Global Mobility

There are 5 Global Business Mobility visas under this route. These are: Senior or Specialist Worker, Graduate Trainee, UK Expansion Worker, Service Supplier and Secondment Worker.

It is aimed at workers based outside the UK who are undertaking a temporary work assignment for a business in the UK.

The Senior or Specialist Worker visa is for overseas workers who are a senior manager or specialist employee and is coming to a UK business linked to their overseas employer on a temporary basis.

The Senior or Specialist Worker visa is not significantly different from its predecessor, the Intra Company Transfer visa.

The eligibility criteria remain largely the same however the minimum salary has increased to £48,500 per year.

The ICT visa’s graduate trainee route is now a separate standalone visa type.

Yes, you can bring certain family members known as “dependants” with you. These are your:

• spouse or partner
• children under the age of 18
• children over 18 who are already in the UK as your dependant.

If you are already in the UK with your dependants and you switch to the Senior or Specialist Worker visa, they will be able to remain with you. Whether or not they need to apply for new visas will depend on the circumstances and it is recommended that you contact us to discuss this further.

The maximum total stay in the UK is:

• if you earn more than £73,900 per year, you can hold this visa for 9 years in any 10 year period; and
• if you earn less than £73,900 per year, you can hold this visa for 5 years in any 6 year period.

This includes time spent in the UK on a previous Global Business Mobility visa or Intra-Company Transfer visa.

No, the Senior or Specialist Worker is a temporary visa which does not lead to settlement in the UK.

Yes, you need a Certificate of Sponsorship from a UK company to be able to apply for this visa. The UK company should be a group company of your current employer overseas.

For the Senior or Specialist Worker visa, you need to have worked for your overseas employer for at least 12 months. This 12 month requirement can be avoided if the role that you will take in the UK pays a salary of £73,900 pa or more.

For the Senior or Specialist Worker visa the minimum salary is £48,500 pa.

Yes. The role that you will be sponsored to do must be at RQF Level 3 or above (equivalent to A Level).

Yes. You must be able to provide bank statements showing that you have had at least £1,270 in your bank account for the 28 days immediately before the visa application is submitted. This requirement can be avoided if your sponsor agrees to ‘certify your maintenance’ on the Certificate of Sponsorship.

No, the Senior or Specialist Worker visa does not require you to evidence your English language ability as part of the application process.

You will be required to complete an online application form, upload copies of your supporting documents and then book and attend an in-person appointment to give your biometric details (fingerprints and photograph).

The fee for the Senior or Specialist Worker visa depends on where you are applying from and the duration of your visa:

You will also have to pay the Immigration Health Surcharge for the duration of your visa and may have to pay a fee of £19.20 to enrol your biometric information.

If you are a citizen of Turkey or Macedonia, the fee payable will be slightly lower. Please contact us for further information.

This is currently £1,035 per person, per year of your visa and it is an upfront cost.

Yes, which also means that you will subsequently be able to apply for ILR after holding the Skilled Worker visa for 5 years.

To discuss your options for switching visa types, please contact us.

If you are applying from outside the UK, your application should be dealt with within 3 weeks.

If you are applying from inside the UK, your application should be dealt with within 8 weeks.

You can, in certain circumstances, pay an additional fee to use a priority or premium service for a faster decision.

We provide a range of services to Senior or Specialist Worker visa applicants including assistance with their initial application and switching to this visa category. This includes:

• initial correspondence with you regarding eligibility
• review of and advice to you on the draft completed application form
• advice to you on the application process and queries
• advice on which supporting documents to provide with the application
• assist with questions about the process or correspondence from the Home Office.

Fee estimate*: £1,250 – £2,500

*:  Our fees are calculated based on the number of hours it will take us to carry out this work. The exact number of hours it will take depends on the circumstances in your case, such as:

• the volume of supporting documents and evidence that we need to consider
• the quality of the draft supporting documents provided by you, the amount of time required to amend these and the number of amended drafts required
• whether face to face meetings or video calls with you are required and the volume of calls and queries from you
• the urgency of your application
• whether you have an adverse immigration or criminal history
• the need to obtain documentation from or liaise with third parties such as accountants or translation companies
• whether you are applying alone or with dependants
• whether you require advice on your current immigration status.

