Global Business Mobility Visa Routes

What are the Global Business Mobility routes?

The Global Business Mobility routes are visas for workers who want to work in the UK temporarily. There are different Global Business Mobility routes according to the type of work that an applicant does.

Global Business Mobility visa routes types

There are five Global Business Mobility routes.

1. UK Senior or Specialist Worker visa

This route is for overseas workers who want to work in the UK as senior managers or specialist employees. They must be assigned to a business in the UK by their current employer. This is often called an intra-company transfer (ICT). 

2. UK Expansion Worker visa

This route is for professionals who intend to work as senior managers or specialist employees in the context of a business’ expansion to the UK. 

3. Graduate Trainee visa

This route is for overseas workers who are on a graduate training course leading to a senior management or specialist position and must do a work placement in the UK.

4. Secondment Worker visa

This route is for foreign workers who are being seconded to the UK as part of a high-value contract or investment by their original employer. 

5. Service Supplier visa

This route is for contractual service suppliers employed by an overseas service provider or a self-employed professional based overseas who will provide services covered by one of the UK’s international trade agreements.

Global Business Mobility visa routes eligibility requirements

All Global Business Mobility routes require applicants to obtain a certificate of sponsorship provided by their overseas employers to do a job that’s on the list of eligible occupations. Plus, they must be paid a minimum salary that varies according to the route. 

• UK Senior or Specialist Worker visa: At least £42,400 per year.
  
• UK Expansion Worker visa: The minimum eligible salary required for the job that the applicant will be doing in the UK.
  
• Graduate Trainee visa: At least £23,100 per year.
  
• Secondment Worker visa: Their pay must be compliant with the National Minimum Wage.
  
• Service Supplier visa: Their pay must be compliant with the National Minimum Wage.

Other eligibility requirements

• Those applying for the UK Senior or Specialist Worker visa and Graduate Trainee visa must work for an organization that’s been approved by the Home Office as a sponsor.
• Those applying for the Secondment Worker visa must work for a company with a high-value contract with their UK sponsor and that contract must have been approved by the Home Office, too.
• The UK Expansion Worker visa requires applicants to have worked for the original employer outside the UK. The same goes for the Graduate Trainee visa but for 3 months immediately before application. Both the  Secondment Worker visa and the Service Supplier visa require applicants to have worked for their organization for at least 12 months. In the case of self-employed service suppliers, they must have a professional experience of 12 months.

Conditions

All Global Business Mobility routes allow visa holders to:

• Work for their sponsor in the job they’ve been sponsored to do.
• Do voluntary work.
• Study.
• Travel outside the UK and come back.
• Add family members as “dependants”.

However, visa holders will be not allowed to:

• Access to public funds.
• Change their job (unless they update their visa).
• Do a second job.
• Apply for indefinite leave to remain (permanent settlement) in the UK.

How long can you stay with these visas?

• UK Senior or Specialist Worker visa: Whichever is shorter of the time given on the applicant’s certificate of sponsorship plus 14 days, or 5 years.
• UK Expansion Worker visa: Whichever is shorter of the time given on the applicant’s certificate of sponsorship plus 14 days, or 12 months after the start date of the job on their certificate of sponsorship.
• Graduate Trainee visa: Whichever is shorter of the time given on the applicant’s certificate of sponsorship plus 14 days, or 12 months.
• Secondment Worker visa: Whichever is shorter of the time given on the applicant’s certificate of sponsorship plus 14 days, or 12 months after the start date of the job on their certificate of sponsorship.
• Service Supplier visa: Whichever is shorter of the time given on the applicant’s certificate of sponsorship plus 14 days, or 6-12 months depending on the trade agreement that the applicant is providing services under.

Fees for Global Business Mobility Routes

UK Senior or Specialist Worker visa

• Application fees: £625 if the applicant will be staying in the UK for up to 3 years, and £1,235 if the applicant will be staying in the UK for more than 3 years.
• Immigration healthcare surcharge: £624 per year.
• Personal savings: At least  £1,270 in a bank account for 28 days in a row to show that the applicants will be able to support themselves when they arrive in the UK.

UK Expansion Worker visa

• Application fee: £259.
• Immigration healthcare surcharge: £624 per year.
• Personal savings: At least  £1,270 in a bank account for 28 days in a row to show that the applicants will be able to support themselves when they arrive in the UK. 

Graduate Trainee visa

• Application fees:  £259.
• Immigration healthcare surcharge: £624 per year.
• Personal savings: At least  £1,270 in a bank account for 28 days in a row to show that the applicants will be able to support themselves when they arrive in the UK. 

