When “just a visit” isn’t just a visit

Hosting overseas employees in the UK can create tax, payroll and immigration issues far beyond what the underlying arrangements might suggest. As international working arrangements become increasingly common, employers should understand the risks that can arise in practice and ensure the right processes are in place.

The challenge is that those risks often emerge from entirely ordinary business activities. A colleague flies in for a few meetings. A senior executive attends a UK board meeting. A group entity seconds an employee to support a project. Someone extends a personal trip and logs on "just for a few days".

Individually, none of these scenarios may seem significant. In practice, however, they can trigger a range of UK employment tax, payroll, social security and immigration considerations that businesses need to identify and manage carefully.

Looking beyond the contract: who is really doing the work?

Many employers assume that if the individual is employed and paid overseas – and remains on a foreign contract – UK obligations should be limited. In reality, that is rarely the end of the analysis.

Both HMRC and the Home Office will focus on what is actually happening in practice, including:

• whether the UK entity benefits from the individual’s work;
• what specific activities the individual is carrying out in the UK, and for how long;
• who directs and controls that work; and
• whether the individual is integrated into UK operations.

This matters across a range of common scenarios:

• short-term business visitors;
• secondees and temporary posted workers; and
• overseas employees attending UK board meetings or supporting UK transactions.

The key takeaway: form will not override substance.

The tax trap: PAYE obligations in practice

One of the most frequently misunderstood areas is whether PAYE needs to be operated.

Employers often assume that:

• staying under 183 days (itself only one of several conditions for treaty relief); or
• relying on treaty relief,

means PAYE can be ignored.

In practice, that is not the case.

Whether PAYE applies will depend on:

• the individual’s residence status and treaty position;
• the nature and location of their duties; and
• critically, whether the UK entity is effectively the economic employer.

Even where treaty relief is available, employers will typically need advance clearance (e.g. under a Short Term Business Visitor (STBV) agreement or s690 direction) to relax PAYE obligations.

Short Term Business Visitors: helpful, but not a safety net

The STBV regime is widely used – but often misunderstood.

It is not a blanket exemption. It is a compliance framework, and one that requires active management.

In practice, employers need to:

• track UK workdays accurately;
• monitor the nature of activities undertaken in the UK; and
• ensure timely reporting to HMRC.

Risk tends to arise where:

• individuals exceed expected UK presence;
• business activities evolve during a project; or
• internal processes are not aligned across HR, tax and legal teams.

UK income tax and National Insurance contributions (NICs): the underlying exposure

Separate from the question of how tax is collected (via PAYE), it is important to understand when a UK income tax liability actually arises.

The starting point is straightforward: any individual who performs duties in the UK will generally be subject to UK income tax on earnings attributable to those duties. This applies regardless of where they are resident, where they are paid, or where their employer is based.

The charge arises under ITEPA 2003 and applies from the first day of UK work unless treaty relief is available. The scope will depend on the individual's residence status under the Statutory Residence Test:

• non-UK residents are generally taxable only on UK-source earnings; and
• UK residents are subject to tax on worldwide employment income (subject to any available reliefs).

In practice, even short periods of UK work can give rise to a taxable liability where no treaty exemption applies.

NICs present a distinct and often overlooked exposure.

Unlike income tax, NICs are not governed by double tax treaties. Instead, they fall under domestic legislation and, where applicable, reciprocal social security agreements or the UK-EU Trade and Cooperation Agreement.

Where an overseas employee works in the UK and no valid certificate of coverage is in place (such as an A1 certificate or a certificate of coverage under a bilateral agreement), both employer and employee NICs may be due from the outset.

This can catch employers off guard – particularly where:

• the individual's home country has no reciprocal agreement with the UK; or
• the relevant certificate has not been obtained in advance.

The key point: income tax and NICs do not always align. An individual may be exempt from UK income tax under a treaty but still liable to UK NICs or vice versa. Employers should assess both positions independently and ensure that available reliefs are actively claimed rather than assumed.

The overlooked risk: permanent establishment exposure

Payroll is often the focus but for some employers, the greater risk lies elsewhere. Where an overseas entity's employees act in the UK on its behalf, there is a risk of creating a UK permanent establishment – either through a fixed place of business, or (more commonly in practice) through a dependent agent habitually exercising authority to conclude contracts.

This risk is heightened where overseas employees:

• negotiate or conclude contracts in the UK; or
• play a key role in UK-facing revenue activity.

There is a real risk of triggering a taxable UK presence for the overseas entity with UK corporation tax consequences that the business had not anticipated.

Immigration: when “visiting” becomes working

From an immigration perspective, the risk profile can shift just as quickly.

Permission to enter the UK as a visitor does not mean the individual is permitted to work. Many assume that provided a trip to the UK is short-term (and at most up to six months), and they remain employed and paid overseas, any activities are permitted in the UK. This is incorrect and could in fact be considered illegal working.

Unless expressly permitted by the visitor rules, visitors to the UK must not conduct work activities. Businesses need to be comfortable that their staff visiting the UK are operating in line with the UK’s visitor rules, regardless of how short their stay is to be. Indeed, depending on particular activities and circumstances, immigration officers may have expectations as to how long that individual should reasonably expect to be in the UK and that will often be far shorter than 6 months. Further, subject to limited exceptions, visitors should not receive payment from a UK source for any activities undertaken in the UK.

The lines between permitted visitor activities and work activities are often unclear and so caution is needed to ensure a planned trip has been thoroughly considered in advance. That is the case for all visitors, but particularly those frequently entering the UK for work trips.

It is also important to ensure anyone legitimately seeking to enter the UK as a visitor has any necessary immigration permission – whether a visit visa or an electronic travel authorisation, as applicable.

In practice, immigration risk often arises not from deliberate non-compliance, but from:

• blurred lines between “meetings” and “working”;
• individuals extending stays informally and/or making frequent business trips; and
• inconsistencies between immigration position and tax reality.

This is an area where early alignment between tax and immigration advice is critical.

What should UK employers be doing now?

In our experience, the most effective organisations take a proactive approach. These risks sit at the intersection of tax, immigration, employment law and internal governance – and HMRC increasingly expects employers to demonstrate clear oversight. In particular:

1. Identify your inbound population
2. Assess risk based on reality, not documentation
3. Align tax and immigration positions
4. Implement practical controls (tracking, central approval, clear internal guidance etc.)
5. Document your position
6. Review HMRC's Guidelines for Compliance 19: On 13 August 2026, HMRC published its Guidelines for Compliance on short-term business visitors, which consolidates HMRC's expectations regarding Income Tax, PAYE, National Insurance contributions and record-keeping for employers with inbound workers. Employers should review GfC19 alongside their existing processes to ensure alignment with HMRC's current expectations.

This publication is intended for general guidance and represents our understanding of the relevant law and practice as at September 2026. For more information see our terms & conditions.