Guidance

Global Business Mobility routes caseworker guidance (accessible)

Updated 4 April 2024

Version 8.0

About this guidance

This guidance tells caseworkers how to consider applications from existing workers of overseas businesses with a presence in the UK who wish to enter or remain in the UK to work under the Global Business Mobility routes of the points-based system.

You in this guidance means the caseworker.

This guidance is designed to be used alongside the Global Business Mobility appendices to the Immigration Rules:

• Appendix Global Business Mobility – Senior or Specialist Worker

• Appendix Global Business Mobility – Graduate Trainee

• Appendix Global Business Mobility – UK Expansion Worker

• Appendix Global Business Mobility – Service Supplier

• Appendix Global Business Mobility – Secondment Worker

The rules explain the requirements an applicant must meet to be granted permission on the Global Business Mobility routes, and this guidance provides additional information on how to consider their application. Paragraph references in this guidance refer to paragraphs in the relevant Global Business Mobility appendix unless otherwise stated.

You may also need to refer to the following sections of the rules, where relevant:

• Part 9: Grounds for Refusal

• Appendix Skilled Occupations

• Appendix ATAS

• Appendix Finance

Contacts

If you have any questions about the guidance and your line manager or senior caseworker cannot help, or if you think the guidance has factual errors, then your line manager or locally embedded expert can email the Economic Migration Policy team via the Work and Study Technical team.

If you notice any formatting errors in this guidance (broken links, spelling mistakes and so on) or have any comments about the layout or navigability of the guidance then your line manager or locally embedded expert can email the Guidance Rules and Forms team.

Publication

Below is information on when this version of the guidance was published:

• version 8.0

• published for Home Office staff on 4 April 2024

Changes from last version of this guidance

The guidance has been updated with the following changes:

• version 7.0:
  • added guidance on genuineness rules that apply to all Global Business Mobility applications submitted on or after 7 August 2023

• version 8.0:

  • updated the salary thresholds that apply to applications submitted with a certificate of sponsorship that was assigned after 4 April 2024
  • added provisions for those qualifying under the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP)

Overview of the Global Business Mobility routes

This section provides an introduction to the Global Business Mobility routes.

There are 5 Global Business Mobility routes. These are: Senior or Specialist Worker, Graduate Trainee, UK Expansion Worker, Service Supplier and Secondment Worker.

The Senior or Specialist Worker route is for overseas workers who are undertaking temporary work assignments in the UK, where the worker is a senior manager or specialist employee and is being assigned to a UK business linked to their employer overseas.

The Graduate Trainee route is for overseas workers who are undertaking temporary work assignments in the UK, where the worker is on a graduate training course leading to a senior management or specialist position and is required to do a work placement in the UK.

The UK Expansion Worker route is for overseas workers who are undertaking temporary work assignments in the UK, where the worker is a senior manager or specialist employee and is being assigned to the UK to undertake work related to a business’s expansion to the UK.

The Service Supplier route is for overseas workers who are undertaking temporary work assignments in the UK, where the worker is either a contractual service supplier employed by an overseas service provider or a self-employed independent professional based overseas, and they need to undertake an assignment in the UK to provide services covered by one of the UK’s international trade agreements that is currently in force or is being provisionally applied.

The Secondment Worker route is for overseas workers who are undertaking temporary work assignments in the UK, where the worker is being seconded to the UK as part of a high value contract or investment by their employer overseas.

Dependent partners and children can apply on these routes. You should refer to the guidance on dependent family members in work routes for further information.

The Global Business Mobility routes do not lead to settlement, and permission in these routes will not count towards the qualifying period of stay required to settle, should an applicant later apply to settle under another PBS route.

Legacy routes

The Senior or Specialist Worker route replaces the Intra-Company Transfer route and the Graduate Trainee route replaces the Intra-Company Graduate Trainee route.

Existing Intra-Company workers can apply for extensions and changes of employment under the Senior or Specialist Worker and Graduate Trainee routes. The dependants of workers with permission on legacy Intra-Company routes can apply to join those workers using the provisions within the Senior or Specialist Worker route and the Graduate Trainee route as appropriate.

The Service Supplier route replaces the provisions for contractual service suppliers and independent professionals within the Temporary Work – International Agreement route (and its predecessor Tier 5 route). Contractual services suppliers and independent professionals with permission on the Temporary Work – International Agreement route can apply to extend their permission on the Service Supplier route up to the maximum time permitted by the trade agreement they are providing services under.

While the UK Expansion Worker route replaces the provisions for Sole Representatives in the Representative of an Overseas Business route, this is not considered a legacy route. Workers with permission on the Representative of an Overseas business route can continue to apply for extensions and settlement in that route and are not expected to switch to Global Business Mobility (though they can if they meet the requirements but will not be able to settle on this route if they do).

Requirements

The requirements an applicant must meet to be granted permission on the Global Business Mobility routes are split into 3 parts:

1. Validity requirements – these outline the minimum criteria that must be met in order for a full consideration to take place. They ensure that for example, the correct form has been used and that the applicant has supplied their identity documents. Applications that do not meet these requirements are invalid and may be rejected.

2. Suitability requirements – these check the suitability of the applicant. Applicants must not fall for refusal on general grounds or be in breach of immigration laws. Applicants that do not meet these requirements must be refused.

3. Eligibility requirements – these are the main criteria of the Global Business Mobility routes. Applicants that do not meet these requirements must be refused.

Route	Validity requirements	Suitability requirements	Eligibility requirements
Senior or Specialist Worker	SNR 1.1. to SNR 1.6.	SNR 2.1. to SNR 2.2.	SNR 3.1. to SNR 11.4.
Graduate Trainee	GTR 1.1. to GTR 1.6.	GTR 2.1. to GTR 2.2.	GTR 3.1. to GTR 11.2.
UK Expansion Worker	UKX 1.1. to UKX 1.6.	UKX 2.1. to UKX 2.2.	UKX 3.1. to UKX 11.2.
Service Supplier	SSU 1.1. to SSU 1.6.	SSU 2.1. to SSU 2.2.	SSU 3.1. to SSU 11.2.
Secondment Worker	SEC 1.1. to SEC 1.6.	SEC 2.1. to SEC 2.2.	SEC 3.1. to SEC 9.2.

The requirements for dependants of Global Business Mobility workers are split into the same 3 groups. Each route has its own rules for dependants.

Representatives

If an applicant has a UK based representative, you must check that the representative is permitted to provide immigration advice or immigration services. They must be one of the following:

• registered with the Office of the Immigration Services Commissioner (OISC)

• authorised by one of the following designated professional bodies or designated qualifying regulators:
  • the Law Society
  • the Law Society of Scotland
  • the Law Society of Northern Ireland
  • the General Council of the Bar
  • the Chartered Institute of Legal Executives
  • the Faculty of Advocates
  • the General Council of the Bar of Northern Ireland
• be exempt from the requirement to be registered or authorised - for example, the Immigration and Asylum Act 1999 (Part 5 Exemption: Licensed Sponsors) Order 2022 exempts licensed sponsors from the requirement to be registered or authorised, provided any immigration advice or immigration services are given:
  • free of charge
  • in relation to an individual they are sponsoring (or, where relevant, their eligible family members)
  • in connection with an application by that individual for entry clearance or permission on a sponsored work or study route (or an application for entry clearance or permission by that individual’s eligible family members that is dependent on that individual’s application)

For further information on what the order permits, see section S6 of Part 2 of the sponsor guidance.

If the representative does not have the necessary permission to provide immigration advice or immigration services, you must direct all communications to the applicant instead.

Burden and standard of proof

The burden of proof is on the applicant to show they meet the requirements of the route. The standard of proof is the balance of probabilities (which means it is more likely than not). When considering the application, you should have regard to all the relevant information and you should request more information, or clarification, if you need to do so.

Requesting more information

If you need more information, or clarification of certain details to be able to decide the application, then please refer to requesting more information. Where possible, you should try to identify all areas where further information is required, so it can be requested at the same time.

Verifying documents

You must conduct verification checks if you have any doubts about whether the supporting documents an applicant has submitted are genuine. If the application falls for refusal on other grounds, you do not need to carry out verification checks, but you must explain in your decision that you reserve the right to carry out checks in any reconsideration.

Translating documents

If the documents provided are not in English or Welsh, the applicant must provide a fully certified translation from a professional translator or translation company that can be independently verified by the Home Office. The translation must include all of the following information:

• confirmation it is an accurate translation of the document

• the date of translation

• the full name and signature of the translator or an official from the translation company

• the translator or translation company’s contact details

If no translation is supplied, you should request one. If the applicant still does not provide a translation or if you are unable to verify the translation, the document will not be accepted. You must continue to process the application as if the applicant had not provided the document.

Validity requirements for entry clearance and permission to stay

This section tells you what validity requirements an applicant must meet when they apply for entry clearance or permission to stay as on the Global Business Mobility routes.

Before considering any application, you must check the application is valid by referring to appropriate paragraphs for the relevant Global Business Mobility route:

• Senior or Specialist Worker: paragraphs SNR 1.1 to SNR 1.6

• Graduate Trainee: paragraphs GTR 1.1 to GTR 1.6

• UK Expansion Worker: paragraphs UKX 1.1 to UKX 1.6

• Service Supplier: paragraphs SSU 1.1 to SSU 1.6

• Secondment Worker: paragraphs SEC 1.1 to SEC 1.6

If you are not satisfied the application meets all the validity requirements, you should consider whether to request more information, reject the application or exercise discretion to consider.

