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SENIOR OR SPECIALIST WORKER VISA (GLOBAL BUSINESS MOBILITY)

The Global Business Mobility route provides five distinct pathways, offering you the flexibility
to choose the one that best aligns with your business needs.

Overseas Business and Intra-Company Transfers

 

The UK has introduced a new Business Immigration route that replaces and supersedes several previous categories, including the Sole Representative of an Overseas Business and the Intra-Company Transfer (ICT) visa.

Effective from 11 April 2022, the Global Business Mobility route has been implemented, comprising five distinct subcategories. It serves as a comprehensive and streamlined solution for business immigration to the UK.

Senior or Specialist Worker Route
Graduate Trainee Route
UK Expansion Worker Route
Service Supplier Route
Secondment Worker Route

The recently updated Immigration Rules outline different requirements based on the nature of the applicant’s role. These may include:

  1. Sponsorship by a UK-based organisation

  2. Appropriate skill level for the role

  3. Meeting the required salary threshold

  4. A minimum period of employment with the overseas company

Appointments are typically ad-hoc, offering flexibility and, in some cases, the opportunity to transition to permanent status depending on individual circumstances.

The Global Business Mobility – UK Expansion Worker Visa is the ideal solution for international companies that wish to temporarily assign key personnel or specialists to the UK for expansion purposes. Companies may send up to 5 individuals at once.

Suppose the UK-based business has already established operations. In that case, you should consider applying for a Global Business Mobility – Senior or Specialist Worker Visa instead of utilising the UK Expansion Worker route. However, this route is ideal if the business has not entered trading activities.

The Global Business Mobility – UK Expansion Worker Visa does not facilitate permanent residence in the UK. However, it is possible to switch to another immigration pathway that allows for permanent settlement. Family members such as partners and children of the applicant may be eligible to join them.

To successfully obtain a Global Business Mobility – UK Expansion Worker Visa, applicants must demonstrate to UK Visas and Immigration that they meet specific criteria;

  • In order to apply, you must be 18 years of age or older and currently employed in a business or organisation that shares common ownership with your UK sponsor.
  • You are eligible to apply if you have been employed by the same business or organisation based overseas for at least 12 months.
  • Unless you are a high earner earning £73,900 per year or more or a Japanese national With the UK-Japan Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement, we aim to develop a subsidiary or branch of your company in the United Kingdom.
  • You possess a valid Certificate of Sponsorship issued by your UK sponsor for your intended job, making it official.
  • You can be assured that the job you are going for is genuine.
  • The job in question requires a minimum skill set at RQF Level 6, which is equivalent to that of a graduate.
  • The salary you will receive for this job is at least £42,400 per year and is in line with the market rate.
  • You have sufficient funds to support yourself without recourse to public funds;
  • A valid TB certificate is available if required

Should your application for the UK Expansion Worker Visa be successful, you’ll receive entry clearance for either 14 days longer than the job start date in your Certificate of Sponsorship or for a period of 1 year starting from the date mentioned in your Certificate of Sponsorship, whichever is shorter.

The UK Expansion Worker Visa allows foreign nationals to stay in the UK for up to 2 years. To extend their visa, they can apply for a 12 months extension if they need to stay longer.

The Global Business Mobility Visa: UK Expansion Worker Visa does not provide a path to permanent residence in the UK. It is designed for those seeking short-term employment opportunities in the country. Suppose you have already arrived in the UK. In that case, you may be able to switch to another immigration path which leads to settlement opportunities, including the Skilled Worker Scheme and a combination of the Startup & Innovator routes.

To extend your immigration status, you must fulfil the criteria of the immigration route you desire. All main immigration routes and their corresponding settlement opportunities are provided on our website for reference.

Under the UK Expansion Worker Visa, those with Global Business Mobility have the privilege of being accompanied by an adult partner over 18 and dependent children under 18.

Regardless of size, UK businesses can now take advantage of the Global Business Mobility program, so long as they have existing trading activities overseas and a visible connection to a UK-based company.

To have an official Global Business Mobility sponsor licence, the UK firm offering employment to the worker must fulfil certain conditions. These include:

  • Our company already has a strong presence in the UK.
  • The business must have good connections to a foreign company from which it plans to recruit workers.
  • Ensure that all the necessary individuals are held accountable for correctly managing and overseeing the licence; and
  • Establish processes that guarantee compliance with the sponsor licence duties.

