Senior or Specialist Worker

The Senior or Specialist Worker route allows you to sponsor overseas workers to undertake temporary work assignments for you in the UK, where the worker is a senior manager or specialist employee and is being assigned to you by a linked overseas business.

The Senior or Specialist Worker route has replaced the Intra-Company Transfer route from 11 April 2022. The requirements of the new route are essentially the same as its predecessor route. The key differences are:

• the general salary threshold has increased from £41,500 to £42,400
• creative sector jobs below RQF level 6 are no longer eligible for the route (unless a transitional arrangement applies)
• workers on this route are no longer allowed to take ‘supplementary employment’ (employment additional to their sponsored work), unless a transitional arrangement applies –

Requirements for Senior or Specialist Worker Visa

In order to qualify for a UK Global Business Mobility – Senior or Specialist Worker Visa, you will need to satisfy UK Visas and Immigration that:

• You are aged 18 or over;
• You are currently working for a business or organisation that is linked to your UK sponsor by common ownership or control, or by a joint venture on which you are sponsored to work;
• You have worked outside the UK for the linked business or organisation for a cumulative period of at least 12 months, unless you are a high earner earning £73,900 per year or more;
• You have a valid Certificate of Sponsorship issued by your UK sponsor for the job you are planning to do;
• The job you are planning to do is genuine;
• The job you are planning to do is at an appropriate skill level;
• Your salary will be equal to or exceed both £42,400 per year and the ‘going rate’ for the job;
• Your UK sponsor has paid any required Immigration Skills Charge;
• You have enough money to support yourself without relying on public funds;
• You have provided a valid TB certificate, if required.

Senior or Specialist Worker Visa Overseas Work Requirement

If you are applying for a UK Global Business Mobility – Senior or Specialist Worker Visa and your gross annual salary is less than £73,900 (based on working a maximum of 48 hours per week) then you must be currently working for a business or organisation that is linked to your UK sponsor by common ownership or control, or by a joint venture on which you are sponsored to work, and have worked outside the UK for this business or organisation for a cumulative period of at least 12 months.

The 12 months’ work outside the UK can have been accumulated over a historic period if you were continuously working for the linked business or organisation, in the UK or overseas, for at least 12 months prior to the date of application and any breaks have only been for statutory maternity, paternity, parental or shared parental leave, statutory adoption leave, sick leave, assisting with a national or international humanitarian or environmental crisis with the agreement of the sponsor group or taking part in lawful industrial action.

If you are earning £73,900 per year or more then you must be currently working for a business or organisation that is linked to your UK sponsor by common ownership or control, or by a joint venture on which you are sponsored to work, but you do not need to have been employed outside the UK for any specific period of time.

Senior or Specialist Worker Visa Certificate of Sponsorship (CoS) Requirement

In order to obtain a UK Global Business Mobility – Senior or Specialist Worker Visa you will need to have a valid Certificate of Sponsorship for the job you are planning to do.  Your Certificate of Sponsorship will need to have been issued by an employer that is authorised by the Home Office to sponsor a Senior or Specialist Worker.

Your sponsor must be listed as A-rated on the Home Office’s register of licensed sponsors, unless you were last granted permission as a Senior or Specialist Worker and are applying to continue working for the same sponsor as in your last permission.

Your Certificate of Sponsorship must have been issued not more than 3 months before the date of your UK Global Business Mobility – Senior or Specialist Worker Visa application.

Your Certificate of Sponsorship must include certain mandatory information, including:

• Details of your name, job and salary;
• Confirmation that you have worked for your employer outside the UK for at least 12 months, unless you are a high earner earning £73,900 per year or more;
• A start date which is no more than 3 months after the date of your Global Business Mobility – Senior or Specialist Worker Visa application;
• Confirmation that the Certificate of Sponsorship has not been used in a previous application which was either granted or refused and has not been withdrawn by the sponsor or cancelled by the Home Office.

Senior or Specialist Worker Job Skill Level Requirement

In order to qualify for a UK Global Business Mobility – Senior or Specialist Worker Visa, the job you are being sponsored to do must be an eligible job at or above a minimum skill level.

The Home Office has published a list of jobs that are eligible for a Global Business Mobility – Senior or Specialist Worker Visa.  The list includes the relevant occupation code, job type and related job titles.

You will usually meet the job skill level requirement if the job you are being sponsored for is on the list.

However, your sponsor must choose an appropriate occupation code.  If the Home Office has reasonable grounds to believe that your sponsor has not chosen the most appropriate occupation code then your application for a Global Business Mobility Visa will be refused.

In assessing whether your sponsor has chosen the most appropriate occupation code, the Home Office will consider factors such as whether they have shown a genuine need for the job as described, whether you have the appropriate skills, qualifications and experience needed to do the job as described and the sponsor’s history of compliance with the immigration system.

