I am an American permanent resident of Switzerland (C-Permit). I am self-employed. I want to bid on a contract to offer my services to a non-profit in the UK for a short project (3 months or less). (I don't think it makes a difference that they are a non-profit, but I include the information in case it does make a difference.)
While I will do a lot of the work in my home office in Switzerland (research, designing workshops, preparing reports), I will also need to fly to the UK to conduct some work on my potential client's premises (attend meetings, run workshops, help conduct focus groups, present final report). Total project duration ~3 months. Time onsite in the UK ~3 weeks.
I'm a C-Permit holder with a passport from the USA. Do I have the legal right to enter the UK for meetings, workshops and focus groups at my potential client's location in London? What do I have to do to get the rights to enter the UK for those activities?
I have researched what I can find online (especially Gov.uk), but the information is confusing. At one point Gov.uk assures me I have the right to work in the UK... *IF* I'm not getting paid!? (How is it working if you're not getting paid? You, see my confusion.) Other information I find is about visas to set up a business in the UK – or move to the UK, which I am not doing. I'm simply trying to win a short contract that will require me to be on-site for about 3 weeks (not all at once).
Hopefully, with this large group of ex-pats and UK nationals, there's someone here who knows about this situation.