Global Business Mobility Visa UK — Sponsors and Requirements

The Global Business Mobility route was introduced in 2022 to consolidate and replace several legacy visa categories including the Intra-Company Transfer (ICT) route. It is not a general work visa — it is specifically designed for temporary assignments and transfers within corporate structures. To use GBM, there must be a qualifying relationship between the overseas entity employing you and the UK entity you are being sent to work for.

GBM has five distinct sub-routes, each designed for a different type of business mobility scenario. They vary in eligibility criteria, salary requirements, and maximum permitted stay. Understanding which sub-route applies to your situation is important because the wrong sub-route can result in a refused application even if you are genuinely eligible for GBM.

One important distinction from the Skilled Worker route: on GBM you generally cannot switch to settlement (indefinite leave to remain) after five years in the same way as the Skilled Worker route. GBM is intentionally temporary, and workers should be aware of this limitation when planning long-term.

Senior or Specialist Worker: Covers senior managers and specialist staff transferred within a corporate group. Salary must be at least £52,500 or the going rate, whichever is higher. A worker paid below £73,900 must normally have worked for the overseas employer for at least 12 months; at £73,900 or more there is no minimum overseas-service period. The cumulative stay limit is 5 years in any 6-year period, or 9 years in any 10-year period for a high earner.

Graduate Trainee: Covers an overseas employee on a structured graduate training programme leading to a senior or specialist role. Salary must be at least £27,300 or 70% of the going rate, whichever is higher; listed health or education jobs must meet the full relevant going rate. The worker must have worked for the overseas employer for the three months immediately before applying, and the route is limited to 12 months.

UK Expansion Worker: Covers key staff establishing the first UK presence of an overseas business that has not yet begun trading here. Salary must be at least £52,500 or the going rate, whichever is higher. Permission is granted for up to 12 months at a time and can reach a maximum of 2 years on this route.

Service Supplier: Covers an overseas employee or self-employed professional providing services under a qualifying international trade agreement and sponsored by the UK client. There is no route-specific salary or going-rate threshold, although minimum-wage law and the route's occupation, qualification, experience, contract, and overseas-work conditions still apply.

Secondment Worker: Covers an existing employee of an overseas organisation seconded under a qualifying contract with the UK sponsor worth at least £50 million. There is no alternative '50 workers' test and no route-specific going-rate salary threshold, although minimum-wage law and the remaining eligibility conditions apply.

The Service Supplier and Secondment routes are niche compared to the Senior or Specialist Worker route and are primarily used by large multinational companies and professional services firms with complex cross-border contract arrangements.

The fundamental difference is the nature of the employment relationship. The Skilled Worker visa is for someone being hired by a UK employer — you apply for a new job in the UK and the UK employer sponsors you. The GBM route is for someone already employed by an overseas business, being sent to the UK as part of their existing employment. Your employment contract remains with the overseas entity; you are not being recruited.

This distinction has significant practical implications. For Skilled Worker, the UK employer must hold a sponsor licence and can be any UK business. For GBM, the UK entity must be in the same corporate group as your overseas employer (except for the Service Supplier and Secondment routes), and the UK entity must be a licensed GBM sponsor.

If you are a job seeker looking for work in the UK from abroad, the Skilled Worker route is almost certainly the correct one for you. GBM is for existing employees of multinational companies being sent to the UK by their current employer.

Companies that hold GBM sponsor licences appear on the Home Office register alongside their other licensed routes. On VisaAtlas, you can filter by visa route to identify employers licensed specifically for Global Business Mobility — this is useful if you are an HR professional researching GBM options for your company's UK expansion, or an employee checking whether your company's UK entity is a licensed GBM sponsor.

Typical GBM sponsors include large multinational IT consultancies, global law firms, international banks, audit and accountancy firms, and engineering multinationals. These companies frequently transfer staff between global offices and have robust GBM licence frameworks in place.

If you are an overseas employee being transferred to the UK and want to check whether the UK entity is a licensed GBM sponsor before discussing the transfer formally, the VisaAtlas sponsor search can confirm licence status quickly without requiring any official communication with the UK HR team.