Senior or Specialist Worker Salary Requirement

Employers seeking to transfer an employee under the UK Global Business Mobility Visa: Senior or Specialist Worker route must pay their skilled workers a salary that equals or exceeds both a general salary requirement and the ‘going rate’ for the occupation (as set out in the relevant occupation code mentioned above).

The general salary requirement under the UK Global Business Mobility Visa Senior or Specialist Worker route is £42,400 a year.  Therefore, in most cases an applicant for a UK Global Business Mobility – Senior or Specialist Worker Visa must be paid a salary that equals or exceeds £42,400 per year and 100% of the pro-rated going rate for the occupation, whichever is higher.

The assessment of salary is based on guaranteed basic gross pay (up to 48 hours per week) plus allowances which are guaranteed to be paid for the duration of the employment in the UK (such as London weighting) or are paid as a mobility premium or to cover the additional cost of living in the UK.

The Home Office has published a list of going rates for eligible Global Business Mobility occupation codes.  The annual salaries stated are based on a 39-hour working week and must be pro-rated for other working patterns.

Your full weekly hours will be included when checking your salary against the going rate, even if you work more than 48 hours per week.

Immigration Skills Charge Requirement

Your sponsor must also have paid in full any required Immigration Skills Charge.

The Immigration Skills Charge is a charge for each foreign worker that a sponsoring employer seeks to employ.  The Immigration Skills Charge must be paid each time a sponsoring employer assigns a Certificate of Sponsorship to a migrant.

Senior or Specialist Worker Visa Financial Requirement

Subject to the exemptions below, you will need to have cash funds of at least £1,270 available.

You will need to have held the money for at least 28 consecutive days ending not more than 31 days before the date of your Global Business Mobility – Senior or Specialist Worker Visa application.

You will be exempt from the financial requirement if your sponsor is willing to meet your maintenance costs up to the end of the first month of your employment, to an amount of at least £1,270, if necessary.  Your sponsor will need to confirm this on your Certificate of Sponsorship.

If you are applying for permission to stay and have been in the UK with permission for 12 months or more at the date of application, you will meet the financial requirement and will not need to show funds.

Senior or Specialist Worker Visa English Language Requirement

Senior or Specialist Worker Visa applicants do not need to satisfy an English language requirement.

Switching To Senior or Specialist Worker Route

If you currently have to leave to remain in another immigration category, you may extend your stay by switching into the Global Business Mobility – Senior or Specialist Worker route unless you have, or were last granted, permission as a Visitor, Short-term student, Parent of a Child Student, Seasonal Worker, Domestic Worker in a Private Household or outside the Immigration Rules.

Duration of Senior or Specialist Worker Visa

If your application for a UK Global Business Mobility – Senior or Specialist Worker Visa is approved, you will be granted entry clearance or permission to stay for either the time given on your Certificate of Sponsorship plus 14 days, a period of 5 years or the length of time that will take you to the maximum time period allowed in the category (see below), whichever is shorter.

Maximum Time in the Senior or Specialist Worker Route

If your application for a UK Global Business Mobility – Senior or Specialist Worker Visa is successful you will be able to extend your stay in the UK up to a maximum period of:

• 5 years in any 6 year period if you are paid less than £73,900 per year; or
• 9 years in any 10 year period if you are paid £73,900 or more per year.

When calculating the period of time spent on the route the Home Office will consider all previous periods of permission granted on the Global Business Mobility routes and all previous periods of permission granted on the Intra-Company routes.

Under a previous version of the route, there was a cooling-off requirement that prevented a person from re-entering the UK on the route for 12 months after departing.  This cooling-off provision no longer applies.

Conditions of Stay on a Senior or Specialist Worker Visa

Global Business Mobility – Senior or Specialist Worker Visa holders are permitted to work for their sponsor in the job described on their Certificate of Sponsorship.  They may also undertake a course of study and voluntary work.  Access to public funds is not permitted.

Settlement on the Senior or Specialist Worker Route

The Global Business Mobility Visa: Senior or Specialist Worker Visa does not lead to settlement in the UK. However, you may be able to switch to another immigration route which does lead to settlement.

You may also be eligible to extend your stay until you qualify for settlement on the basis of Long Residence.

Dependents Senior or Specialist Worker Visa applicants

Global Business Mobility – Senior or Specialist Worker Visa holders can be joined or accompanied by a dependent partner over the age of 18 and dependent children under the age of 18.

Call Our Immigration Advisers

Our team of business immigration advisers has experience in assisting employers and skilled workers across a variety of industries in companies of all sizes. Our solicitors can help UK and overseas businesses to ensure that overseas workers can be temporarily seconded to the UK as part of a high-value contract or investment. Our business immigration advisers can also assist UK employers to obtain the right sponsor licence, maintaining their licence at the highest rating and comply with their sponsor duties.