UK Global Business Mobility Visa Solicitors

Get expert support with Global Business Mobility visas from our UK online and London immigration solicitors and sponsorship licence lawyers.

Global Business Mobility visas have been introduced by the UK government in an attempt to simplify current work visa and business visa routes and bring them together under one umbrella. The new visa routes offer several options that, subject to meeting the relevant eligibility criteria, an overseas based employee can use to transfer their employment to the UK on either a short-term or longer-term basis.

For Global Business Mobility visa and immigration law advice, call the Sponsorship Licence lawyers at OTS Solicitors on 0203 959 9123 or contact us online.

The available routes for transferring employees to the UK from overseas have changed with the introduction of five types of Global Business Mobility visas. These are:

• Senior or Specialist Worker visa (Global Business Mobility)
• Service Supplier visa (Global Business Mobility)
• UK Expansion Worker visa (Global Business Mobility)
• Secondment Worker visa (Global Business Mobility)
• Graduate Trainee visa (Global Business Mobility)

Securing the right type of visa for your employees can be complicated. It is important to understand which type of visa an employee needs in order to meet all of the eligibility requirements. You must also complete all of the required paperwork correctly and include all the necessary supporting documents.

At OTS Solicitors, our immigration solicitors have up-to-the-minute legal expertise in all areas of immigration law. We can significantly boost your chances of a successful application, as well as offering clear guidance if your application is refused.

Speak to our Global Business Mobility visa solicitors in London now

To discuss your Global Business Mobility visa requirements, we can talk with you at our offices, over the phone, or online via Web Conferencing such as Zoom, Microsoft Teams, Cisco WebEx, or Skype.

To speak to our Global Business Mobility visa solicitors in London, please call now on 0203 959 9123 or use our simple online enquiries form.

Types of Global Business Mobility visas

Senior of Specialist Worker visa (Global Business Mobility)

The category ‘senior or specialist workers’ in the Global Business Mobility visa replaces the old intra company transfer visa but there is a distinct advantage with the new visa.

If a worker transferred their employment to the UK under an intra company transfer visa, they could not apply for indefinite leave to remain. Time spent in the UK whilst on the intra company transfer visa does not count towards meeting the residence requirement for an indefinite leave to remain application.

The settlement opportunities with the senior or specialist worker route may make it more attractive to applicants who don’t want to uproot their families and return to their home country after a transfer of employment to the UK.

However, the senior or specialist worker route will still be restricted by its minimum salary threshold and skills level requirement. These will remain considerably higher than the minimum salary threshold and skill criteria for a skilled worker visa applicant.

Service Supplier visa (Global Business Mobility)

The service supplier category has replaced the previous international agreement visa that is a specialist temporary work visa.

UK Expansion Worker visa (Global Business Mobility)

The category of ‘expansion workers’ is defined by the Home Office as employees who are asked by overseas based companies to come to the UK to set up a branch of the international company or subsidiary in the UK.

Under previous immigration rules, this route was referred to as the sole representative visa.

The new UK Expansion Worker visa is more ‘user friendly’ that the old sole representative visa as it allows a business to send up to five workers to the UK to establish the UK presence.

Under the old visa route, there could only be one sole representative per business. Under the old immigration rules, the sole representative could not transfer employees from an overseas branch of the international company to assist with the UK set up until they had both:

• Successfully established the UK branch or subsidiary; and
• Secured a sponsor licence to sponsor overseas based employees of the international company on skilled worker visas.

The old immigration rules for the sole representative visa means the sole representative had to be pretty special. This is because they needed to manage the set-up of the UK base without on-site help from overseas based worker colleagues who could share their knowledge of the international company and its vision for the UK operation.

The new UK Expansion Worker visa route means a team can come to the UK and work together to establish a new UK operation, which is likely to be more realistic for most businesses.

Secondment Worker visa (Global Business Mobility)

Seconded or secondment workers are catered for under the Global Business Mobility visa route. This is not a replacement for workers coming to the UK to carry out permissible activities under a business visitor visa. That’s because the Global Business Mobility visa focuses on seconded workers who are seconded or assigned to the UK branch of an international company for the purpose of valuable contracts.

To be eligible for a Secondment Worker visa, your overseas employer will need to have a qualifying contract with a UK organisation for a minimum of £50 million. The UK organisation will then act as the sponsor for your visa.

This means that the seconded worker category is no substitute for permitted business activities under the business visitor visa.

Graduate Trainee visa (Global Business Mobility)

The Graduate Trainee Visa (Global Business Mobility) has replaced the Intra-company Graduate Trainee visa.

Under the old intra company transfer visa, a graduate could transfer their employment to work in the UK whilst on a structured graduate training programme. The new route offers the same opportunity, but graduates will need to have been employed by the international company for at least three months before they can be transferred to the UK.

They will also need to meet a minimum salary threshold of £23,100 per year.

Global Business Mobility visas explained

Is your business ‘globally mobile’?

If your company has overseas operational bases, do you currently transfer workers from EU and non-EEA countries to work in the UK? If not, do you plan to do so in the future to help your business combat the UK skills shortage?

• If the answer is yes or maybe, then you need to know about the Global Business Mobility visa.
• If the answer is no, then now is the time for your business to consider how your company’s needs can be met through recruitment within the UK. If you are struggling to recruit the right people, sponsor licences and the Global Business Mobility visa may be an answer for your company.

Who will the Global Business Mobility visa help?

The Global Business Mobility visa has been designed to help UK businesses with their business immigration needs, and overseas workers with their individual immigration requirements, through permitting the time limited transfer of staff to the UK under the points-based immigration system.

Our immigration lawyers anticipate that this will be of particular interest to businesses and organisations in the food and international trade industries.

Will a Global Business Mobility visa applicant require a sponsoring employer?

The question uppermost on the mind of UK business owners is whether the Global Business Mobility visa route will be a sponsored route requiring the UK employer to hold a Home Office issued sponsor licence.

The Home Office has said that to employ a worker under any of the Global Business Mobility visa categories, a business will need a sponsor licence. Therefore, UK businesses will need to have the systems in place to manage a sponsor licence and to comply with sponsor licence reporting and recording duties.

Global Business Mobility visa opportunities

The Global Business Mobility visa will provide more opportunities for international businesses, UK employers, and individuals looking to work and do business in the UK.

With the requirement for sponsorship, UK Sponsorship Licence lawyers say now is not the time to ignore the need to:

• Apply for your first sponsor licence
• Renew your sponsor licence
• Comply with sponsor licence reporting and recording duties
• Manage your sponsor licence in accordance with the immigration rules and Home Office guidance.

For expert sponsor licence help or strategic business immigration law advice, the specialist Sponsorship Licence lawyers at OTS Solicitors can assist your business.

Speak to our Global Business Mobility visa solicitors in London now

For help with your immigration law needs, call the Sponsorship Licence Lawyers at OTS Solicitors on 0203 959 9123 or contact us online.