Table of Contents
- What is the Global Business Mobility visa?
- What are the Global Business Mobility visa requirements?
- How long can you stay in the UK on a Global Business Mobility visa?
- Does the Global Business Mobility visa lead to settlement?
- Can you bring your partner and children on a Global Business Mobility visa?
- How can our Global Business Mobility visa lawyers help?
What is the Global Business Mobility visa?
The Global Business Mobility route is not a single visa, rather it is made up of five separate sponsored work visas. They allow overseas businesses to send eligible workers to the UK for temporary assignments with a linked UK organisation. Each has its own eligibility, sponsorship and maximum-stay requirements. The correct visa depends on the purpose of the assignment and the relationship between the overseas business and the UK sponsor. The five Global Business Mobility routes are the:
- Senior or Specialist Worker
- Graduate Trainee
- UK Expansion Worker
- Service Supplier, and
- Secondment Worker routes.
Senior or Specialist Worker visa
The Senior or Specialist Worker visa is for senior managers or specialist employees who have been assigned to a UK business linked to their overseas employer. The Senior or Specialist Worker visa replaced the old intra-company transfer (ICT) visa. As such, it is often used by multinational companies who need to relocate expert staff to a branch or subsidiary in the UK.
To apply, applicants must be in a role on the official list of eligible roles and the salary must normally be at least £52,500 per year or the applicable going rate, whichever is higher.
Graduate Trainee visa
The Graduate Trainee visa is for employees taking part in a structured graduate training programme that leads to a senior management or specialist position. The programme must require the applicant to complete a UK work placement with a business in the same sponsor group.
The applicant must have worked outside the UK for that group for a continuous period of at least three months immediately before applying and have a salary of at least £27,300 or 70% of the ‘going rate’ for their job (whichever is higher).
UK Expansion Worker visa
The UK Expansion Worker visa allows an overseas business that has not yet started trading in the UK to send senior managers or specialist employees to establish a UK branch or subsidiary. It cannot be used once the business has begun trading in the UK.
The applicant must have a job with the sponsor that is on the list of eligible occupations, and receive at least £52,500 per year or the ‘going rate’ for their job (whichever is higher).
Exceptions apply to high earners and to certain Japanese and Australian applicants covered by the relevant trade agreements. The overseas business and proposed UK operation must also meet the specific expansion and sponsorship requirements.
Service Supplier visa
The Service Supplier visa is for employees of overseas businesses who provide services to UK businesses.
The applicant must be providing services to a UK business under a contract covered by a valid international trade agreement and have worked for their overseas employer for at least 12 months outside the UK, or, if self-employed, have at least 12 months’ relevant professional experience.
Secondment Worker visa
The Secondment Worker visa is for an overseas employee who is seconded to the UK as part of a high-value contract or investment between their overseas employer and a UK sponsor.
An applicant must be an existing employee of an overseas organisation that has secured a qualifying high-value contract with the UK sponsor. They must be coming to the UK to work in an occupation included on the eligible occupations list.
What are the Global Business Mobility visa requirements?
Global Business Mobility visa requirements for applicants
The precise requirements depend on which of the five Global Business Mobility routes you use. Each visa has its own rules concerning the overseas business, the UK assignment, the applicant’s previous overseas work, the occupation and, if applicable, salary.
In general, a Global Business Mobility visa applicant must:
- Be aged 18 or over
- Have a valid Certificate of Sponsorship for an eligible role under the relevant Global Business Mobility route: The UK sponsor must assign the Certificate of Sponsorship no more than three months before the application date
- Have an eligible UK role that meets the applicable skill level requirements and, where required, salary requirements.
- Meet the financial requirement, where applicable, as well as the relevant validity, suitability, and other route specific immigration requirements.
Requirements for Global Business Mobility visa sponsors
The UK sponsoring organisation must hold a valid sponsor licence for the relevant Global Business Mobility route. In addition, it must offer a genuine eligible role, comply with the skill, salary, National Minimum Wage and Working Time requirements that apply, assign a valid Certificate of Sponsorship and comply with its sponsor duties.
The UK sponsor must also show that it has a qualifying connection to the overseas business; how this is done will depend on the route, for example:
- Senior or Specialist Worker: The UK sponsor and overseas business must generally be linked through common ownership or control, or by a qualifying joint venture agreement.
- Graduate Trainee: The UK sponsor and overseas business must be linked through common ownership or control, or by a qualifying joint venture agreement. The overseas business must also offer a structured graduate training programme with a legitimate UK work placement.
- UK Expansion Worker: The proposed UK business must be linked to the overseas business through an accepted form of common ownership or control. The overseas business must normally have traded overseas for at least three years, have a UK footprint but no active UK trading presence, and have credible plans to establish UK trading within two years.