Fees are excluding VAT at the rate of 20%. VAT may or may not be payable on the above fee estimate as this is dependent on the country in which you reside and you will be advised of this before work on your application commences. Disbursements are costs related to your matter that are payable to third parties, such as visa fees payable to the Home Office and document translation fees. These are not included in the above estimates.

Full details can be found in our comprehensive pricing document, which can be found here, or please contact one of our immigration specialists.

The Global Business Mobility Graduate Trainee visa is for overseas workers who have been accepted onto a graduate training course/placement in the UK which leads to a senior management or specialist position.

To qualify you must:

• Be an existing employee of an organisation that’s been approved by the Home Office as a sponsor
• Have worked for your sponsor outside the UK for at least 3 months immediately before you apply
• Have a ‘certificate of sponsorship’ from your employer with information about the work you will do in the UK
• Undertake a job that’s on the list of eligible occupations and be paid at least £25,410 per year

You can stay in the UK with a Graduate Trainee Visa for whichever is shorter of:

• the time given on your certificate of sponsorship plus 14 days and
• 12 months

The UK Expansion Worker visa allows you to come to the UK to set up a branch of an overseas business that has not yet started trading in the UK.

To be eligible for a UK Expansion Worker Visa you need to:

• already work for an overseas business as either a senior manager or specialist employee
• have a valid certificate of sponsorship from your employer
• have worked for your employer outside the UK for at least 12 months unless you earn over £73,900 per year or are a Japanese national doing work for a Japanese company expanding into the UK
• do a job that’s on the list of eligible occupations and
• be paid the minimum eligible salary required for your job which is a minimum of £42,400 per year or the ‘going rate’ for your job, whichever is higher

The Sole Representative visa route is no longer open to new applicants and was more flexible than the UK Expansion Worker visa.  It also led to settlement in the UK which the UK Expansion Worker visa does not.  In addition, the UK Expansion Worker visa requires sponsorship which the Sole Rep visa didn’t.  However the Sole Rep visa only allowed one individual to come to the UK set up a UK entity whereas the UK Expansion Worker visa allows up to 5 individuals to launch the business in the UK.

You can stay in the UK with the UK Expansion Worker visa for whichever is shorter of:

• 12 months after the start date of the job on your certificate of sponsorship and
• the time given on your certificate of sponsorship plus 14 days

The Service Supplier visa allows individuals who are either a contractual service supplier employed by an overseas service provider or a self-employed independent professional based overseas, to come to the UK temporarily to carry out qualifying contract work.

To be eligible for a Service Supplier visa, you must:

• be an employee of an overseas business, or a self-employed service provider based overseas
• be providing a service to a UK business approved as a sponsor by the Home Office, under a contract that is covered by a valid international trade agreement
• be doing an eligible job (if your job is not eligible you may still qualify if you have relevant qualifications and experience)
• have a ‘certificate of sponsorship’ from your UK sponsor with information about the work you’ll be doing in the UK and
• have worked for your employer for at least 12 months outside the UK, or have at least 12 months’ professional experience if you’re a self-employed service provider

You can stay for whichever is the shorter of:

• 6 months or 12 months (depending on the trade agreement you’re providing services under); and
• The time given on your certificate of sponsorship plus 14 days.

If you have spent time in the UK previously on a different visa, this may limit your stay in the UK to a maximum of 5 years in any 6 year period.

This is for overseas workers who are undertaking temporary work assignments in the UK, where the worker is being seconded to the UK as part of a high value contract or investment by their employer overseas.

To be eligible for a Secondment Worker visa, you must:

• be an existing employee of an overseas organisation that has a contract worth at least £50 million with a UK organisation
• have worked for your overseas employer for at least 12 months outside the UK
• have a ‘certificate of sponsorship’ from the UK organisation sponsoring you with information about the work you will do in the UK and
• do a job in the UK that’s on the list of eligible occupations