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Global Business Mobility

The Global Business Mobility (GBM) visa is a new category of sponsored routes for overseas businesses looking to establish a presence in the UK to transfer staff to.

How do I apply for a Global Business Mobility visa?

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Overview

The Global Business Mobility (GBM) visa is a new category of sponsored routes for overseas businesses looking to establish a presence in the UK to transfer staff to.

To be eligible you must be 18 or over, be currently working for a business or organisation linked to your UK sponsor, or by a joint venture on which you are sponsored to work. You must have a valid certificate of sponsorship issued by your UK sponsor for the job you are planning to undertake. You must also be able to prove that you are able to support and maintain yourself without relying on public funds.

Indefinite leave to remain

None of the categories under the GBM lead to permanent settlement in the UK. If you would like to stay in the UK for longer than permitted under these routes, you would need to switch into a different visa category that leads to settlement, for example, the Skilled Worker route.

Categories

Senior-Specialist Worker

This is for senior employees or specialist workers of overseas businesses who may be required to undertake a temporary work assignment in the UK on behalf of your employer.

Graduate Trainee

The Graduate Trainee Visa is implemented via your overseas based employer, who is needing to transfer graduate junior employees for a work placement in the UK as part of a graduate training course, which would eventually lead to a senior managerial or specialist role.

UK Expansion Worker

This is for you if you are a senior manager of an overseas businesses who can help with the company’s expansion of the business in the UK.

Service Supplier

This is for you if you are a contractual service provider or a self-employed independent professional, who is currently working for an overseas service provider via a UK sponsor.

Secondment Worker

This is for you if you wish to be temporarily seconded to the UK by your overseas employer as part of a contract or investment.

Frequently Asked Global Business Mobility Visa​ Application Questions

Depending on the specific route within the Global Business Mobility visa that you apply for, you will be required to show different financial requirements.  

For most of the routes, you will need to show that your salary is a certain amount or the “going rate” for your particular job, whichever is higher. The Home Office has a list of all the occupations that are eligible for each visa and has an individual “going rate” for each one.  

For the Senior or Specialist Worker visa, you must earn at least £42,400, or the going rate for your job, whichever is higher.  

The Graduate Trainee visa requires you to earn at least £23,100 or 70% of the going rate for your occupation, whichever is higher. 

The financial requirement for the Expansion Worker visa requires you to earn at least £42,400 or the going rate for your job, whichever is higher.  

For the Service Supplier visa and the Secondment Worker visa, there is no financial requirement.  

In addition, you must show that you are able to support yourself in the UK by holding at least £1270 in your bank account for 28 days. 

For each Global Business Mobility visa route, you must have a minimum skill level of 6 RQF. The only exception to this is the Service Supplier route which requires you to either have skill level 6 RQF or a degree and 3-6 years of relevant industry experience. 

The Tier 2 ICT visa was replaced by the Senior or Specialist Worker visa. This allows people in senior management roles to take up employment in their employer’s UK branch.   

The Global Business Mobility visa is for overseas workers who work for a company abroad that is linked to a UK company. The UK-based company must be a registered UK sponsor that is able to hire workers to undergo roles within the business. There is a requirement that the Global Business Mobility worker must have worked for the overseas company for a certain period of time in a role that is on the Home Office list of occupations.  

When employing a worker for a Global Business Mobility visa route you will need a “temporary worker” licence if you are hiring someone as a graduate trainee worker, a service supplier worker, a UK expansion worker or a secondment worker. You will need a “worker” licence if you are hiring someone as a senior or specialist worker. 

The number of employees you can hire on the Global Business Mobility visa will depend on the number of certificates of sponsorship you have requested. If you need more allocations, you will need to apply through the Sponsor Management System (SMS). If you are hiring expansion workers, you will be able to sponsor a maximum of 5. 

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We can help you

The process of applying for a UK immigration Global Business Mobility visa can be lengthy and frustrating without the right guidance. Bridge Partners have years of experience in obtaining UK visas and in-depth knowledge of this new category.