- Service Supplier: The UK sponsor must have an eligible contract with an overseas service provider for a service covered by a relevant UK trade commitment. The overseas service provider must have no commercial presence in the UK, and the contract must be registered with the Home Office.
- Secondment Worker: The UK sponsor must have a registered contract with the overseas business for goods or investment worth at least £10 million per year and no less than £50 million in total. The contract must be registered with the Home Office.
If the Service Supplier or Secondment Worker route is used, the sponsor must only assign a Certificate of Sponsorship under an approved contract. It must notify the Home Office and obtain approval before sponsoring workers under a new contract.
How long can you stay in the UK on a Global Business Mobility visa?
The amount of time you can spend in the UK depends on the Global Business Mobility route, as follows:
- Senior or Specialist Worker: Permission can be granted for up to 5 years after the job’s start date, or until 14 days after the job’s end date if sooner. The visa can be extended, as long as the limit is not exceeded
- Graduate Trainee: Permission can be granted for up to 1 year after the job’s start date, or until 14 days after the job’s end date if sooner. The visa cannot be extended from within the UK, although the applicant may apply for another Graduate Trainee visa from outside the UK.
- UK Expansion Worker: Permission can initially be granted for up to 12 months, or the length of the Certificate of Sponsorship plus 14 days if shorter. The visa can be extended by up to 12 months, with a maximum stay of two years on this route.
- Service Supplier: Permission can be granted for up to 6 months or 12 months, depending on the relevant trade agreement, or the length of the Certificate of Sponsorship plus 14 days if shorter. The visa can be extended up to the maximum stay allowed under that agreement, subject to the cumulative limit.
- Secondment Worker: Permission can initially be granted for up to 12 months, or the length of the Certificate of Sponsorship plus 14 days if shorter. The visa can be extended by up to 12 months, with a maximum stay of two years on this route.
For most Global Business Mobility routes, the overall limit is 5 years in any 6-year period. Time spent on both the current Global Business Mobility routes and the previous Intra-Company routes counts towards this limit. This means that previous time spent on one of these routes can reduce how long you are able to stay under a new Global Business Mobility visa. For example, if a person has already spent three years on a Senior or Specialist Worker visa during the relevant six-year period, they will normally be able to spend only another two years on the routes covered by the five-year limit.
A different limit applies to a high earner applying as a Senior or Specialist Worker. A person sponsored on a salary of at least £73,900 per year can generally spend up to nine years in any ten-year period on the relevant Global Business Mobility and predecessor Intra-Company routes.
Does the Global Business Mobility visa lead to settlement?
None of the five Global Business Mobility routes leads directly to settlement in the UK. Time spent on these routes does not by itself provide a right to apply for indefinite leave to remain under the Global Business Mobility rules.
A person who wants to settle in the UK would need to qualify for and switch to another immigration route that provides a pathway to settlement. Whether switching is possible depends on the requirements of that route and the applicant’s circumstances.
Can you bring your partner and children on a Global Business Mobility visa?
All five Global Business Mobility routes allow an eligible partner and dependent children to apply to join or stay with the main applicant in the UK. Each dependant must make a separate application and meet the relevant relationship, age, care, suitability and other dependant requirements.
The additional support funds required are as follows:
- £285 for a partner
- £315 for the first dependent child
- £200 for each additional dependent child
These amounts are in addition to the main applicant’s maintenance funds. The total required must normally have been held for at least 28 consecutive days. A dependant does not normally need to show these funds if they have already lived in the UK with permission for at least 12 months. Alternatively, the principal applicant’s sponsor may certify maintenance for the worker and dependants if the relevant route permits this.
In terms of visa duration, a partner’s permission normally ends on the same date as the Global Business Mobility worker’s permission. A child’s permission normally ends on the date that whichever parent’s permission ends first.
How can our Global Business Mobility visa lawyers help?
Global Business Mobility visa lawyers can help overseas businesses, UK sponsors and workers understand and meet the requirements of the correct route. Our immigration lawyers can assist with:
- Choosing the right route: We can identify the most suitable Global Business Mobility visa based on the proposed assignment and the relationship between the overseas business and UK organisation.
- Assessing the requirements: We can check whether the overseas business, UK sponsor and worker meet the relevant overseas-employment, assignment and immigration requirements before an application is made.
- Sponsor licence applications: We can check whether the UK business has the appropriate sponsor licence or assist with an application, including the supporting evidence for the relevant overseas business link.
- Skill and salary assessments: We can help identify the correct SOC 2020 occupation code and assess the relevant salary and going-rate requirements.
- Application preparation: We can prepare or review the worker’s application and any dependant applications, and advise on extensions, switching options and eligibility issues.
References:
GOV.UK: Global Business Mobility routes caseworker guidance
GOV.UK: Immigration Rules Appendix Global Business Mobility routes
GOV.UK: Workers and Temporary Workers: sponsor a Global Business Mobility worker