Application fees and Immigration Health Charge

The applicant must have paid the relevant application fees and any Immigration Health Charge (sometimes called the Immigration Health Surcharge or IHS). For further information, please refer to the guidance on the Immigration Health Charge.

Biometrics and identity documents

You must be satisfied that where the applicant has provided their biometrics, these are verified against a valid passport or other travel document they have supplied.

Official – sensitive: start of section

The information on this page has been removed as it is restricted for internal Home Office use.

Official – sensitive: end of section

Certificate of Sponsorship

The applicant must have a Certificate of Sponsorship (CoS) from an approved sponsor. This is a virtual document (similar to a database record) which is assigned by the sponsor. Sponsors use a secure IT system called the sponsorship management system (SMS) to assign a certificate of sponsorship.

The reference number for the certificate should be provided in the application. If the applicant has not supplied the reference number, they must provide an explanation. If you are not satisfied the sponsor has assigned a certificate to the applicant, you may reject the application. If the reason the sponsor has not yet assigned a certificate is because of delays by UKVI (for example, a delay in processing a sponsor licence application or a request for certificates of sponsorship), you may exceptionally place the case on hold pending the outcome.

You must check that the Certificate of Sponsorship was assigned to the applicant no more than 3 months before the date of application. If it was assigned too early, the application may be rejected.

For information on how to check the CoS information, refer to The certificate of sponsorship checking system. (Note that the Certificate of Sponsorship will also need to be viewed when assessing the eligibility requirements.)

Minimum age

All applicants must be aged 18 or over on the date of application. If the applicant is too young, the application may be rejected as invalid.

Government or international scholarship agency awards

Where an applicant has received an award covering fees and living costs from a government or international scholarship agency in the 12 months before the date of application, the government or agency must provide written consent to the application. The letter of consent must be on the official letter-headed paper or stationery of the organisation or organisations, bearing the official stamp of that organisation and issued by an authorised official of that organisation. The documents must confirm that the organisation gives the applicant consent to remain in or re-enter the UK. If there is no such letter it should be requested and if not provided the validity guidance should be applied.

Switching

An applicant who is in the UK cannot apply to switch into the Global Business Mobility routes if they have, or were last granted, permission as any of the following:

• as a Visitor

• as a Short-term Student

• as a Parent of a Child Student

• as a Seasonal Worker

• as a Domestic Worker in a Private Household

• outside the Immigration Rules

If an applicant applies to switch into the Global Business Mobility routes from one of the above categories, you may reject the application or exercise discretion to consider.

An applicant who is applying for permission to stay and has, or last had, permission as a student must have completed the course of study for which the Confirmation of Acceptance for Studies was assigned (or a course to which paragraph ST 27.3 of Appendix Student applies), or the course must have finished before the start date on their CoS. Alternatively, if the course was leading to a PhD award they must have completed at least 24 months of that course.

You can normally determine whether the applicant has completed their course by checking the end date on the Confirmation of Acceptance for Studies (CAS). However, the applicant may have completed their studies, and therefore met the requirement of the Rules, in advance of the end date on the CAS. If the end date on the CAS indicates they have not yet completed their studies, you should consider whether the course may have been completed by looking at any information provided with the application (for example, a results transcript) and any notifications made by the Student Sponsor. You should also check if the course stated on the CAS was at PhD level, and if so, use the course start date to assess whether they have completed at least 24 months.

If required, you should write to the applicant using the Validity reminder template, advising them that they have not shown that they have completed their studies and giving them an opportunity to do so before rejecting the application as invalid.

Related content

• The Certificate of Sponsorship checking system
• Requesting more information
• Validation, variation and withdrawal of applications guidance
• Immigration health charge guidance
• UKVI Operating Mandate

Suitability for entry clearance and permission to stay applications

This section tells you where to find the suitability requirements that an applicant must meet when they apply for entry clearance or permission to stay on the Global Business Mobility routes.

You must check the application meets the suitability requirements for the relevant Global Business Mobility route:

• Senior or Specialist Worker: paragraphs SNR 2.1 and SNR 2.2

• Graduate Trainee: paragraphs GTR 2.1 to GTR 2.2

• UK Expansion Worker: paragraphs UKX 2.1 and UKX 2.2

• Service Supplier: paragraphs SSU 2.1 to SSU 2.2

• Secondment Worker: paragraphs SEC 2.1 to SEC 2.2

You must be satisfied that the grounds for refusal, contained in Part 9 of the Immigration Rules do not apply to the application.

Overstaying

You must check the applicant is not in breach of immigration laws, except where permitted by the Immigration Rules in respect of periods of overstaying. Refer to the full guidance on overstaying.

Immigration bail

Any applicant who is in the UK on immigration bail is not suitable for the Global Business Mobility routes. These individuals do not generally hold permission to be in the UK.

Related content

• Applications from overstayers guidance

Eligibility for entry clearance and permission to stay applications

This section tells you the requirements an applicant must meet to be granted either entry clearance or permission to stay on the Global Business Mobility routes.

The requirements for granting entry clearance or permission to stay can be found in the eligibility requirements stated in the relevant Global Business Mobility route:

• Appendix Global Business Mobility – Senior or Specialist Worker (SNR 3.1 to SNR 11.4)

• Appendix Global Business Mobility – Graduate Trainee (GTR 3.1 to GTR 11.2)

• Appendix Global Business Mobility – UK Expansion Worker (UKX 3.1 to UKX 11.2)

• Appendix Global Business Mobility – Service Supplier (SSU 3.1 to SSU 11.2)

• Appendix Global Business Mobility – Secondment Worker (SEC 3.1 to SEC 9.2)

You should note that there are some important differences in the eligibility requirements between different Global Business Mobility routes. Each route therefore has its own eligibility guidance (see related content for links).

Applications which do not meet these requirements must be refused.

Related content

Eligibility for Senior or Specialist Workers

This section tells you the requirements an applicant must meet to be granted either entry clearance or permission to stay as Senior or Specialist Worker.

The requirements for granting entry clearance or permission to stay can be found in the eligibility requirements contained in Appendix Global Business Mobility – Senior or Specialist Worker.

To be eligible, applicants must be awarded 60 points (for their sponsorship, job skill level and salary). All points requirements are mandatory in the Global Business Mobility routes and applicants must also satisfy non-points requirements regarding tuberculosis testing, available funds and maximum length of assignments under Global Business Mobility routes.

The eligibility requirements can be found in the rules as set out below:

• Entry requirement (SNR 3.1.)

• Tuberculosis certificate (SNR 3.2.)

• Points requirement (SNR 4.1.)

• Points for sponsorship (SNR 5.1. to SNR 5.9.)

• The overseas work requirement (SNR 5.7. to SNR 5.8.)

• Points for a job at the appropriate skill level (SNR 6.1. to SNR 6.8.)

• Points for salary (SNR 7.1. to SNR 9.3.)

• Financial requirement (SNR 10.1. to SNR 10.3.)

• Maximum length of assignments requirement (SNR 11.1. to SNR 11.4.)

Applications which do not meet these requirements must be refused.

Further guidance on these requirements can be found in the relevant section (see related content for links).

There are several transitional measures that only apply to Senior or Specialist Workers which are covered in the relevant sections. These are:

• applicants who currently have permission to stay as Senior or Specialist Worker (including on legacy routes) and are continuing to work in the same job for the same employer can be sponsored in one of the occupation codes listed at SNR 6.8.

• under SNR 8.3. an applicant does not need to meet the general salary requirement if they were previously granted permission as a Tier 2 (Intra- Company Transfer) Migrant under the rules in force before 6 April 2011, or as a Work Permit Holder and since then has continuously had permission as a Senior or Specialist Worker (including any period of overstaying disregarded under paragraph 39E of the Immigration Rules)

• under SNR 11.4. the maximum length of assignment requirements do not apply if the applicant was previously granted permission to stay as a Tier 2 (Intra- Company Transfer) Migrant under the rules in force before 6 April 2011, or as a Work Permit Holder and since then has continuously had permission as a Senior or Specialist Worker (including legacy routes and any period of overstaying disregarded under paragraph 39E)

Related content

Eligibility for Graduate Trainees

This section tells you the requirements an applicant must meet to be granted either entry clearance or permission to stay as Graduate Trainee.

The requirements for granting entry clearance or permission to stay can be found in the eligibility requirements contained in Appendix Global Business Mobility – Graduate Trainee.

To be eligible, applicants must be awarded 60 points (for their sponsorship, job skill level and salary). All points requirements are mandatory in the Global Business Mobility routes and applicants must also satisfy non-points requirements regarding tuberculosis testing, available funds and maximum length of assignments under Global Business Mobility routes.

The eligibility requirements can be found in the rules as set out below:

• Entry requirement (GTR 3.1.)

• Tuberculosis certificate (GTR 3.2.)

• Points requirement (GTR 4.1.)

• Points for sponsorship (GTR 5.1. to GTR 5.7.)

• The overseas work requirement (GTR 5.6.)

• Points for a job at the appropriate skill level (GTR 6.1. to GTR 6.7.)

• Points for salary (GTR 7.1. to GTR 9.3.)

• Financial requirement (GTR 10.1. to GTR 10.3.)

• Maximum length of assignments requirement (GTR 11.1. to GTR 11.2.)

Applications which do not meet these requirements must be refused.

Further guidance on these requirements can be found in the relevant section (see related content for links).

Related content

Eligibility for UK Expansion Workers

This section tells you the requirements an applicant must meet to be granted either entry clearance or permission to stay as UK Expansion Worker.

The requirements for granting entry clearance or permission to stay can be found in the eligibility requirements contained in Appendix Global Business Mobility – UK Expansion Worker.

