What Is the UK Global Business Mobility Visa?

The UK Global Business Mobility visa is the main sponsored work route for overseas businesses moving staff into the UK on temporary assignments. It is not a single visa but an umbrella framework covering five distinct routes, each built for a different type of cross‑border deployment.

It replaced the old Intra‑Company Transfer (ICT) system in April 2022 and is designed for workers who remain employed overseas while carrying out a specific, time‑limited role in the UK.

What is Global Business Mobility Visa UK

The Global Business Mobility (GBM) framework sits under the UK’s points‑based work routes and is used when an overseas employer needs to send people to the UK for a defined business purpose.

• Senior or Specialist Worker – for established employees transferring to a linked UK entity (the modern ICT route).
• Graduate Trainee – for employees on a structured graduate programme rotating through the UK.
• UK Expansion Worker – for staff sent to set up a new UK branch or subsidiary that is not yet trading.
• Service Supplier – for contractual service suppliers or independent professionals delivering services under a qualifying international trade agreement.
• Secondment Worker – for workers seconded to a UK business under a high‑value contract or investment.

All five routes are temporary by design. Time spent on GBM generally does not count towards the five‑year qualifying period for settlement, with only limited exceptions on the Senior or Specialist Worker route.

UK Global Business Mobility Visa: Requirements

Every GBM application is sponsor‑led. The UK entity (or, in some cases, the overseas parent) must hold a valid Global Business Mobility sponsor licence and assign a Certificate of Sponsorship (CoS) before the worker applies.

Core requirements across the routes include:

• A valid CoS for the correct GBM sub‑route and occupation code.
• The job meeting the required skill level (usually RQF Level 6, degree level, from July 2025 for new CoS).
• Meeting the route‑specific salary threshold or, where there is no salary points requirement, complying with National Minimum Wage rules.
• Satisfying the overseas employment period (for example, 12 months for Senior or Specialist Worker, reduced to 6 months for Secondment Worker from March 2026).
• Passing the general suitability grounds (criminality, immigration history, etc.).

There is no English language requirement for GBM routes, unlike Skilled Worker. TB testing may still apply depending on nationality and where the application is made.

Points Structure and Salary Thresholds for UK Global Business Mobility Visa

The Senior or Specialist Worker, Graduate Trainee and UK Expansion Worker routes operate on a 60‑point model: 20 points for sponsorship, 20 for skill level, and 20 for salary.

From 22 July 2025, the key salary thresholds are:

• Senior or Specialist Worker and UK Expansion Worker – £52,500 per year or the going rate for the occupation, whichever is higher. Salary is pro‑rated over a maximum 48‑hour week.
• Graduate Trainee – £27,300 per year or 70% of the going rate, whichever is higher. The previous cap of 20 trainees per sponsor per year has been removed.
• Service Supplier and Secondment Worker – no minimum salary threshold beyond National Minimum Wage; these routes require only 40 points (sponsorship and skill/eligibility).

High earners on the Senior or Specialist Worker route (salary £73,900 or above) benefit from a longer maximum stay and a waiver of the standard 12‑month overseas employment requirement.

Corporate Linkage and Contract Registration for UK Global Business Mobility Visa

UK Visas and Immigration (UKVI) scrutinises the relationship between the overseas employer and the UK entity closely.

• Senior or Specialist Worker and Graduate Trainee – require common ownership/control or a registered joint venture between the UK and overseas entities. Evidence typically includes group structure charts, shareholder agreements, and payroll records.
• UK Expansion Worker – the UK entity must not yet be trading; the overseas business must have an active trading presence abroad, supported by a business plan and evidence of overseas activity.
• Service Supplier – the overseas provider must have no UK commercial presence and the service must be covered by a qualifying trade agreement. The contract must be registered on the Sponsorship Management System (SMS) before any CoS is assigned.
• Secondment Worker – the UK sponsor must hold a Home Office‑approved high‑value contract worth at least £10 million per year and £50 million overall. The contract must also be registered on the SMS before CoS assignment.

Assigning a CoS before contract registration on the SMS (where required) is a compliance breach and a common refusal ground.

Graduate Trainee for UK Global Business Mobility Visa

The UK global business mobility visa graduate trainee route is for employees on a formal, structured graduate training programme who need a UK rotation as part of their development into managerial or specialist roles.

