Each route is built for a specific purpose, and they are not interchangeable. The right one depends on the relationship between the overseas and UK entities, what the employee will do, and their salary.
Corporate Immigration
For overseas businesses moving employees to the UK under a temporary sponsored work route.
Overview
Global Business Mobility (GBM) is not a single visa. It is a framework of five routes for moving overseas employees into the UK. It can be used by overseas companies establishing or expanding a UK presence, and by multinationals transferring staff between offices.
The routes support international expansion, intra-group transfers, graduate training, service contracts and high-value secondments.
The routes support international expansion, intra-group transfers, graduate training, service contracts and high-value secondments.
Key Benefits
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The routes support international expansion, intra-group transfers, graduate training, service contracts and high-value secondments
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Supports UK establishment, expansion, and operational growth
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Use routes that do not require an English-language test
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Build temporary international assignments into a wider corporate and immigration strategy
The five routes
Senior or Specialist Worker
For established organisations transferring senior managers or specialists from a linked overseas entity to an existing UK entity. The most widely used route, and the natural choice where the UK business is already trading.
UK Expansion Worker
For overseas businesses setting up a UK presence for the first time, before the UK entity can sponsor under Skilled Worker. Time-limited and transition-focused (covered in depth on the UK Expansion Worker page under Private Immigration).
Graduate Trainee
For employees on a structured graduate training programme within a multinational, leading to a managerial or specialist role.
Service Supplier
For individuals providing services in the UK under contracts covered by international trade agreements. No general salary threshold.
Secondment Worker
For employees seconded to a UK business as part of a high-value contract or investment arrangement. Also no general salary threshold.
Key Requirements
Both the sponsoring organisation and the worker must meet the requirements of the particular Global Business Mobility route.
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For most routes, the overseas and UK entities must be linked by common ownership or control, and the relationship must be clearly evidenced. This linkage is scrutinised closely.
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The UK organisation must hold the relevant Global Business Mobility sponsor licence and have permission to sponsor workers under the chosen route.
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The role must be genuine, use the correct occupation code and meet the relevant skill requirements. Most GBM roles must be skilled to RQF Level 6 or above, although specific provisions apply to certain Service Supplier roles.
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The required period depends on the route. A Senior or Specialist Worker will normally need to have worked outside the UK for the sponsor group for at least 12 months. This does not apply where the worker is a high earner earning at least £73,900 a year. Different periods and exceptions apply to the other GBM routes.
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Where a threshold applies, the salary must meet the higher of the route threshold and the going rate for the occupation code.
Duration, settlement, and the longer-term plan
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Duration
Maximum stay depends on the route and the salary. Senior or Specialist Workers can generally stay up to five years in any six-year period (up to nine years in any ten for high earners); Expansion Workers are capped at 24 months, with a defined transition into Skilled Worker; Graduate Trainees have shorter periods tied to the programme.
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Settlement
None of the GBM routes lead directly to settlement, and time spent on them doesn’t count towards the qualifying period for indefinite leave to remain. This is the most important thing to understand before choosing the framework, and the reason a longer-term plan should be built in from day one.
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Long-term plan
Where settlement is the genuine objective, the typical path is to use a GBM route to establish the position, then switch into Skilled Worker once the individual and the UK entity qualify. Where business ownership is the real driver, self-sponsorship or Innovator Founder may be the better long-term structure.
Where applications fall short
The most common reasons GBM applications struggle:
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Choosing Senior or Specialist Worker where the UK entity isn’t yet trading (Expansion Worker territory), or vice versa, is a frequent and avoidable error.
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Weak or unclear link between the overseas and UK entities is a common refusal point.
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Applications built around the general threshold without checking the (often higher) going rate, or relying on pre-July-2025 figures, fail on salary.
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Choosing a code that doesn’t genuinely fit the role, or one selected to dodge a higher going rate, is flagged.
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Junior staff moved under a senior route, or roles senior on paper but not in substance, raise credibility concerns.
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Treating a non-settlement route as a long-term arrangement leaves people without a next step when it ends.
Is this route right for you?
Global Business Mobility may be appropriate if:
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You are an overseas business entering or expanding in the UK
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You need to deploy senior or specialist employees to a UK entity
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You operate across multiple jurisdictions and require internal mobility
It may be less suitable where long-term settlement is the primary objective, where the UK entity could simply obtain its own Skilled Worker sponsor licence and hire directly, or where there is no genuine linked overseas entity. For overseas businesses not yet trading in the UK, the Expansion Worker route is usually the right entry point; for an already-established UK entity, Senior or Specialist Worker is typically the better fit.
How we approach Global Business Mobility
Initial assessment and route selection
We assess the corporate structure, the individuals, and the long-term objective to identify the right route and to confirm GBM is the right framework at all, rather than direct Skilled Worker.
Corporate, tax, and immigration alignment
These routes sit at the intersection of immigration, corporate structuring, and tax. We work alongside corporate and tax advisers so the structure holds together.
Sponsor licence and structuring
Where needed, we prepare the appropriate GBM sponsor licence and ensure the UK entity is correctly set up.
Application preparation and submission
We prepare and submit applications so the route, the corporate link, the occupation code, and the salary all align with Home Office expectations.
Transition and long-term planning
We plan the route beyond GBM from the start and most often the switch into Skilled Worker so the longer-term position is secured rather than left to chance.
Highly Rated By Our Clients
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5-Star
Client-rated
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22+
Years’ experience
Frequently Asked Questions
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No. It is a framework containing five separate sponsored work routes. Each route has a different purpose and eligibility requirements.
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Not directly. Time on these routes does not count towards the five-year Skilled Worker settlement period, although it may be relevant to a separate long-residence application.
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There is no English-language requirement for the five Global Business Mobility routes.
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A qualifying corporate relationship is generally required for Senior or Specialist Worker, Graduate Trainee and UK Expansion Worker. Service Supplier and Secondment Worker rely on qualifying commercial arrangements instead.
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Potentially. The UK organisation must hold the appropriate Skilled Worker sponsor licence and the role, salary and worker must meet the Skilled Worker requirements at the time of the new application.
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A worker paid below the high-earner threshold can generally spend up to five years in any six-year period. A high earner can generally spend up to nine years in any ten-year period.
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UK Expansion Worker is a corporate expansion route and should sit under Corporate Immigration and Global Business Mobility, while also being cross-linked from relevant individual visa pages.
Speak To Us
Moving employees to the UK? We can identify the appropriate Global Business Mobility route and coordinate the sponsor licence, corporate evidence and individual visa applications.
What Our Clients Say
Clear, calm advice at the point we needed it most — and there wasn’t a word of jargon in any of it.
Private client
Spouse visa
We were kept informed at every stage and never once had to chase an update. Knowing exactly where the application stood made a difficult year considerably easier to carry.
Private client
Skilled Worker visa
Moving part of our senior team to London looked impossible on the timescale we’d been given. The route was mapped out at the first meeting, the Home Office correspondence was handled end to end, and every application came back granted.
HR Director
Corporate client
Contact Us
For advice on moving to, working in or settling in the UK, our immigration lawyers are here to guide you through every stage of the process.