To be eligible, applicants must be awarded 60 points (for their sponsorship, job skill level and salary). All points requirements are mandatory in the Global Business Mobility routes and applicants must also satisfy non-points requirements regarding tuberculosis testing, available funds and maximum length of assignments under Global Business Mobility routes.

The eligibility requirements can be found in the rules as set out below:

• Entry requirement (UKX 3.1.)

• Tuberculosis certificate (UKX 3.2.)

• Points requirement (UKX 4.1.)

• Points for sponsorship (UKX 5.1. to UKX 5.8.)

• The overseas work requirement (UKX 5.6. to UKX 5.7.)

• Points for a job at the appropriate skill level (UKX 6.1. to UKX 6.6.)

• Points for salary (UKX 7.1. to UKX 9.3.)

• Financial requirement (UKX 10.1. to UKX 10.3.)

• Maximum length of assignments requirement (UKX 11.1. to UKX 11.2.)

Applications which do not meet these requirements must be refused.

Further guidance on these requirements can be found in the relevant section (see related content for links).

Related content

Eligibility for Service Suppliers

This section tells you the requirements an applicant must meet to be granted either entry clearance or permission to stay as Service Supplier.

The requirements for granting entry clearance or permission to stay can be found in the eligibility requirements contained in Appendix Global Business Mobility – Service Supplier.

To be eligible, applicants must be awarded 40 points (for their sponsorship and job skill level). All points requirements are mandatory in the Global Business Mobility routes and applicants must also satisfy non-points requirements regarding tuberculosis testing, available funds and maximum length of assignments under Global Business Mobility routes.

The eligibility requirements can be found in the rules as set out below:

• Entry requirement (SSU 3.1.)

• Tuberculosis certificate (SSU 3.2.)

• Points requirement (SSU 4.1. to SSU 4.2.)

• Points for sponsorship (SSU 5.1. to SSU 5.7.)

• Points for a job at the appropriate skill level (SSU 6.1. to SSU 6.6. or SSU 7.1. to SSU 7.5.) (applicants have two options for scoring points in this section)

• Nationality requirement (SSU 8.1.)

• The overseas work requirement (SSU 9.1. to SSU 9.2.)

• Financial requirement (SSU 10.1. to SSU 10.3.)

• Maximum length of assignments requirement (SSU 11.1. to SSU 11.2.) Applications which do not meet these requirements must be refused.

Further guidance on these requirements can be found in the relevant section (see related content for links).

Nationality requirement for a Service Supplier

Applicants must be one of the following to meet the nationality requirement:

• a national of the country or territory in which the overseas service provider is based

• where the service that the applicant will provide is covered by a contractual service supplier commitment in the General Agreement on Trade in Services (GATS) and the applicant’s employer is established in a country or territory that has made a notification under Article XXVIII(k)(ii)(2) of that agreement, a permanent resident of that country or territory (these are Armenia, Australia, Canada, New Zealand and Switzerland)

• where the service that the applicant will provide is covered by a commitment in the Temporary Agreement between the Swiss Confederation and the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland on Services Mobility, a permanent resident of Switzerland

• where the application is covered by a commitment in the United Kingdom- European Union Trade and Cooperation Agreement, a national of any Member State of the European Union or a person permanently residing in the Republic of Latvia who is not a citizen of the Republic of Latvia or any other state but who is entitled, under the law of the Republic of Latvia, to receive a non- citizen’s passport

• where the service that the applicant will provide is covered by a contractual service supplier commitment in the CARIFORUM-United Kingdom Economic Partnership Agreement, a national of any CARIFORUM State that has provisionally applied or brought into force that agreement

• where the service that the applicant will provide is covered by a commitment in the Free Trade Agreement between the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and Australia, a permanent resident of Australia

• where the service that the applicant will provide is covered by a commitment in the Free Trade Agreement between the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and New Zealand, a permanent resident of New Zealand

• where the service that the applicant will provide is covered by a commitment in the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP), a national of a party to that agreement or a permanent resident of Australia, Canada or New Zealand, subject to the provisions of paragraph (i):

  • where the commitment in the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP) falls into a category in the first column of the table, the applicant must be a national of a country in the second column of the table below (or to the extent that Australia, Canada or New Zealand is listed in that column, a permanent resident of that country)

Category	CPTPP Parties with access
Contractual Service Suppliers	Australia, Brunei, Canada, Chile, Japan, Malaysia, Mexico, Peru, Vietnam
Independent Professionals	Australia, Brunei, Canada, Chile, Japan, Malaysia, Mexico, Peru, New Zealand

Note that in the above, a service can only be covered by a trade commitment when the relevant agreement is in force or provisionally applied. To see which agreements are in force, refer to the published list of eligible trade agreements. Additionally where the relevant trade agreement is CPTPP, both the country where the overseas service provider is located and the country of which the service supplier is a national must have ratified the UK’s accession to CPTPP.

You must be satisfied that the applicant has sufficiently demonstrated their nationality, permanent resident status or other status, as applicable - evidence could include a passport or birth certificate or an official permanent resident visa, permit or card. The name of the trade agreement that forms the basis for the applicant being sponsored as a Service Supplier can be found by accessing the Certificate of Sponsorship Checking System.

If the applicant is not a national of a country covered by the relevant trade agreement, you should consider whether they might be eligible on the basis of permanent residence or other status. You may need to request more information to establish this.

Related content

Eligibility for Secondment Workers

This section tells you the requirements an applicant must meet to be granted either entry clearance or permission to stay as Secondment Worker.

The requirements for granting entry clearance or permission to stay can be found in the eligibility requirements contained in Appendix Global Business Mobility – Secondment Worker.

To be eligible, applicants must be awarded 40 points (for their sponsorship and job skill level. All points requirements are mandatory in the Global Business Mobility routes and applicants must also satisfy non-points requirements regarding tuberculosis testing, available funds and maximum length of assignments under Global Business Mobility routes.

The eligibility requirements can be found in the rules as set out below:

• Entry requirement (SEC 3.1.)

• Tuberculosis certificate (SEC 3.2.)

• Points requirement (SEC 4.1.)

• Points for sponsorship (SEC 5.1. to SEC 5.7.)

• Points for a job at the appropriate skill level (SEC 6.1. to SEC 6.6.)

• The overseas work requirement (SEC 7.1. to SEC 7.3.)

• Financial requirement (SEC 8.1. to SEC 8.3.)

• Maximum length of assignments requirement (SEC 9.1. to SEC 9.2.) Applications which do not meet these requirements must be refused.

Further guidance on these requirements can be found in the relevant section (see related content for links).

Related content

Tuberculosis certificates

This section tells you about the tuberculosis (TB) certificate requirement for applications for entry clearance in the Global Business Mobility routes. This applies to all Global Business Mobility routes, but only to entry clearance applications.

An applicant must provide a valid TB certificate with their application, if they have been residing within a country listed in Appendix T of the immigration rules for more than 6 months immediately preceding the application.

If a valid TB test certificate has not been supplied when they are required to do so, the application must be refused.

There is information on GOV.UK regarding which applicants are required to obtain a TB certificate before applying and the valid test centres.

Points requirement

This section provides an overview of how points are scored in the Global Business Mobility routes. This applies to all Global Business Mobility routes, but the required number of points differs between routes.

Applicants must score a total number of points as follows:

Global Business Mobility route	Points required	Relevant rule
Senior or Specialist Worker	60	SNR 4.1
Graduate Trainee	60	GTR 4.1
UK Expansion Worker	60	UKX 4.1
Service Supplier	40	SSU 4.1
Secondment Worker	40	SEC 4.1

Applicants can score points by meeting the following requirements:

Points requirement	Points	Relevant rules
Sponsorship	20	SNR 5.1. to SNR 5.9 GTR 5.1. to GTR 5.7 UKX 5.1. to UKX 5.8 SSU 5.1. to SSU 5.7 SEC 5.1. to SEC 5.7
Job at appropriate skill level	20	SNR 6.1. to SNR 6.8 GTR 6.1. to GTR 6.7 UKX 6.1. to UKX 6.6 SSU 6.1. to SSU 6.6 or SSU 7.1 to SSU 7.5 SEC 6.1. to SEC 6.6
Salary at the required level	20	SNR 7.1. to SNR 9.3 GTR 7.1. to GTR 9.3 UKX 7.1. to UKX 9.3

Service Suppliers and Secondment Workers cannot score points for salary at the required level since those routes do not have a salary requirement. It is for this reason that applicants on those routes only require 40 points. Service Suppliers have 2 options for scoring points for job at the appropriate skill level but may only score points for one of these options.

If an applicant scores fewer than the required number of points for the route on which they are applying, you must refuse their application and explain where they have not been awarded points.

Related content

Sponsorship

This section explains the Sponsorship requirements in the Global Business Mobility routes. This applies to all Global Business Mobility routes.

The applicant must score 20 points for sponsorship. To award these points, you must be satisfied that the application meets all of the sponsorship requirements for their route:

• SNR 5.1. to SNR 5.9. for Senior or Specialist Workers

• GTR 5.1. to GTR 5.7. for Graduate Trainees

• UKX 5.1. to UKX 5.8. for UK Expansion Workers

• SSU 5.1. to SSU 5.7. for Service Suppliers

• SEC 5.1. to SEC 5.7. for Secondment Workers

You must confirm these requirements are met by accessing the Certificate of Sponsorship Checking System.

Valid certificate of sponsorship

The applicant must have a valid certificate of sponsorship for the job they are planning to do. A certificate of sponsorship is only valid if certain requirements are met. The certificate assigned to the applicant must confirm all the details required by paragraph 5.1. of each appendix. You should contact the sponsor to request any missing details.

