Global Business Mobility Visa Routes
Global Business Mobility Visa Routes
Officially known as the UK Expansion worker visa, the Global Business Mobility visa was introduced on 11th April 2022. This new visa category combines several sponsored routes for overseas businesses seeking to establish a base in the UK or transfer staff to an existing UK business for specified purposes. It comprises four categories of applicants.
Senior or Specialist Worker Route
Replacing the Intra Company Transfer (ICT) visa, this route is for workers from overseas whose employer wishes to send them to the UK to carry out temporary assignments. It applies only to senior managers and specialist employees. The UK business to which they are being assigned must have a connection with their overseas employer.
The UK company to which they are being sent must hold a sponsor licence, and the applicant must request and receive a certificate of sponsorship from the company.
Additional requirements for eligibility are:
A minimum of 12 months in the employ of the overseas company. This does not apply to high earners on salaries of at least £73,900 per annum.
The assignment they will carry out must be in a skilled capacity equal to RFQ6.
The salary level for the role must be at least £42,400 per annum.
The duration of the visa is limited to 5 years in any 6 years. For high earners, this increases to 9 years in any 10 years.
There is no English language requirement.
A Senior or Specialist worker visa does not lead to settlement rights.
Secondment Worker Route
This category covers overseas workers who are being sent to the UK on secondment by their overseas employer to carry out temporary assignments. The work must be part of a high-value contract worth a minimum of £50 million, and the contract must be with a UK sponsor with Home Office approval.
The job must require a high level of skill, and the overseas worker must have been in the continuous employ of the overseas company for 12 months or longer. The UK company to which the worker is being seconded must hold a sponsor licence.
Secondment Worker visas are valid for 12 months. They can be extended for an additional 12 months on the same terms.
Service Supplier Route – Trade Agreement
This route allows workers to carry out temporary assignments in the UK if they have a contract to provide services to a UK business either in their own right as a self-employed professional or as an employee of an overseas company.
The eligibility requirements for a Service Supplier visa stipulate that the worker is:
A self-employed provider of services based overseas or an employee of an overseas business.
Engaged under a contract covered by an international trade agreement.
Carrying out an eligible job or suitably qualified.
Possess a certificate of sponsorship issued by the UK sponsor company, which details the work to be performed in the UK.
Either an employee of at least 12 months standing outside the UK at the overseas company or a self-employed service provider with a minimum of 12 months of professional experience.
Dependent on the trade agreement which applies, the visa holder can work in the UK for six or 12 months.
Graduate Trainee Route
Replacing the Graduate Trainee Intra Company Transfer visa, the new Graduate Trainee route permits graduate trainees to live and work for a UK company for one year.
The job to be undertaken by the trainee must be one that is eligible under regulations and must also be a component of a graduate training programme for a specialist or managerial role. A UK company will sponsor the trainee.
In order to qualify, the applicant must have been in continuous employment with the overseas company for a minimum of three months and be earning a salary of at least £23,100 per annum.