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: The most commonly used GBM sub-route. Covers senior managers, specialist technical staff, and experts being transferred from an overseas entity to a UK entity in the same corporate group. Minimum salary: £45,800 or the going rate for the occupation, whichever is higher. Maximum stay: 5 years (or 9 years for higher earners). You must have worked for the overseas company for at least 12 months (unless earning above a higher salary threshold).

Graduate Trainee: For employees who have recently completed a degree and are being transferred to the UK as part of a structured global graduate training programme. The programme must be genuine and the UK placement must be a core part of it. Minimum salary: £25,410. Maximum stay: 12 months. This sub-route is subject to tighter scrutiny because it has historically been misused to bring in relatively junior staff at lower cost than the Senior or Specialist Worker route.

UK Expansion Worker: For employees of overseas businesses that do not yet have an established UK presence but are in the process of expanding into the UK. The UK entity must not yet be trading. Minimum salary: £45,800. Maximum stay: 12 months. This sub-route is intended to allow a company to send key staff to establish a UK operation — not for ongoing use once the business is established.

Service Supplier: For workers being sent to the UK to deliver a specific services contract between an overseas business and a UK client. The worker must be employed by the overseas service supplier (not the UK client), and the contract must be for services — not goods. Salary requirements vary depending on the specific occupation and whether the contract is covered by a UK international trade agreement. Generally, salaries must meet the going rate for the occupation.

Secondment Worker: For employees of an overseas business being seconded to a UK business as part of a high-value contract between the two companies. The contract between the overseas and UK businesses must be worth at least £50 million (or involve the transfer of 50 or more workers), making this sub-route relevant only for very large commercial arrangements. Salary must meet the going rate.

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.