Licensed sponsor

The sponsor must hold a valid Global Business Mobility sponsor licence for the route they are sponsoring an applicant in. The sponsor must also be A-rated, unless either of the following applies:

• the applicant is applying for an extension to continue working for the same sponsor

• the applicant is the sponsor’s Authorising Officer and is sponsored as a UK Expansion Worker by a sponsor with a provisional rating

The status of a sponsor’s licence is noted on the Certificate of Sponsorship which you should check using the Certificate of Sponsorship Checking System. If needed, you can contact the Sponsor Licensing Unit (SLU) to find out more information about the status of a sponsor’s licence.

UK Expansion Worker sponsors with a ‘provisional rating’

When considering a UK Expansion Worker application, you must check whether the sponsor has a ‘provisional rating’. Sponsors with a provisional rating are only permitted to sponsor the person they have nominated to be the Authorising Officer on their licence. In these circumstances, you must verify that the applicant is the Authorising Officer stated on the sponsor’s licence.

The sponsor’s rating and the details of the Authorising Officer (including biographic information and passport number) can be viewed by accessing the applicant’s Certificate of Sponsorship (CoS) on the CoS checking system.

If the applicant is not the Authorising Officer, you should consider contacting the sponsor to request that they change their Authorising Officer and Level 1 User to be the applicant by requesting a change of circumstances on the sponsor management system. If this is completed, you can continue with the consideration of this application.

If the sponsor does not update their Authorising Officer to be the applicant, or if they withdraw sponsorship for the applicant and sponsor the nominated Authorising Officer instead, this application will not score points for sponsorship and must be refused.

Sponsors that lose their licence

If the applicant’s sponsor loses its licence while the application is under consideration, you have a duty to inform the applicant promptly.

You must only inform the applicant their sponsor no longer has a licence, not the reasons why. The only exception is if the licence was revoked for reasons directly linked to this particular application, and those reasons therefore have particular relevance to the refusal – for example, you are refusing on genuine vacancy grounds (see below) as well as the fact the sponsor is no longer licensed.

Immigration Skills Charge

If the applicant is applying as a Senior or Specialist Worker, the sponsor must have paid any immigration skills charge that applies to the application. You must check the ISC payment is correct. If:

• the sponsor has paid the correct charge, or is exempt, continue with consideration as normal

• the sponsor has underpaid and there are other grounds for refusal which could not be remedied by writing out for further information, you must refuse the application and ensure that ISC non-payment refusal wording is included

• the sponsor has underpaid and you need to write out for further information, or the ISC is the only reason to refuse the application, you must:

  • give the sponsor an opportunity to pay the charge by contacting the ISC Admin Team

  • exclude from the service level agreement as a complex case

  • inform the applicant of the reason why a decision cannot be made within SLA

  • defer the case for 10 UK working days

• the sponsor has overpaid, they will need a partial refund

Genuine vacancy

You must not award points for sponsorship if you have reasonable grounds to believe the job the applicant is being sponsored to do either:

• does not exist

• is a sham (for example, the job exists but the applicant will not be doing it)

• has been created mainly so the applicant can apply for permission

To assess this, you may request additional information (see Requesting more information).

Whether the job has been exaggerated to make it appear to meet the requirements of the Global Business Mobility routes is considered separately, when awarding points for a job at the appropriate skill level.

Genuine vacancy concerns may lead to a compliance visit to the sponsor. Where it is not possible at the outset to decide such applications, they should remain on hold pending the outcome of a compliance visit. You must inform the applicant their application is on hold due to further checks with their sponsor at the same time as you inform the sponsor of those checks, but you must not disclose any as-yet-unproven concerns about the sponsor. If the result is the sponsor’s licence is revoked, you must fully explain any genuine vacancy concerns in the decision letter, and not rely solely on the fact the sponsor does not have a licence.

If you believe the applicant is complicit in being sponsored for a vacancy which is not genuine, you may consider inviting them to attend an interview. You must put your concerns to the applicant in clear language and give them the chance to respond (either in an interview or in writing) before making a decision. If you find the applicant to be complicit, you must include this in the refusal decision. For more details, you should consider the guidance on false representations.

Registering of contracts

If the applicant is applying as a Service Supplier or a Secondment Worker, the sponsor must have a contract with an overseas service provider or business that has been registered with the Home Office. This must be the contract the applicant will be working on whilst in the UK. The contract must have been registered with the Home Office either at the time the sponsor applied for their sponsor licence or prior to allocating the applicant’s certificate of sponsorship. The details of the contract must be on the certificate of sponsorship.

If the applicant is a Service Supplier, the contract must be for a service covered by one of the UK’s international trade agreements (for example, the UK-EU Trade and Cooperation Agreement or the General Agreement on Trade in Services). The trade agreement that the applicant will be providing services under must be currently in force or provisionally applied. The name of the trade agreement that forms the basis for the applicant being sponsored as a Service Supplier can be found by accessing the Certificate of Sponsorship Checking System.

Working for third parties

Where a Senior or Specialist Worker or Graduate Trainee is being supplied to a third-party organisation, their sponsor must retain full responsibility for the duties, functions and outcomes, or outputs of the job.

For example, company A has a contract with a client - company Z - to deliver an IT solution within agreed timescales. An applicant, who is sponsored by company A to work on that project, may be sent to work for the length of the contract at company Z’s premises, but they remain employed by company A throughout the period of the contract. As company A is fully responsible for their duties, functions, outputs or outcomes, company A must be the applicant’s sponsor.

A sponsor can only assign a certificate of sponsorship if they have full responsibility for deciding the duties, functions and outcomes or outputs of the job. Where the applicant is carrying out work for a third party on their sponsor’s behalf, they must be contracted by their sponsor to provide a time-bound, non-routine service or project on their sponsor’s behalf. This means a service or project which has a specific end date, after which it will have ended, or the service provided will no longer be operated by their sponsor or anyone else. It also means an applicant must not be either:

• hired to a third party who is not the sponsor to fill a position with that party, whether temporary or permanent (for example, an agency worker filling a vacancy with a third-party)

• engaging in contract work to undertake an ongoing routine role or to provide an ongoing routine service for a third party who is not their sponsor, regardless of the nature or length of any arrangement between the sponsor and the third party

Compliance with specified employment regulations

You must not award points for sponsorship if you have reasonable grounds to believe the job the applicant is being sponsored to do does not comply with either the National Minimum Wage Regulations or the Working Time Regulations.

If a salary requirement applies to the application and the job meets that requirement, it is likely that the salary will be compliant with the National Minimum Wage Regulations. If the sponsored worker is a Service Supplier or Secondment Worker, the sponsor must provide details of the worker’s salary on the Certificate of Sponsorship, even though there is no salary requirement.

If the information available suggests the job is not compliant with the National Minimum Wage, you should consider whether any exemptions apply and seek further information as needed.

Detailed guidance on the National Minimum Wage requirements can be found at the following:

• Calculating the national minimum wage
• Minimum wage for different types of work
• National Minimum Wage and Living Wage: accommodation
• National Minimum Wage (HMRC manual)

The most well-known aspect of the Working Time Regulations is the maximum weekly working hours. You can check whether the applicant will work hours in excess of the 48-hour maximum by checking the average weekly working hours stated on their Certificate of Sponsorship.

If the information available suggests the job is not compliant with the Working Time Regulations, you should consider whether any exemptions apply and seek further information as needed. If a sponsor states the worker has opted out of the maximum working hours, you should ask for evidence of this.

The regulations also cover other important protections outlined at the links below. If a sponsor claims an exemption applies to any of these protections, you can ask for an explanation and refuse the application if you are not satisfied:

• Holiday entitlement
• Rest breaks at work
• Night working hours

The guidance linked to above may help you in making this assessment. Warning signs to be aware of include:

• long shifts without the daily or weekly rest breaks which workers would normally be entitled to
• claims that work is “unmeasured” for either or both sets of regulations
• average hours agreements which seem unrealistic in the context of the job
• large deductions from salary, for accommodation or other reasons

You should be mindful that both of these regulations are complex and there are a number of exemptions that may apply to an individual case. If you are in doubt, you should consider requesting additional information from the sponsor or seeking advice from the Economic Migration Policy team via the Work and Study Technical Team.

Related content

• Certificate of Sponsorship Checking System
• Requesting more information
• Immigration skills charge
• False representations, deception, false documents, non-disclosure of relevant facts guidance

Overseas Work Requirement

This section explains the overseas work requirement in the Global Business Mobility routes. This requirement establishes that the applicant is currently working for the sponsor or a business linked to the sponsor and that they have a required amount of experience working for that business outside the UK. This applies to all Global Business Mobility routes.

To meet this requirement, you must be satisfied that the application meets the following rules according to their route:

• SNR 5.7. to SNR 5.8. for Senior or Specialist Workers

• GTR 5.6. for Graduate Trainees

• UKX 5.6. to UKX 5.7. for UK Expansion Workers

• SSU 9.1. to SSU 9.2. for Service Suppliers

• SEC 7.1. to SEC 7.3. for Secondment Workers

Applications which do not meet these requirements must be refused. For Senior or Specialist Workers, Graduate Trainees and UK Expansion Workers, these requirements from part of the sponsorship requirements, and therefore applications that fail to meet should not be awarded points for sponsorship.