(UK Expansion Worker sponsor), the UK business must provide credible evidence that it intends and can establish a new UK branch or a wholly-owned subsidiary of an established overseas business. The overseas company must typically have been trading overseas for at least 3 years (although there are some exceptions to this requirement). Businesses that wish to apply for a UK Expansion Worker sponsor licence must have a UK footprint rather than a trading presence. This means that they should be able to provide evidence of either a UK premises or Companies House Registration, but they should not yet have begun trading in the UK. The overseas business must also satisfy the Home Office to expand into the UK successfully. It must provide a credible business plan for expansion and demonstrate that it can finance it. The Home Office will typically expect the overseas business to be stable or growing, undertaking preparatory work towards expansion plans. Enquire >

The Senior or Specialist Worker (SSW) route under the Global Business Mobility scheme replaces the former Intra-Company Transferee (ICT) route. It is tailored for senior managers and specialist staff within an international corporate group who are being transferred to a UK-based entity of the same group.

Many features of the ICT route remain, including the required skill level of RQF Level 6 (equivalent to a graduate qualification) and no mandatory English language requirement. Applicants must be employed by the sponsor group at the time of application and have worked overseas within the group for at least 12 months, unless they qualify as high earners.

While existing ICT visa holders can extend under transitional arrangements, new applicants must now apply under either the Skilled Worker or Temporary Work – Creative Worker routes, requiring sponsors to hold the appropriate licence. The maximum duration of stay permitted under this route is five years, aligned with the overall limits set for Global Business Mobility pathways.

The revised Graduate Trainee route updates and replaces the former Intra-Company Transfer Graduate Trainee pathway, allowing temporary UK placements as part of a structured graduate training programme leading to a senior management or specialist role within an international organisation.

The minimum salary threshold has increased from £23,000 to £23,100, and the pay must also exceed 70% of the going rate for the relevant eligible occupation under the GBM routes.

Applicants must have been employed by the sponsor group for at least three consecutive months prior to the application date. The maximum period of stay permitted under this route is one year from the start of the UK assignment, subject to the overarching limits set for Global Business Mobility routes.

This strand reforms the Temporary Work – International Agreement provisions for service suppliers coming to the UK to provide services in line with one of the international trade agreements the UK is a party.

‘Service suppliers’ are contractual service suppliers employed by an overseas business or self-employed independent professionals based overseas.

Under the new provisions, applicants must:

  • Have a certificate of sponsorship from a sponsor licenced for the strand, including a confirmation they will be paid at least the national minimum wage;
  • Either be filling a job in an occupation listed as eligible for the GBM routes under Appendix Skilled Occupations or have a university degree or equivalent technical qualification, subject to limited exceptions;
  • Be working as or for the overseas service provider at the time of application and outside the UK for at least a cumulative period of 12 months; 
  • Typically have at least three years of professional experience in the sector they will be working in; and
  • Meet specific requirements regarding being a national or permanent resident of the country they are based in.

Immigration permission under this strand will be granted for up to 12 months if the relevant international agreement being relied on is the UK-EU Trade and Cooperation Agreement or the UK-Swiss trade agreement, or up to six months in all other cases.

The Secondment Worker strand applies to individuals being transferred to the UK as part of a high-value contract or investment between their overseas employer and a UK business.

Sponsorship must be provided by the UK business involved in the contract, and the relevant agreement must be formally registered with the Home Office. The Home Office is expected to assess the value of the contract at the point of registration.

To qualify, a Secondment Worker must:

  1. Hold a Certificate of Sponsorship from a licensed sponsor under this strand, confirming that they will be paid at least the UK National Minimum Wage;

  2. Be undertaking a role listed as eligible under the Global Business Mobility (GBM) routes in Appendix Skilled Occupations;

  3. Be employed by an overseas business that has an active, Home Office-registered contract with their UK sponsor at the time of application; and

  4. Have accrued at least 12 months of employment with the overseas business prior to applying.

Initial immigration permission may be granted for up to 12 months and can be extended up to a maximum of 24 months.

Dependants are permitted to accompany Secondment Workers, in contrast to previous provisions for secondee visitors, who were only granted leave outside the Immigration Rules.

It is important to note that the existing visitor route provisions for secondees associated with UK export clients remain in effect and can still be used, provided the eligibility requirements continue to be met.

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