What is the Global Business Mobility route?

Senior or Specialist Worker route

High-ranking managerial and specialist staff can work in a UK branch or head office using the Senior or Specialist Worker route. There is no English language requirement for the visa but, due to the seniority prerequisites, there are salary and skill level requirements.

On this route, you can stay in the UK for the duration of your certificate of sponsorship (CoS), plus an additional 14 days, or for five years, whichever period is shorter.

You may extend the Senior or Specialist Worker visa until the maximum stay durations, which are:

• Five years in any six-year period if the position you are hired for pays less than £73,900 per year
• Nine years in any 10-year period if the position has a salary of greater than £73,900 per year

Time spent in the UK on any of the other Global Business Mobility visas or an ICT visa will count toward your maximum stay.

Senior or Specialist Worker route requirements

To be eligible, you must:

• Be employed by a Home Office approved sponsor and have worked for the organisation prior to coming to the UK. If you earn less than £73,900 per year, you will have had to have worked for the employer for at least 12 months
• Have a CoS outlining the work you will be doing in the UK
• Be paid a minimum of £42,400 per year or the “going rate” for the job (whichever amount is higher)
• Work in a job that is one the list of eligible occupations for this route
• Work in a job with a skill level of at least RQF Level 6
• Prove that your employer is providing legitimate work for you to do

Dependants on the Senior or Specialist Worker route

You may bring your partner and dependent children to the UK on a Senior or Specialist Worker visa. You will need to prove the validity of your relationship and you will need to provide proof of dependency if your children are 16 or older.

Does the Senior or Specialist Worker route lead to residency?

You may not apply for indefinite leave to remain while on the Senior or Specialist Worker route. You will need to change to another, eligible visa to settle in the UK.

Graduate Trainee route

Businesses can send workers to the UK for graduate training that leads to senior management or specialist roles within the company using the Graduate Trainee visa. This route is similar to the Senior or Specialist Worker route, but for new entrants rather than senior staff and has a drastically reduced salary requirement.

The Graduate Trainee visa allows you to work in the UK for a you can stay in the UK for the duration of your certificate of sponsorship (CoS), plus an additional 14 days, or for 12 months, whichever period is shorter.

You must also not exceed your maximum stay of five years in any six-year period, which includes time on:

• The Intra-company Graduate Trainee visa
• Intra-company Transfer visa
• All Global Business Mobility route visas

Graduate Trainee route requirements

To be able to work in the UK on this visa route, you must:

• Fill a position that is on the eligible jobs list at a relevant skill level
• Work for a Home Office approved sponsor and have worked for them outside of the UK for at least three months
• Have a valid certificate of sponsorship which outlines the work you will do in the UK branch
• Be paid a minimum of £23,100 per year or 70% of the sponsored job’s going rate, whichever is higher
• Apply for the Graduate Trainee visa from outside of the UK

Can dependants join you on the Graduate Trainee visa?

If your partner and children are eligible, they can join you in the UK while on the Graduate Trainee visa. You will need to prove the validity of the relationship between you and your partner and your children’s dependency on you if they’re over the age of 16.

Does the Graduate Trainee visa lead to indefinite leave to remain?

You cannot apply to settle in the UK while on a Graduate Trainee visa. You will need to switch to an eligible visa that leads to ILR.

UK Expansion Worker route

Businesses can send managers or specialist workers to the UK to assist with setting up a UK entity on an Expansion Worker visa. This route, therefore, is only available to businesses who have not begun trading in the UK. Those who have will need to use other visas to send workers to the UK. A maximum of five visas may be issued to a business.

The Expansion Worker visa lasts for two years and in this time, the business will need to establish a trading presence in the UK. If the business cannot do so, it will be unable to sponsor more employees on this route. It will also run the risk of losing its sponsorship licence and any existing sponsored employees will not be eligible to extend their stay.

While on the Expansion Worker route, you can stay in the UK for the duration of your CoS plus 14 days, or for 12 months, whichever is shorter. This visa can be extended by 12 months for a total stay of two years. However, you must also not exceed the maximum stay limits, which is five years in any six-year period spent on any of the Global Business Mobility visa routes and the old ICT routes.

UK Expansion Worker route requirements for your business

Your business will also need to meet certain requirements before it can sponsor workers on the Expansion Worker route.