Current work

Applicants on the Global Business Mobility route must be currently working for the sponsor or a linked business. The type of linked businesses that qualify for this requirement depends on the route as follows:

Global Business Mobility Route	Eligible linked businesses
Senior or Specialist Worker	a business or organisation linked to the sponsor by common ownership or control a business or organisation that has a joint venture with the sponsor on which the applicant is sponsored to work
Graduate Trainee	a business or organisation linked to the sponsor by common ownership or control a business or organisation that has a joint venture with the sponsor on which the applicant is sponsored to work
UK Expansion Worker	a business or organisation linked to the sponsor by common ownership or control
Service Supplier	an overseas service provider that has a contract to supply services to the sponsor on which the applicant will work the applicant’s own self-employed business as a service provider that is contracted to supply services to the sponsor a subcontracting business (including self- employed) that will provide services to thecsponsor via a contractual chain
Secondment Worker	an overseas business that has a contract with the sponsor that forms the basis for the secondment

Length of overseas work

An applicant must have worked for the sponsor and/or any linked businesses outside the UK for a period of at least 12 months (unless the applicant is a Graduate Trainee, a High earner, establishing a UK branch or subsidiary under a specified trade agreement listed below or a Secondment Worker extending their stay: see below). The 12-months outside the UK do not need to be immediately prior to their application, and they don’t need to be consecutive, provided that the applicant was continuously working for the sponsor group from the start of the 12-months to the date of their application.

For example, if an applicant has worked for a sponsor group for 2 years and during that time moved regularly between offices in the UK and overseas, they would qualify provided at least 12 months was spent working outside the UK and they are still working for the sponsor group at the time of their application.

High earners

Senior or Specialist Workers and UK Expansion Workers who are sponsored in jobs with a salary of at least £73,900 (based on a maximum 48-hour week average) must be currently working for the sponsor group but do not need to have worked outside the UK for 12 months.

Graduate trainees

An applicant on the Graduate Trainee route must have worked outside the UK for the sponsor group for a continuous period of at least 3 months. This 3-month period of work must be immediately before the date of application, and it must be continuous with no breaks and cannot include time spent working in the UK.

The sponsor must confirm on the Certificate of Sponsorship that the applicant meets this requirement, and you can request additional evidence if needed.

UK Expansion Workers establishing a UK presence under a specified trade agreement

An applicant on the UK Expansion Worker route does not need to have worked outside the UK for 12 months if any of the following apply:

• the applicant is a Japanese national seeking to establish a UK branch or subsidiary of their sponsor group under the UK-Japan Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement
• the applicant is a national or permanent resident of Australia seeking to establish a UK branch or subsidiary of their sponsor group under the UK-Australia Free Trade Agreement.

Self-employed service suppliers

Where a Service Supplier is a self-employed independent professional, they can meet the overseas work requirement as long as they have been continuously working in the same sector as the service they are providing to the sponsor for the 12 months immediately before the date of application. This work can be both self- employed or employed and in or out of the UK.

Secondment worker extensions

Secondment workers who are applying for permission to stay as a secondment worker to continue working for the same sponsor do not need to meet the overseas work requirement.

Permitted absences

With the exception of Graduate Trainees, if the applicant was absent from work during their period of work for the sponsor group, you must not treat these absences as a break in the applicant’s period of continuous work if the absence was for any of the following reasons:

• 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

• taking part in legally organised industrial action

• jury service

• attending court as a witness

You can therefore consider work outside the UK from both before and after any such absence.

For example, suppose an applicant worked for their sponsor group outside the UK for 6 months before taking parental leave for 1 year, and then returned to work for a further 6 months before applying to transfer to the UK in this route. You can consider the evidence of work from before and after the absence. Since the applicant worked for the sponsor group for 12-months in total and all work was outside the UK, they meet the requirement.

Contractual work

In all cases, time spent working for clients of the sponsor or eligible linked businesses will not break the continuous period of work. Where this work is undertaken outside the UK, it can be counted towards the required time spent working outside the UK.

Evidence of work outside the UK

For Senior or Specialist Workers, Graduate Trainees and UK Expansion Workers, the sponsor must confirm on the certificate of sponsorship that the applicant has the required overseas work experience even if they are a high earner (there is no minimum work experience period for high earners).

Service Suppliers and Secondment Workers must declare they have the required amount of overseas work on the application form.

In both cases, the applicant is not required to supply any additional evidence with their application. If you have reason to doubt the applicant has worked overseas for the required period, you may request further evidence as outlined in Evidence of overseas work and permitted absences.

If the applicant is applying for an extension in the same job, or to do a different job for the same sponsor group, you should not normally request additional information.

Job at an appropriate skill level

This section explains how to assess the skill level requirement for the Global Business Mobility routes. It also explains what to do if the Academic Technology Approval Scheme (ATAS) requirement applies to the application.

The applicant must score 20 points for a job at the appropriate skill level. To award these points, you must be satisfied the applicant is being sponsored in an occupation code listed as being eligible for the Global Business Mobility routes in Table 1 or Table 2 of Appendix Skilled Occupations, unless they are applying as a Service Supplier, in which case they have 2 ways to meet the points requirement.

You must not award points for a job at the appropriate skill level if you are not also awarding the 20 mandatory points for sponsorship.

Exaggerated or incorrect occupation codes

You must not award points for a job at the appropriate skill level if you have reasonable grounds to believe the sponsor has not chosen an appropriate occupation code. Factors which may indicate this could include when:

• the job description appears to be a standard or template response used for other businesses and the application is in a high-risk sector

• the applicant has been refused previously on similar grounds

This is not an exhaustive list.

A sponsor may have chosen a less appropriate occupation code either by accidental error or intentionally. You should request additional information where you have concerns (see Requesting more information), to give the sponsor an opportunity to correct any accidental error and/or address any questions about whether they have misrepresented the job.

You should consider whether the sponsor has chosen a less appropriate occupation code for any of the following reasons:

• to make a job which is not at the appropriate skill level appear more skilled, and therefore eligible under the Global Business Mobility routes

• to be able to pay the applicant a lower going rate

To support this assessment, you may, in particular, consider:

• whether the sponsor has shown a genuine need for the job as described

• whether the applicant has the appropriate skills, qualifications and experience needed to do the job as described

• the sponsor’s history of compliance with the immigration system including, but not limited to, paying its sponsored workers appropriately

• any additional information from the sponsor

This is not an exhaustive list.

Official – sensitive: start of section

The information on this page has been removed as it is restricted for internal Home Office use.

Official – sensitive: end of section

Concerns about exaggerated or incorrect jobs may lead to a compliance visit to the sponsor. Where it is not possible at the outset to decide such applications, they should remain on hold pending the outcome of a compliance visit. You must inform the applicant their application is on hold due to further checks with their sponsor, but you must not disclose any as-yet-unproven concerns about the sponsor. If the result is that the sponsor’s licence is revoked, you must fully explain any concerns in the decision letter, and not rely solely on the fact that the sponsor does not have a licence.

If you consider the applicant is aware their job is not at the appropriate skill level and is complicit in misrepresenting it, you may consider inviting them to attend an interview. If you find they are complicit, you must include this in the refusal decision.

The implications for an applicant of a finding of deception can be significant and is a fact-sensitive issue. If an applicant is lawfully in the UK, the consequences are likely to be serious and to mean you must give the applicant a chance to respond before refusing their application. If the application is for entry clearance, it will not reach the required level of seriousness, because in most such cases a refusal will not change the applicant’s circumstances. For more details, you should consider the guidance on false representations.

Graduate training programme

Applicants applying in the Graduate Trainee route, must be doing a job that is part of a structured graduate training programme, with clearly defined progression towards a managerial or specialist role within the sponsor organisation. The certificate of sponsorship should state that the applicant is a graduate trainee, and the sponsor must be able to provide further details of the training programme if you need further evidence that the application meets this requirement.

Service Suppliers

Applicants applying in the Service Supplier route are able to score points for having a job at an appropriate skill level in 2 different ways.

You should first consider whether the applicant meets the requirements of option A. If they do, the applicant can score 20 points for job at an appropriate skill level. You only need to consider whether they score points under option B if they do not meet the requirements under option A.

If the applicant does not meet the requirements of at least one of these options, they will score no points for job at an appropriate skill level and must be refused.

Option A

Under this option an applicant can be awarded points by being sponsored in an occupation code listed as being eligible for the Global Business Mobility routes in Table 1 or Table 2 of Appendix Skilled Occupations.

The sponsor must have confirmed whether the applicant is being sponsored to work in an occupation listed as being eligible for the Global Business Mobility routes on the Certificate of Sponsorship. You can check this by accessing the Certificate of Sponsorship Checking System. If the Certificate of Sponsorship (CoS) states the job is not ‘at the minimum skill level’ and the occupation code is not in Table 1 or Table 2 of Appendix Skilled Occupations, the applicant does not meet the requirements of Option A.

Option B

Under this option an applicant can be awarded points by meeting all of the following requirements:

• they must have a university degree or equivalent level technical qualification unless an exemption applies (see ‘Degree equivalent technical qualifications and exemptions’ below)

• an applicant must hold any specific professional qualifications or registrations to provide the services in the UK if this is required by UK law or is a sector requirement

• applicants must have 3 years’ professional experience in the sector in which they are supplying services, unless they are supplying chef de cuisine services under the CARIFORUM-UK Economic Partnership Agreement or they are a self-employed independent professional, in which case they must have at least 6 years’ relevant experience

The name of the trade agreement and the relevant industry sector under which the applicant is being sponsored as a Service Supplier can be found by accessing the Certificate of Sponsorship Checking System.

To assess whether the applicant meets the requirements of option B, you should consider the evidence of experience and qualifications they have provided in their application. If no evidence has been provided you should consider contacting the applicant (see Requesting more information).

