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Five categories within the Global Business Mobility route
The Global Business Mobility route includes five categories:
Senior or Specialist Worker – replacing Intra-Company Transfers to meet specific business needs
Graduate Trainee – part of a training programme, replacing the Intra-Company Graduate Trainee route
UK Expansion Worker – to establish a UK presence, replacing the Representative of an Overseas Business route
Service Supplier – supplying services to the UK under trade agreements, replacing the T5 International Agreements route
Secondment Worker – assigned to UK firms involved in high-value contracts or investments
All categories require sponsorship from a licensed sponsor. Except for the UK Expansion Worker route, sponsors must be UK-based entities linked to an overseas business through common ownership, control, or eligible contracts depending on the category.
Each route has minimum skill and salary requirements. The maximum stay across all Global Business Mobility routes is five years within any six-year period, except for high earners (£73,900+ annually) in the Senior or Specialist Worker route, who may stay up to nine years in any ten-year period.
These routes are designed for temporary UK assignments, with applicants required to have been working for the overseas business for a specified minimum period before applying for entry clearance
Senior or Specialist Worker Route
The Senior or Specialist Worker route enables a UK branch to sponsor senior or specialist employees from its overseas branch for temporary UK assignments.
To qualify, the worker must have been employed by the overseas sponsor or its affiliate for at least 12 months before applying—unless they are a high earner with a UK salary of at least £73,900 annually.
The general salary threshold for this route is £48,500 per year (up to a 48-hour week), which applies only to the UK job, not the overseas salary. The job must meet RQF level 6 and be listed in Appendix Skilled Occupations. Supplementary employment is not allowed.
The UK sponsor pays £199 to assign a Certificate of Sponsorship, plus an Immigration Skills Charge of £364 per year for small and medium businesses or £1,000 for large businesses. From January 1, 2023, EU nationals and Latvian non-citizen passport holders are exempt from this charge if sponsored for under three years.
Visas under this route can be granted for up to five years, or up to nine years for high earners within any 10-year period.
High Earners are workers earning £73,900 or more annually. They do not need to show prior 12 months’ employment with the overseas business and can be assigned for up to nine years within a 10-year span. However, they are not eligible for settlement under this route. To qualify for settlement based on long residence, they must complete 10 years continuously in the UK, combining the nine years under this visa with an additional year in another eligible category, typically Skilled Worker or Student.
Graduate Trainee route
The Graduate Trainee route allows a UK business to sponsor workers on a structured graduate training programme aimed at preparing them for senior management or specialist roles within an affiliated overseas company.
The minimum salary threshold is £24,220 per year, or 70% of the standard going rate for the relevant occupation if that exceeds the general threshold.
The Graduate Trainee visa is valid for up to one year, which counts toward the overall maximum time allowed under Global Business Mobility routes. Trainees may switch to the Skilled Worker route within the UK if they wish to continue working for the same sponsor.
The employer pays the fee for assigning the certificate of sponsorship, but there is no Immigration Skills Charge under this route.
To qualify, applicants must have worked continuously for the overseas business for at least three months immediately before applying. Time spent working for the employer in the UK does not count toward this requirement.
UK Expansion Worker route
The UK Expansion Worker route enables overseas businesses to establish a trading presence in the UK by sponsoring employees for temporary assignments.
Key requirements for the overseas business include:
Trading outside the UK for at least three years or being registered on a stock exchange (with exceptions for Japanese businesses under the UK-Japan Economic Partnership Agreement).
Registering a UK branch or subsidiary or securing UK premises before applying for the UK Expansion Worker sponsor licence.
Demonstrating genuine intention and capacity to expand in the UK through a business plan, financial assessment, and evidence of prior business activity.
The expansion worker must have worked for the overseas business for at least 12 months (except for high earners and certain Japan-related exceptions).
The job must meet the required skill level and pay a minimum salary of £45,800 per year, matching the Senior and Specialist Worker thresholds.
A maximum of five Expansion Workers can be sponsored at any time, with visas granted initially for 12 months, extendable to 24 months.
Within two years of activating the licence, the business can replace Expansion Workers, but no new sponsors can be added after that period. Once established in the UK, the company should apply for a Skilled Worker sponsor licence to retain and sponsor workers long-term. This requires employing a settled UK worker as Authorising Officer to maintain the licence. Without this, the business cannot keep Expansion Workers beyond two years.
Global Mobility: UK Service Supplier route
This route allows overseas workers to provide services under a contract to a UK business as a contractual service supplier or independent professional. The contract must be covered by an eligible trade agreement.
The UK-based company that contracts the service acts as the sponsor.
The sponsor must hold a Global Mobility – Service Supplier sponsor licence, granted with reference to a specific contract and service provider.
Each contract requires separate approval.
The UK sponsor must be the end-user of the service (no subcontracting to other organizations).
There is no limit to how many workers can be sponsored under one approved contract.
Sponsoring workers outside the scope of the licence or contract can lead to licence revocation.
The contract period must not exceed 12 months.
The contract must have been awarded through an open tender or similar fair process to prove genuineness.
The worker must be a national of the country where the service provider is based or have permanent residence rights in that country, depending on the relevant trade agreement.
The job must either:
Be listed in Appendix Skilled Occupations for Global Business Mobility routes, or
The worker must have a university degree or sector-relevant technical qualification plus:
At least 3 years professional experience in the sector (or 6 years in some cases).
- No minimum pay threshold.
Salary must comply with general minimum pay regulations.
Visa length matches the assignment duration.
Maximum duration is 6 months for most contracts.
For contracts under the UK-EU Trade and Cooperation Agreement or Swiss Agreement, maximum is 12 months.
Extensions are permitted only within these limits.
Secondment Worker to UK firms in high value contracts or investments
This route is for overseas workers providing services to UK firms under high-value contracts that do not fall under international trade agreements.
The contract must be worth at least £10 million per year.
The total contract value must be not less than £50 million.
Each contract requires Home Office approval.
This approval is specific to each contract.
There are no nationality or residence requirements for workers under this route.
The job must either:
Be listed in Appendix Skilled Occupations, or
The worker must have a university degree or an approved technical qualification for the occupation.
Initial visa can be granted for up to 1 year.
It can be extended to a maximum continuous period of 2 years.