Key features:

• Minimum overseas employment: 3 months with the sponsoring group before the UK assignment.
• Salary: at least £27,300 per year or 70% of the going rate for the role, whichever is higher.
• Skill level: RQF Level 6.
• Maximum stay: up to 12 months per grant. A new Graduate Trainee visa can follow, but the route remains temporary and does not lead to settlement.
• Applications must be made from outside the UK; in‑country switching into Graduate Trainee is not permitted.

Sponsors must be able to show a genuine, documented graduate programme (for example, programme brochures, recruitment materials, and internal policies) rather than an ad‑hoc placement.

UK Global Business Mobility Visa: Duration Of Stay

Each GBM sub‑route has its own maximum duration. These limits are hard caps and are calculated across all time spent on GBM and its predecessor ICT routes.

Typical maximum stays:

• Senior or Specialist Worker – up to 5 years in any 6‑year period; high earners (£73,900+) can stay up to 9 years in any 10‑year period.
• Graduate Trainee – up to 12 months per grant.
• UK Expansion Worker – up to 2 years maximum. Once the UK entity starts trading, the business must move to another appropriate route.
• Service Supplier – up to 6 or 12 months depending on the specific trade agreement commitments.sterlingandwells+1
• Secondment Worker – up to 2 years.

Time spent on GBM does not count towards the five‑year qualifying period for Indefinite Leave to Remain (ILR), except in limited circumstances where time was accrued under predecessor routes that did count.

UK Global Business Mobility Visa: Settlement

The UK global business mobility visa settlement position is straightforward: GBM is a temporary work framework and, in most cases, does not provide a direct path to settlement.

• Senior or Specialist Worker – this is the only GBM route with any potential settlement pathway. ILR may be possible after 5 continuous years in the UK, but usually only where the applicant has qualifying residence from predecessor ICT routes or a combination of routes that count towards settlement. Pure GBM time alone generally does not qualify.
• Graduate Trainee, UK Expansion Worker, Service Supplier, Secondment Worker – none of these routes lead to ILR. Time spent on them does not count towards the standard 5‑year settlement qualifying period.

For businesses or individuals aiming for long‑term UK residence, the usual strategy is to plan an eventual switch from GBM to the Skilled Worker route, which has a clear 5‑year ILR pathway, subject to meeting all eligibility and salary requirements at that time.

Fees, Timing and Compliance in Practice

GBM deployments involve multiple fees and strict compliance duties.

Typical costs (indicative, subject to change):

• Sponsor licence: £574 for small/charitable sponsors; £1,579 for medium/large.
• CoS fees: £525 per CoS for Senior or Specialist Worker; £55 for other GBM routes.
• Visa application fees: vary by route and duration (for example, Senior or Specialist Worker outside the UK is higher for grants over 3 years).
• Immigration Skills Charge (ISC): from 16 December 2025, £1,320 per year for medium/large sponsors and £480 per year for small/charitable sponsors, payable upfront on CoS assignment for Senior or Specialist Worker, Graduate Trainee and UK Expansion Worker.
• Immigration Health Surcharge (IHS): £1,035 per person per year, including dependants.

Processing times:

• Sponsor licence: around 8 weeks on average, with possible compliance visits.
• Visa decision: standard service around 3 weeks after biometrics; priority services (5 working days) are available for most routes.

Ongoing compliance duties include:

• Conducting right‑to‑work checks using the worker’s eVisa share code (BRPs are being phased out).
• Reporting changes (role, salary, non‑attendance, early departure) via the SMS within required timeframes.
• Ensuring salary remains compliant with the threshold that applied at CoS assignment and observing the 48‑hour pro‑rating rule for Senior or Specialist Worker and UK Expansion Worker.
• Monitoring cumulative stay limits across GBM and predecessor ICT time to avoid breaching the 5‑in‑6 or 9‑in‑10 year caps.

Choosing the Right Global Business Mobility Route

In practice, the “right” GBM route turns on three questions:

1. What is the legal and commercial relationship between the overseas employer and the UK entity?
2. What will the worker actually be doing in the UK?
3. What is the salary and skill level of the role?

A quick rule of thumb:

• Transferring an experienced manager or specialist within the same corporate group – Senior or Specialist Worker.
• Rotating a graduate on a formal training scheme – Graduate Trainee.
• Sending staff to establish a new, non‑trading UK presence – UK Expansion Worker.
• Delivering services under a qualifying trade agreement with no UK commercial presence – Service Supplier.
• Seconding staff under a high‑value contract or investment – Secondment Worker.

Where long‑term UK presence is the goal, businesses often use GBM for the initial deployment and then transition key staff to Skilled Worker once the UK operation is established and can meet the relevant requirements.