After reviewing the available evidence and giving the applicant the opportunity to provide additional information, if you are not satisfied they have the required professional experience and qualifications, the applicant does not meet the requirements of Option B.

Degree equivalent technical qualifications and exemptions

When assessing whether a technical qualification held by an applicant is equivalent to a UK degree, you should consider any evidence provided by the sponsor such as a statement of comparability from UK ENIC (formerly UK NARIC).

In addition to other equivalent level technical qualifications, the following qualifications common in Switzerland have been assessed by UK ENIC to be equivalent to a UK degree (names are given in English, German, French and Italian respectively):

• Advanced Federal Diploma of Higher Education (Diplom HF | Diplôme ES | Diploma SSS) delivered by Colleges of Higher Education (Höhere Fachschulen HF | écoles supérieures ES | scuole specializzate superiori SSS).
• Advanced Federal Diploma of Higher Education (Eidgenössisches Diplom | Diplôme fédéral | Diploma federale), awarded after an Advanced Federal Professional Examination (Höhere Fachprüfung | Examen professionnel fédéral supérieur | Esame professionale federale superiore), when awarded from 2014 onwards.
• Federal Diploma of Higher Education, General Foreman Timber Construction (Holzbau-Polier/Holzbau-Polierin mit eidgenössischem Fachausweis | Contremaître charpentière/charpentier avec brevet fédéral | Capa carpentiera/Capo carpentiere con attestato professionale federale)
• Federal Diploma of Higher Education, Chartered Specialist in Accounting and Financial Management (Fachfrau/Fachmann im Finanz und Rechnungswesen mit eidgenössischem Fachausweis | Spécialiste en finance et comptabilité avec brevet federal | Specialista in finanza e contabilità con attestato professionale federale).

Applicants who are providing certain services are exempt from the normal qualification requirements and must instead provide qualifications as shown in the following table:

Service	Qualification
Fashion and modelling	None required
Chef de cuisine	An advanced technical qualification
Entertainment services (excluding audio-visual services under the CARIFORUM-UK Economic Partnership Agreement)	None required
Management consulting services and services related to management consulting (managers and senior consultants)	University degree (equivalent level technical qualification not permitted)
Advertising or translation	Relevant qualifications
Technical testing and analysis	University degree or a relevant technical qualification

ATAS requirement

Applicants must provide a valid ATAS certificate if all of the following apply:

• they are being sponsored in the Global Business Mobility routes by a sponsor which is also a licensed Student sponsor (these will mainly be universities or research institutes)

• they are not one of the exempt nationalities listed in paragraph ATAS 3.1

• their job is in one of the occupation codes listed in paragraph ATAS 1.2(a)

• the job includes an element of PhD-level research in a relevant subject (and these subjects are listed in paragraph ATAS 4.1)

The details are set out in Appendix ATAS. Sponsors should confirm on the applicant’s CoS whether the ATAS requirement applies.

If the first 3 bullet points above apply, but the sponsor has not provided an explanation on the CoS (either in the job description field or as a sponsor note) as to why the ATAS requirement doesn’t apply and the applicant has not provided an ATAS certificate, you should contact the sponsor to confirm whether the requirement applies. If the sponsor fails to provide the necessary confirmation, you should not award points for sponsorship.

If the sponsor confirms the ATAS requirement applies and the applicant has not provided an ATAS certificate, you should consider contacting the applicant (see Requesting more information). Processing an ATAS application normally takes 2 weeks and can take 3 weeks between April and September. You should allow the standard 10 working days for the applicant to respond but consider extending the deadline if the applicant confirms they have submitted their ATAS application and are waiting for a response.

If an applicant does not provide a copy of a valid ATAS certificate when required, you should not award points for a job at an appropriate skill level.

Related content

• Mandatory points requirement
• Sponsorship
• The Certificate of Sponsorship Checking System
• Requesting more information
• False representations, deception, false documents, non-disclosure of relevant facts guidance

Salary at the required level

This section explains how to assess the salary requirements on the Global Business Mobility routes. This section applies to Senior or Specialist Workers, Graduate Trainees and UK Expansion Workers.

The applicant must score 20 points for salary.

You must not award points for a salary at the appropriate level if they are not also awarding the 20 mandatory points for sponsorship.

Assessing salaries

Sponsors must pay applicants a salary that is at or above both:

• the general salary threshold of £48,500 for Senior or Specialist Worker and UK Expansion Workers or £25,410 for Graduate Trainees

• the going rate for Senior or Specialist Workers and UK Expansion Workers or 70% of the going rate for Graduate Trainees

The salary can include only guaranteed basic gross pay and some guaranteed allowances. Other pay and benefits must not be included when assessing salary. Examples of pay and benefits which cannot be included are as follows:

• pay for flexible working where the nature of the job means that hours fluctuate and pay cannot be guaranteed

• additional pay such as shift, overtime or bonus pay, whether or not it is guaranteed

• employer pension and national insurance contributions

• any allowances, other than those specified below in the allowances which can be included section

• in-kind benefits, such as equity shares, health insurance, school or university fees, company cars or food

• one-off payments, such as ‘golden hellos’

• any payments relating to immigration costs, such as the fee or Immigration Health Charge

• payments to cover business expenses, including (but not limited to) travel to and from the applicant’s country of residence, equipment, clothing, travel or subsistence

This is not an exhaustive list. However, if an applicant has chosen to give up part of their basic pay as part of a salary sacrifice scheme, this should not be deducted.

Allowances that can be included

Allowances can be included if they are guaranteed for the duration of the applicant’s permission (such as London weighting). One-off bonuses cannot be included and cannot be pro-rated. The only exceptions to this are for allowances paid as a mobility premium or to cover the additional cost of living in the UK.

The salary stated on the certificate of sponsorship must be the total including gross basic pay and all permitted allowances. The certificate of sponsorship must also provide a separate total of all allowances and an explanation of what those allowances are for. If insufficient information is provided or you are not satisfied that the allowances included in the salary are permissible, you should consider making a request further information.

Limits on accommodation allowances

Where allowances are for the purpose of accommodation, you should only include an amount up to 30% of the total salary package for applicants in the Senior or Specialist Worker and UK Expansion Worker routes, or 40% of the total salary package for applicants in the Graduate Trainee route.

Accommodation allowances example 1

The sponsor offers:

• accommodation allowances: £12,000

• salary and other (non-accommodation) allowances: £35,000

The total salary package the sponsor has offered is: £12,000 + £35,000 = £47,000.

The salary and other (non-accommodation) allowances can be a minimum of 70 per cent of the total package you can take into account. This means that £35,000 is 70 per cent of the maximum package you can take into account. You calculate this maximum package by dividing £35,000 by 70 per cent (or 0.7):

• £35,000 ÷ 0.7 = £50,000

In this example, the total package the sponsor has offered is less than the maximum package you can take into account. In this case you can:

• take into account the whole package

• use the total £47,000 when checking the appropriate rate

• award 20 points for the salary

Accommodation allowances example 2

The sponsor offers:

• accommodation allowances: £22,000

• salary and other (non-accommodation) allowances: £24,500

The total salary package the sponsor has offered is: £22,000 + £24,500 = £46,500.

You calculate the maximum package you can take into account by dividing the salary and other (non-accommodation) allowances by 70 per cent (or 0.7):

• £24,500 ÷ 0.7 = £35,000

In this example the total package the sponsor has offered is more than the maximum package you can take into account. In this case you can:

• only take into account £35,000

• award no points, as it is below the £48,500 threshold for Senior or Specialist Workers and UK Expansion Workers

If the applicant is applying as a Graduate Trainee, you can consider accommodation allowances of up to a maximum of 40% of the gross salary package, instead of 30% for Senior or Specialist Workers and UK Expansion Workers. This is to reflect the higher cost of short-term accommodation.

The general threshold

The general threshold is the minimum salary which applies regardless of the applicant’s occupation code. This is £48,500 for Senior or Specialist Workers and UK Expansion Workers and £25,410 for Graduate Trainees.

The general threshold is the same, regardless of how many hours a week the applicant is sponsored to work. It cannot be pro-rated for part-time work.

However, if the applicant is being sponsored to work more than 48 hours a week, only the salary for the first 48 hours a week can be considered. For example, if the applicant is sponsored to work 60 hours a week for £15 per hour, they will be considered to have a salary of £37,440 (£15 × 48 × 52) per year and not £46,800 (£15 × 60 × 52).

The exception to this is if the applicant’s working hours are not the same each week. In these cases, more than 48 hours in some weeks can be considered towards the salary thresholds, providing the average over a regular cycle (which can be less than, but not more than, 17 weeks) is not more than 48 hours a week.

For example, an applicant who works a pattern of 60 hours a week for £20 per hour for 2 weeks, followed by an unpaid rest week, will be considered to work 40 hours a week on average and have a salary of just £41,600 (£20 × 40 × 52) per year.

Any unpaid rest weeks in these cases will count towards the average when considering whether the salary thresholds are met. They will not count as unpaid absences from employment.

The going rate

The going rate is the minimum salary which applies for a particular occupation code. The going rates are set out in Appendix Skilled Occupations. Applicants must be paid the full going rate if they are Senior or Specialist Workers or UK Expansion Workers or 70% of the going rate if they are Graduate Trainees. There is no reduced going rate for Graduate Trainees working in occupation codes listed in Table 2 of Appendix Skilled Occupations.

Going rates must be pro-rated based on the weekly working hours stated on the certificate of sponsorship.