Secondment Worker visa

• Application fees:  £259.
• Immigration healthcare surcharge: £624 per year.
• Personal savings: At least  £1,270 in a bank account for 28 days in a row to show that the applicants will be able to support themselves when they arrive in the UK. 

Service Supplier visa

• Application fees: £259.
• Immigration healthcare surcharge: £624 per year.
• Personal savings: At least  £1,270 in a bank account for 28 days in a row to show that the applicants will be able to support themselves when they arrive in the UK. This is not necessary if the applicant’s employer is willing to cover their costs during their first month in the UK. 

How to apply for the Global Business Mobility Routes

Application for the Global Business Mobility routes must be done online. To complete it, applicants are required to verify their identity. According to their nationality and type of passport that they have, they can be required to do this in two different ways:

• By scanning their identity documents with the UK Immigration: ID Check app.
• By providing their biometric information at a visa application center.

Required documents for UK Global Business Mobility visa routes

• Identity documents, such as a passport.
• Certificate of sponsorship with a valid reference number and sponsor license number.
• Job’s occupation code.
• Job title.
• Annual salary.
• Proof of personal savings (such as bank statements).
• Proof of relationship with family members applying as dependants.
• Tuberculosis test results if the applicant is from a listed country.
• Certified translation of documents if they are not originally in English or Welsh.

Dependants in the Global Business Mobility Routes

Who can apply as dependants in the Global Business Mobility visa routes?

• Husband, wife, civil partner, or unmarried partner who has been living with the applicant for at least 2 years.
• Children under 18 years old.
• Children over 18 years old who are financially supported by the applicant, live with him or her, and do not have a partner or children of their own. 

How should they apply for the Global Business Mobility visa routes?

The application must be done online. Each family member must pay their own application fees and show that they can support themselves when they arrive in the UK.

This way:

• The applicant’s partner must have £285.
• One child must have £315.
• Additional children must have £200 each.

They must link the main applicant’s application to theirs with the main applicant’s application number, called a Global Web Form (GWF) or a Unique Application Number (UAN), which can be found in emails and letters from the Home Office. 

Can you extend your Global Business Mobility visas?

If the visa holder’s initial situation doesn’t change (they do the same job for the same employer, etc.), they can apply to extend their visa before it expires, provided that they still meet this and all the other requirements of their specific visa route.

The only Global Business Mobility visa route that can’t be extended is the Graduate Trainee visa. If the holder wants to stay in the UK, they should apply for it again from outside the UK, or try to switch to another visa.

In any case, none of these visas lets holders apply for permanent settlement in the UK, or stay in the UK for more than 5 years in any 6-year period. Visa holders won’t be able to extend their visas if they have reached their maximum total stay.

Can you switch to a Global Business Mobility visa route?

Applicants are NOT allowed to switch to any Global Business Mobility visa routes if they’ve already spent time in the UK:

• On a visit visa.
• On a short-term student visa.
• On a Parent of a Child Student visa.
• On a seasonal worker visa.
• On a domestic worker in a private household visa.
• On immigration bail.
• On a special permission outside the immigration rules, for example on compassionate grounds.

Individuals can never switch to a Graduate Trainee visa from inside the UK because they are required to work for their employer overseas for 3 months before they apply. 

Receiving decision

Visa decision waiting times may vary depending on the visa route that the applicant is taking. But in general, applicants for Global Business Mobility visa routes can expect to receive a decision within 3 weeks (or 8 weeks if they are already in the UK, for example, when they are extending or updating their visa). 

Frequently asked questions about UK Global Business Mobility visa routes

1. Can I travel abroad while I’m extending or updating my visa?

• No, you can’t leave the UK until you receive your decision.

2. I don’t have enough personal savings. Can my employer cover my costs?

• Your employer can cover your or your family’s costs during your first month in the UK. They must clarify this in the certificate of sponsorship so that you can be exempt from this requirement.

3. Are all types of Senior or Specialist Workers and/or UK Expansion Workers required to have worked for their employer overseas for 12 months?

• No. Senior or Specialist Workers and UK Expansion Workers who are sponsored in jobs with a salary of at least £73,900 are considered to be high earners and are exempt from this norm.

4. Do bonus pays or similar pays count for the salary requirement?

• No, the salary requirement refers only to the guaranteed basic gross pay. 

5. What should I do if my application has been rejected?

• If you think there’s an error, you can request an administrative review.