Global Business Mobility: Senior or Specialist Worker

Eligibility requirements

• The UK sponsor must hold a GBM Senior or Specialist Worker licence and must be linked to the overseas employer by common ownership or control, evidenced to UKVI when the licence is granted or when the overseas entity is added to the licence.
• The worker must have worked for the sponsor group outside the UK for at least 12 months, unless the UK salary will be £73,900 or more, in which case the 12-month requirement does not apply. The service must be with a linked entity, not a client or contractor.
• The job must be in an eligible occupation code listed for GBM in Appendix Skilled Occupations, and the salary must be at least £52,500 per year or the going rate for the occupation, whichever is higher. Allowances count only within the limits set by the Rules.
• The worker's cumulative time in GBM and legacy Intra-company routes is counted: no more than five years in any six-year period, or nine years in any ten-year period if the salary is £73,900 or more. Some people who have held Intra-company Transfer leave since 6 April 2011 have no maximum stay.
• No English language requirement applies to the main applicant. Maintenance of £1,270 is required unless certified by the sponsor or the applicant has been in the UK for 12 months.
• Dependants may apply but the GBM route itself gives neither the worker nor the dependants a settlement route; a dependant who later wishes to settle must qualify through another route.

Legal framework

Build the evidence

Prepare records that substantiate the relevant criteria. The final checklist depends on the applicant, route and filing authority.

• Group structure chart with registers, share certificates or audited accounts evidencing common ownership or control between the UK sponsor and the overseas employer.
• Overseas payroll, employment contract and social-insurance records demonstrating 12 months' service with the group (or evidence of a UK salary of £73,900 or more).
• Certificate of sponsorship with the SOC 2020 code, salary breakdown (basic pay and any qualifying allowances), hours and UK work locations.
• Job description and organisation chart showing the senior-management or specialist nature of the UK role and its reporting lines.
• Passport, tuberculosis certificate where required, and the worker's prior UK immigration history for the cumulative-period calculation.
• Dependants' relationship and birth evidence, with separate maintenance funds unless certified.

How to apply

1. 01

   Confirm the link and the licence

   Verify that the UK entity is licensed for Senior or Specialist Worker and that the overseas employer is recorded as a linked entity. Adding a new overseas entity requires a change of circumstances request with ownership evidence.

2. 02

   Calculate the cumulative clock

   Reconcile the worker's previous GBM, Intra-company Transfer and Tier 2 (ICT) permissions to establish how much of the five-in-six or nine-in-ten allowance remains. The cumulative rule frequently decides whether this route or Skilled Worker is appropriate.

3. 03

   Design the UK role and salary

   Set basic pay at or above £52,500 and the going rate, decide which allowances are included, and confirm the occupation code is eligible. Where the group intends the worker to settle, consider Skilled Worker instead, since GBM time does not count towards settlement.

4. 04

   Assign the CoS and apply

   Assign the certificate, pay the Immigration Skills Charge unless an exemption applies, and submit the worker's and dependants' applications with the Immigration Health Surcharge. Applications may be made from outside the UK or by switching from most routes.

5. 05

   Manage the assignment

   Report changes in salary, role or location, and track the end date. A GBM worker who switches to Skilled Worker resets the settlement clock from the date of the Skilled Worker grant, not from arrival.

After approval & family planning

• Partners and children may join as dependants with the right to work and study. They do not accrue settlement time on this route; a family intending to settle should plan a switch to Skilled Worker as early as the role and salary allow.
• The worker must remain employed by the sponsor in the sponsored role. Secondments to clients are permitted only where the Rules and sponsor guidance on contracting out are satisfied.
• At the end of the cumulative allowance the worker must leave the UK or have switched to another route. There is no in-route settlement; the route exists for genuine temporary transfers.

What this route builds, and what it opens

WG assesses every route on three returns: the knowledge it adds, the cognitive capability that sustained work abroad develops, and the institutional opportunity it opens or closes. Real work is the mechanism in each case.

Programme context. Where a participant holds a genuine managerial or specialist role with a qualifying overseas affiliate for a year and the UK affiliate is licensed, this route may be assessed. The absence of a settlement route should be weighed against the participant's longer plan. Read the framework ↗

Frequently asked questions

Points to consider

• The route suits genuine temporary assignments with a defined return. Where the business intends the worker to stay, the lack of a settlement route and the cumulative cap make Skilled Worker the more durable option despite its English requirement.
• Groups moving staff between several jurisdictions should keep a single cumulative-period ledger per worker; the Home Office counts legacy Intra-company time.