The going rates in Table 1 of Appendix Skilled Occupations are based on a 37.5-hour week. Hourly rates are shown in brackets. To avoid rounding errors, you should pro- rate the going rate based on the annual figure, rather than the hourly figure. You do this by dividing the annual going rate by 37.5, then multiplying by the weekly hours stated by the sponsor. For example, if the annual going rate is £36,000 and the applicant is sponsored to work a 25-hour week, the pro-rating calculation would be:

£36,000 ÷ 37.5 × 25 = £24,000

The going rates in Table 2 of Appendix Skilled Occupations are based on a 40-hour week (doctors), a 37.5-hour week (NHS Agenda for Change occupations) or the definition of a full-time worker (teaching occupations). The pro-rating calculation must be adjusted accordingly, for example dividing by 40 rather than by 37.5. For teaching occupations (where weekly working hours are not consistent throughout the year, due to term dates), you should ask the sponsor to confirm what proportion of a full-time equivalent (FTE) the applicant is, and pro-rate the going rate accordingly.

The applicant’s full weekly hours must be included when checking their salary against the going rate, even if they work more than 48 hours a week. For example, an applicant who works 60 hours a week in an occupation code with a going rate of £37,500 must be paid £60,000 (£37,500 ÷ 37.5 × 60), not £48,000 (£37,500 ÷ 37.5 × 48).

If the applicant’s salary is less than the pro-rated going rate (or less than 70% of the going rate for Graduate Trainees), no points should be awarded for salary.

Related content

Genuineness requirement

This section explains how to assess the genuineness requirement for applications in the Global Business Mobility routes. When applying for entry clearance or permission to stay, you must be satisfied that the applicant:

• genuinely intends to undertake the role described on the certificate of sponsorship (CoS)
• is capable of undertaking the role described on the CoS
• does not intend to undertake employment other than in the role for which they are being sponsored, or as otherwise permitted within the conditions of grant

To assess this, you may request:

• additional information and evidence, and refuse the application if the information or evidence is not provided (you must receive any documents requested at the address given in the request within 10 working days of the date the request is made)
• the applicant attends an interview, and refuse the application if they fail to comply with such request without giving a reasonable explanation

To make the above assessment, you may take into account the applicant’s:

• knowledge of the role
• relevant experience of the skills needed to do the role
• knowledge of the sponsor in the UK
• explanation of how they were recruited
• any other relevant information

You will not usually need to undertake further checks to establish that these requirements are met. You should ask them to do so only after you have assessed whether the application should be refused with the information already available and when:

• you have concerns individual sponsors are assigning unusually large numbers of CoS for the same type of role
• there are reasonable grounds to suspect the applicant will not be working in the role described on the CoS
• the job description on the CoS is unusual for the route the applicant is applying under
• intelligence suggests applicants are linked to:
  • extremism
  • terrorism
  • modern slavery
  • other illegal activity

Financial requirement

This section explains how to assess the financial requirement (previously known as maintenance) for applications in the Global Business Mobility routes.

An applicant will automatically meet the financial requirement when they are applying for permission to stay in the UK, having been in the UK for at least 12 months with valid permission on the date of application. Please refer to the Financial requirement guidance for information on how to assess this.

If the above does not apply, an applicant can meet the financial requirement by either:

• their A-rated sponsor certifying they will, if necessary, maintain and accommodate the applicant up to the end of the first month of their employment, to an amount of at least £1,270 (this does not apply to UK Expansion Workers)

• providing evidence showing they have held funds of at least £1,270 for a 28- day period as set out in the Financial requirement guidance - (this has reduced from the 90-day requirement which existed for Tier 2 applications)

Related content

• Financial requirement guidance

Maximum length of assignments

This section explains how to assess the whether the applicant has already had the maximum amount of permission in the Global Business Mobility routes and if not, the date at which they will reach that maximum. It also explains what to do when the transitional arrangement for certain Senior or Specialist Workers who had permission under the rules in place before 6 April 2011 applies.

Except where the transitional arrangement applies, the maximum length of time an applicant can hold permission in the Global Business Mobility routes is 5 years in any 6-year period. Applicants who are high earners in the Senior or Specialist Worker route (with a salary over £73,900) can have a maximum of 9 years in any 10- year period. These limits apply to all Global Business Mobility routes, but the grant period for Graduate Trainees, UK Expansion Workers, Service Suppliers and Secondment Workers is restricted further (as explained in the grant or refuse section).

This section explains how to consider an application where the limit is 5 years in 6. To consider an application for a high earner in the Senior or Specialist Worker route, follow the same principles but replace all references to 5 years with 9 years, and all references to 6 years with 10 years.

Assessing the maximum possible stay

You must assess what permission the applicant had in the Global Business Mobility routes in the last 6 years and what permission they could be granted from this application. You will need to refer to the applicant’s immigration history and the work start and end dates on their current certificate of sponsorship. Permission in the Intra Company routes and Tier 2 (Intra-Company Transfer) route (including the Long-term, Short-term and Graduate Trainee subcategories) needs to be included, as does permission in these routes that is extended under section 3C.

If by granting further Global Business Mobility permission, the applicant would have more than 5 years permission in 6, the application must be refused. There are 3 possible scenarios:

• if the applicant has already exceeded the limit, granting further permission is not allowed and the application must be refused

• if the applicant has had precisely 5 years permission in Global Business Mobility routes, Intra-Company routes and Tier 2 (Intra-Company Transfer) in the last 6 years, the application must be refused unless they did not have permission in these routes for the 12 months ending on the new work start date (and granting further permission would not therefore exceed the limit)

• if the applicant has not yet reached the limit, you will need to calculate the maximum possible stay the applicant can have.

Global Business Mobility permission calculator

You can use the Global Business Mobility permission calculator tool to assist with your assessment of the maximum length of assignments requirement. This will calculate whether the applicant has already reached the limit and the date of the applicant’s maximum possible stay.

Manual permission calculation

If you need to manually calculate whether an applicant meets the maximum length of assignments requirement, you should take the following steps:

Step 1

Look at the applicant’s immigration history for the 12 months ending on the work start date on their current certificate of sponsorship:

• if the applicant did not have permission in the Global Business Mobility routes, Intra-Company routes or Tier 2 (Intra-Company Transfer) route in this period, the applicant meets the requirement – their maximum possible stay will be 5 years from the start date on their certificate of sponsorship

• if the applicant has or last had permission in the Global Business Mobility routes, Intra-Company routes or Tier 2 (Intra-Company Transfer) route and is extending their stay in the Global Business Mobility routes go to step 2

• if the applicant had permission in the Global Business Mobility routes, Intra- Company routes or Tier 2 (Intra-Company Transfer) route in the 12-month period but is not extending, go to step 4

Step 2

Find the date when the applicant entered into the Global Business Mobility routes, Intra-Company routes or Tier 2 (Intra-Company Transfer) route for their current period of permission (if they have not extended previously, this will be the start of their last permission):

• if the date when the applicant first entered into the Global Business Mobility routes, Intra-Company routes or Tier 2 (Intra-Company Transfer) route is 5 years ago or more, the applicant has already reached the maximum length of assignments and must be refused

• if date is less than 5 years ago, go to step 3

Step 3

Look at the applicant’s immigration history for the 12 months ending on the date they originally entered into the Global Business Mobility routes, Intra-Company routes or Tier 2 (Intra-Company Transfer) route:

• if the applicant did not have permission in the Global Business Mobility routes, Intra-company routes or Tier 2 (Intra-Company Transfer) route in this period, their maximum possible stay will be 5 years from the date they originally entered into the Global Business Mobility routes, Intra-Company routes or Tier 2 (Intra-Company Transfer) route: this will normally be true for applicants transitioning from Tier 2 (Intra-Company Transfer) due to the cooling off period)

• if the applicant had permission in the Global Business Mobility routes, Intra- Company routes or Tier 2 (Intra-Company Transfer) route in the 12-month period above, go to step 4

Step 4

Look at the applicant’s immigration history for the 6 years ending on the work start date of their current certificate of sponsorship. Work backwards from the end of that period (the date their new work starts), adding up the number of days when they did not have permission in the Global Business Mobility routes, Intra- company routes or Tier 2 (Intra-Company Transfer) route until you reach 365 days, then make a note of that date (you may need to use a date duration calculator such as that found on timeanddate.com to help you):

• if the applicant had less than 365 days outside the Global Business Mobility routes, Intra-Company Routes and Tier 2 (Intra-Company Transfer) route in the last 6 years, they have already reached the maximum length of assignments and must be refused

• if the applicant had at least 365 days outside the Global Business Mobility routes, Intra-Company routes and Tier 2 (Intra-Company Transfer) route in that period, their maximum possible stay will be to the date 6 years from the date you noted

Previous curtailment

Where an applicant’s previous permission in the Global Business Mobility routes, Intra-Company routes or Tier 2 (Intra-Company Transfer) route was curtailed, you should use the curtailment date in place of the original end date for that permission. In these scenarios, you should be mindful of whether the applicant remained in the UK with a subsequent grant of permission. There may be a period of 3C leave between the curtailment date and the following grant date that should be considered as permission in the Global Business Mobility routes, Intra-Company routes or Tier 2 (Intra-Company Transfer) route.

What to do when the maximum possible stay has passed

In some circumstances, the maximum possible stay calculated will fall in the past. This normally happens only when there has been some delay that results in the decision being made after the work start date on the certificate of sponsorship.

If this happens, you will be unable to grant further permission in the Global Business Mobility routes and the application must be refused. If the application is for permission to stay and the delays were for reasons outside the applicant’s control, you may consider granting exceptional leave as described in the Grant or refuse section.

