Business visa
permits entry for business activities — meetings, negotiations, conferences, training — but not productive work. The boundary is policed everywhere: performing the job itself on a business visa is illegal employment, whatever the payroll location.
Where the line runs
Permitted almost universally: internal meetings, client negotiations, contract signing, attending (not delivering) training, trade fairs. Prohibited: doing billable or operational work, filling a role, supervising delivery on site. Grey zones — troubleshooting, workshops, audits — are judged by substance and duration, and several countries publish activity lists.
The practical employer rule: if the visit produces the work product, it needs a work authorisation; if it produces decisions or relationships, a business visa usually covers it. When in doubt, check the destination’s permitted-activities list before travel.
Related terms: work visa, posted worker, Schengen 90/180 rule
FAQ
Can consultants attend client workshops on a business visa?
Attending and scoping usually yes; delivering the engagement no. A workshop that is actually project delivery — producing deliverables the client pays for — crosses into work. Immigration officers read agendas and invoices exactly this way in audits.
What are the penalties for working on a business visa?
For the person: removal, entry bans and refusal history that follows future applications. For the company: fines, and in posting-enforcement states, liability as the de facto employer. The pattern is discovered through site inspections, timesheets and social media more often than at the border.