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Work permits - Bulgarian and Romanian nationals only

Business and Commercial work permit arrangements

This page explains what a Business and Commercial work permit is, and if you are an employer how you can apply for one.

This category was closed on 27 November 2008 for applicants from non-EEA countries. The Business and Commercial arrangements allow employers in the United Kingdom to employ people from Bulgaria and Romania to fill a vacancy that might otherwise be filled by a resident worker.

A Business and Commercial work permit will be issued for a maximum of five years.

You can make a Business and Commercial work permit application if:

  • you are an employer based in the United Kingdom; and
  • you can employ an employee and have a genuine vacancy for an employee in the United Kingdom; and
  • you are responsible for the post and the delivery of any project or piece of work; and
  • the gross pay and conditions are what you would give a resident worker and meet the national minimum wage; and
  • the employment meets the United Kingdom legislation and you have ensured that you and your employee have obtained any necessary registration or licensing; and
  • the person is suitably qualified or experienced enough to do the job; and
  • there are no suitably qualified or experienced resident workers available.

If the potential employee owns a large share of the company this may affect your application for a work permit.

To qualify for a Business and Commercial work permit the post you want to fill must require the following qualifications:

  • a United Kingdom degree level qualification; or
  • a higher national diploma (HND) level qualification, which is relevant to the post on offer; or
  • a HND level qualification, which is not relevant to the post on offer, plus one year of relevant full-time work experience at national/Scottish vocational qualification (N/SVQ) level three or above;

Or the job must need the following skills:

  • three years full-time experience of using specialist skills gained through doing the type of job for which the permit is needed. This should be at N/SVQ level three or above.

You can also apply under the Business and Commercial arrangements if your post is included in the shortage occupations list.

You can download this list from the right side of this page.

For further information on the skillls criteria for the Business and Commercial work permit arrangements you can download the Business and Commercial guidance from the right hand side of this page.

To find out how to apply for a work permit under the Business and Commercial arrangements see the Applying page.

Frequently Asked Questions

  • Can the Bulgarian and Romanian national work while the application is being processed, if they are already living in the United Kingdom?

    No, they must apply for and obtain permission to work using the work permit before they can start work.

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  • European Economic Area

    Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Irish Republic, Italy, Latvia, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, United Kingdom. Iceland, Liechtenstein and Norway are not members of the European Union (EU) but citizens of these countries have the same rights to enter, live in and work in the United Kingdom as EU citizens.

  • Resident worker

    A person who is a national of the European Economic Area (EEA) or is legally settled in the United Kingdom with permission to work here. In some cases, an employer who wishes to employ a person who is not a permanent resident must show that no resident worker could be found to take the job.

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