These requirements include:

• Displaying a “UK footprint”. This includes having a UK business premises, registering your business with Companies House (such as an overseas company branch or subsidiary of the overseas linked business)
• The business must have been trading overseas for at least three years prior to the date of application
• You must show evidence that you intend to expand into the UK and establish a trading presence within two years. The Home Office will evaluate your business plan and finances to determine the legitimacy of your intention

UK Expansion Worker route requirements for employees

To be eligible to apply for this visa, you must:

• Already work as a senior manager or specialist employee for the company sponsoring you and have worked there for at least 12 months. There is no minimum work duration requirement if you earn more than £73,900 per year or you are a Japanese national
• Have a certificate of sponsorship from your employer, who is a licensed Home Office sponsor
• Have worked outside of the UK for the employer sponsoring you
• Do a job that is on the Home Office’s list of eligible jobs
• Be at least 18 years old
• Earn at least £42,400 per year or the "going rate" for the job (whichever amount is higher)
• Work in a job that is at a skill level of 6 or above on the RQF framework

Differences from the old Sole Representative visa

There have been some substantial changes between these two visas.

The key points to note are:

Service Supplier route

You may apply for this visa if you have a contract to provide services for a UK company as either an employee of a company or a self-employed professional outside of the UK.

You can stay in the UK on a Service Supplier visa for 6-12 months (depending on the trade agreement you are operating under) or the duration of your CoS plus 14 days, whichever is shorter. You must also abide by the UK’s maximum stay requirements of no more than five years in any six-year period on any of the ICT visas or Global Business Mobility visa routes.

Service Supplier route requirements

To be eligible for this visa, you need to:

• Be an employee of a business outside of the UK or a self-employed services provider based outside of the UK
• Offer a service that is contractually covered by a valid international trade agreement, such as the General Agreement on Trade in Services
• Have a certificate of sponsorship from an eligible UK sponsor with details about the job you’ll be doing
• Be working in an eligible job (you may still qualify if your job is not eligible, but you have appropriate experience and qualifications)
• Have worked for your employer for at least 12 months outside of the UK or have 12 months’ professional experience if you are applying as a self-employed service provider
• Be a national of the country in which the service provider is based

Are dependants included in the Service Supplier route?

You may bring your partner and children to the UK as dependents on this visa and will be required to provide evidence of your relationship. For you and your partner’s requirements, you will need to prove that your partnership or marriage is recognised in the UK and that you have been living together for at least two years. For children over the age of 16 to be considered dependant, you will need to prove that:

• They live with you
• You financially support them
• They are not married

Does the Service Supplier route allow you to settle in the UK?

Like the other Global Business Mobility route visas, you may not apply for indefinite leave to remain or British citizenship using this visa. To do so, you will need to switch to another UK visa.

The UK’s Secondment Worker route

The Secondment Worker route deals with sending representatives of your overseas businesses to handle high-value contracts or investments with UK businesses or people. The representative will need to be sponsored by a UK business with a sponsor licence to be eligible for the visa.

The Secondment Worker route has a maximum stay duration of the duration of the CoS plus 14 days or 12 months from the day you start the job in your CoS, whichever is shorter. The Secondment Worker visa can be extended by 12 months for a total stay of two years. However, you cannot surpass the maximum stay of five years in any six-year period while on an ICT visa or any of the Global Business Mobility visa routes.

Secondment Worker route eligibility requirements

To be eligible for this visa, you will need to:

• Be an employee of a business outside of the UK that has a high-value contract (at least £50 million in value) with a UK business that is also a licenced sponsor
• Have worked for your business outside of the UK for at least 12 months
• Have a certificate of sponsorship with an outline of the work you will be doing in the UK
• Be doing a job on the list of eligible occupations at the appropriate skill level

Can I bring dependants on a Secondment Worker visa?

You may bring your spouse and children with you to the UK while on this visa and will be required to provide evidence of your relationship. For you and your partner’s requirements, you will need to prove that your partnership or marriage is recognised in the UK and that you have been living together for at least two years.

For children over the age of 16 to be considered dependant, you will need to prove that:

• They live with you
• You financially support them
• They are not married

Does the Secondment Worker visa lead to indefinite leave to remain?

Secondment Worker visa holders cannot apply for indefinite leave to remain (ILR), which is permanent residency in the UK. To settle in the UK permanently, you will have to switch to an eligible UK visa and meet the ILR requirements on that visa.

How do the Global Business Mobility route visas compare

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