of conduct
- Employing staff
- Grievance, disciplinary and other dismissal procedures
- Honorary appointments
- Trent HR and management information
- Parents and Carers
- Pay, leave and conditions
- Right to work and immigration
- Proof of right to work
- Immigration information
- Tier 1
- Tier 2
- Extensions
- Settlement
- Permitted Paid Engagements
- Staff in academic roles
- Staff who are leaving
- Temporary Staff Bank
- Trade Unions
- Updates and information for staff
- Investor in People (IiP)
- Tell Us staff suggestion scheme
- Services and support
- Documents and policies
- International travel
- External relations
- Term dates
- Web support
- Information management
Permitted Paid Engagements
The new visitor route that the government announced in April 2012 will allow a small group of professionals who are invited to come to the UK to undertake short-term Permitted Paid Engagements for up to 1 month. This route will allow for visiting examiners and assessors and visiting lecturers.
A list of permitted engagements are listed below:
- examine students and/or participate in or chair selection panels as a visiting academic, who is highly qualified within his or her own field of expertise, invited by a United Kingdom Higher Education Institution or a United Kingdom based research or arts organisation as part of that institution or organisation’s quality assurance processes;
- give one or more lectures in his or her field of expertise as a visiting lecturer, invited by a United Kingdom Higher Education Institution or a United Kingdom based research or arts organisation;
- and does not intend to take employment, produce goods or provide services within the United Kingdom, including the selling of goods or services direct to members of the public other than as permitted for by the pre-arranged paid engagement;
- and will maintain and accommodate him or herself adequately out of resources available to the applicant without recourse to public funds or taking employment; or will be maintained and accommodated adequately by relatives or friends.
Criteria
The PPE is a separate route from the business visitor, so the individual would need to arrive in the UK as either
- a business visitor (this can also be known as an academic visitor and is for unpaid work please see the UKBA website for more information)
- OR under the Permitted Paid Engagements route. Individuals cannot switch into this visa if they are already in the UK on another visa.
The PPE category is for nationals of countries outside the European Economic Area (EEA) and Switzerland.
Visa nationals will need to obtain a visa before travelling. Please see the UKBA website on details of how to apply.
Non-visa nationals do not need a visa in advance of travelling to the UK, but can do so if they wish. If they do not have a visa in advance they should declare the reason for their visit at the point of entry in the UK. They will need to demonstrate to the UKBA that they are qualified to perform the paid engagements or that the paid engagements relate to their area of expertise, qualifications or occupation. If this is successfully demonstrated then they will be approved entry.
We cannot guarantee a successful visa application/ successful entry to the UK as the decision is at the discretion of the immigration officers overseas or at the UK port of entry. We, therefore strongly recommend that even non-visa nationals raise any concerns with their nearest Visa Application Centre/British Embassy to avoid any issues on arrival in the UK.
Documents
The Immigration Rules require the visitor to have a formal invitation from the University giving information about the activities they will undertake. Your HRBP can provide you with a letter to issue to the individual.
Individuals must demonstrate to the UKBA when they apply for leave to enter or at the point of entry (for non-visa nationals) that they are qualified to perform the paid engagements or that the paid engagements relate to their area of expertise, qualifications or occupation. UKBA have stated that this could be proved by official or educational qualification certificates and a letter from the individual’s employer confirming their current employment and expertise in the relevant field, they have also given further examples that could also be used; production of publications by the individual in a particular field and any evidence of previous lectures given in that field of expertise.
The following link is from the UKBA website and shows the supporting documents that an individual will need. See page 3 section headed 'Permitted Paid Engagements'. This can be sent to the individual to assist them with the visa preparation: UKBA visitors pdf
Dependents
If the invited person intends to be accompanied by their dependents, the dependents would need to apply in their own right as a 'general visitor' (unless they qualify under another category of visitor).
Further information
For further information please see the UK Border Agency webpages.