Work end date is later than the maximum possible stay

The sponsor may have requested a work end date that is after the maximum possible stay you have calculated. In these cases, if the applicant is a Senior or Specialist Worker, UK Expansion Worker, Service Supplier or Secondment Worker, they can still meet the maximum length of assignments requirement because permission will be granted to the maximum possible stay rather than the requested end date.

However, because Graduate Trainees are undertaking structured training programmes, applicants would be unable to complete the programme if they were not granted permission to the required end date. Therefore, these applicants do not meet the maximum length of assignments requirement and must be refused if the maximum possible stay is sooner than the work end date.

Transitional arrangement: exemption for Senior or Specialist Workers who had permission under the rules in place before 6 April 2011

The maximum length of assignment rules do not apply to applicants who meet all of the following requirements:

• they are applying for permission to stay on the Senior or Specialist Worker route

• they were granted permission on the Tier 2 Intra-Company Transfer route under the rules in place before 6 April 2011 or as a Work Permit holder

• they have continuously had permission as a Senior or Specialist Worker, Intra- Company Transfer or Work Permit holder since they were granted that permission (including any period of overstaying disregarded under paragraph 39E)

Workers who meet all of these requirements can apply for permission to stay for up to 5 years at a time. They can continue to apply for permission to stay under this provision for as long as they continue to qualify.

Related content

Changes of employment

This section explains when a Global Business Mobility worker must make a change of employment application and how to consider these applications.

When a change of employment application is needed

The circumstances where Global Business Mobility worker’s job can change without needing a fresh application are set out in Part 9 of the Immigration Rules (paragraphs 9.29.1 to 9.31.3). Other changes in job mean the Global Business Mobility worker must re-apply with a new certificate of sponsorship for their new job. This is referred to as a ‘change of employment’ application.

A person must make a change of employment application if they:

• change employer

• remain with the same employer and:

  • change their core duties which means their new job is in a different occupation code to the one stated on their original Certificate of Sponsorship

  • they are a high earner in the Senior or Specialist Worker route and their salary is reduced to an amount lower than the high earner threshold that applied when they made their application

A person does not need to make a change of employment application if:

• they are staying with the same employer and changing their job to one in the same occupation code

• their sponsor changes but they remain with the same employer

• there is a change of occupation code which is due only to reclassification within the standard occupation code (SOC) system by the Office for National Statistics

• their basic pay increases

• they are moving under Transfer of Undertakings (Protection of Employment) (TUPE) arrangements, equivalent statutory transfer schemes, or the Cabinet Office Statement of Practice on Staff Transfers in the Public Sector due to a takeover, merger or de-merger under TUPE (or similar) protection they change jobs, the new job is in the same occupation code and they would still score the same points if they were to make a new Global Business Mobility application

• their pay was reduced or stopped during a period of absence of less than 4 weeks in a calendar year or (if longer than 4 weeks in a calendar year) for a reason listed in paragraph 9.30.1. of Part 9 of the Immigration Rules

• their salary is reduced but this coincides with a period where they are not physically in the UK

• they are a Graduate Trainee and they change job/salary with the same sponsor, provided it’s a role that is part of the structured graduate training programme and the sponsor has notified us

• their salary is reduced, but they would still score the same points if they were to make a new Global Business Mobility application under the rules currently in place

Sponsors must still notify UKVI of any of the above changes (other than basic pay increases due to annual increments or temporary salary reductions permitted under the Sponsor guidance).

If the applicant has been subject to a transfer under TUPE (or similar as listed above), the sponsor licence unit will check the transfer was done correctly. They will update the applicant’s ATLAS or CRS record with the new sponsors details.

Considering a change of employment application

You must consider a change of employment application in the same way as an initial application.

The applicant must:

• provide a new certificate of sponsorship from their new sponsor

• meet all the suitability and eligibility requirements

Related content

Supplementary employment

This section explains supplementary employment in the Global Business Mobility routes.

Globally Business Mobility workers cannot normally undertake supplementary employment.

Transitional supplementary employment

Applicants in the Senior or Specialist Worker route that were previously granted permission in the Intra-Company routes under the rules in force before 11 April 2022 and since then has continuously had permission as a Senior or Specialist Worker (including any period of overstaying disregarded under paragraph 39E) are able to carry out supplementary employment in addition to the job specified on their certificate of sponsorship, providing the supplementary work is:

• in either a job on the shortage occupation list or a job in the same occupation code as the job for which the certificate of sponsorship was assigned

• no more than 20 hours a week

• outside the working hours covered by the certificate of sponsorship

If the extra work meets the above requirements, the applicant does not need to inform the Home Office before taking extra work.

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Grant or refuse

This section tells you how to grant or refuse an application under the Global Business Mobility routes.

The actions you must take will differ dependant on the type of application under consideration:

• entry clearance

• entry at UK port

• leave to remain

Dates of permission granted

You should grant entry clearance with effect from either the date of decision or a date requested by the applicant, whichever is later.

Permission to stay should be granted with effect from the date of decision.

End date for Senior or Specialist Workers

The end date for Senior or Specialist Worker applicants will be whichever is sooner of:

• the work end date on the certificate of sponsorship plus 14 days

• the date 5 years after the work start date on the certificate of sponsorship

• the date at which they will reach the maximum length of assignments under Global Business Mobility routes

If the end date on the certificate of sponsorship passed 14 or more days before you make the decision, or the applicant has already reached their maximum length of assignments, you cannot grant permission.

Where the transitional arrangement for Senior or Specialist Workers who had permission under the rules in place before 6 April 2011 applies, the end date will be whichever is the sooner of:

• 14 days after the end date of the job detailed in the certificate of sponsorship

• the date 5 years after the start date of the job detailed in the certificate of sponsorship

For permission to stay applications, you may exceptionally grant 14 days permission to stay, to allow the migrant to make a further application or leave the UK without becoming an overstayer. You should only do this because of delays outside the applicant’s control, such as

• Home Office process delays

• suspension then reinstatement of their sponsor’s licence

End date for Graduate Trainees

The end date for Graduate Trainee applicants will be whichever is sooner of:

• the work end date on the certificate of sponsorship plus 14 days

• the date 1 year after the work start date on the certificate of sponsorship

• the date at which they will reach the maximum length of assignments under Global Business Mobility routes If the end date on the certificate of sponsorship passed 14 or more days before you make the decision, you cannot grant permission

For applications for permission to stay, you may exceptionally grant 14 days permission to stay to allow the applicant to make a further application or leave the UK without becoming an overstayer. You should only do this because of delays outside the applicant’s control, such as:

• Home Office process delays

• suspension then reinstatement of their sponsor’s licence

End date for UK Expansion Workers

The end date for UK Expansion Worker applicants will be whichever is sooner of:

• the work end date on the certificate of sponsorship plus 14 days

• the date 1 year after the work start date on the certificate of sponsorship

• the date at which the applicant will have had continuous permission as a UK Expansion Worker totalling 2 years

• the date at which they will reach the maximum length of assignments under Global Business Mobility routes

If the end date on the certificate of sponsorship passed 14 or more days before you make the decision, you cannot grant permission.

For applications for permission to stay, you may exceptionally grant 14 days permission to stay to allow the applicant to make a further application or leave the UK without becoming an overstayer. You should only do this because of delays outside the applicant’s control, such as:

• Home Office process delays

• suspension then reinstatement of their sponsor’s licence

End date for Service Suppliers

If applying for entry clearance, the end date for Service Supplier applicants will be whichever is sooner of:

• the work end date on the certificate of sponsorship plus 14 days

• the date at which they will reach the maximum length of assignments under Global Business Mobility routes

• the maximum single assignment period which is:

  • 12 months if providing services under the UK-EU Trade and Cooperation Agreements, the Temporary Agreement between the Swiss Confederation and the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland on Services Mobility, or the Free Trade Agreement between the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and Australia, or the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP), and is a person included in the definition of ‘business person’ under Article 12.1 of that agreement

  • 6 months in all other cases

If applying for permission to stay, the end date for Service Supplier applicants will be whichever is sooner of:

• the work end date on the certificate of sponsorship plus 14 days

• the date at which they will reach the maximum length of assignments under Global Business Mobility routes

• the maximum single assignment period which is:

  • the difference between the period the applicant has already spent in the UK since their last grant of permission as a Service Supplier and 12 months if supplying services under the UK-EU Trade and Cooperation Agreement, the Temporary Agreement between the Swiss Confederation and the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland on Services Mobility or the Free Trade Agreement between the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and Australia
  • the difference between the period the applicant has already spent in the UK since their last grant of permission as a Service Supplier and 12 months if supplying services covered by a relevant commitment in the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP their last grant of permission as a Service Supplier and 12 months if supplying services covered by a relevant commitment in the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP
  • the difference between the period the applicant has already spent in the UK since their last grant of permission as a Service Supplier and 6 months in all other cases

If the end date on the certificate of sponsorship passed 14 or more days before you make the decision, you cannot grant permission.

For applications for permission to stay, you may exceptionally grant 14 days permission to stay to allow the applicant to make a further application or leave the UK without becoming an overstayer. You should only do this because of delays outside the applicant’s control, such as:

• Home Office process delays

• suspension then reinstatement of their sponsor’s licence

End date for Secondment Workers

The end date for Secondment Worker applicants will be whichever is sooner of:

• the work end date on the certificate of sponsorship plus 14 days

• the date 1 year after the work start date on the certificate of sponsorship

• the date at which the applicant will have had a continuous permission as a Secondment Worker totalling 2 years

• the date at which they will reach the maximum length of assignments under Global Business Mobility routes

If the end date on the certificate of sponsorship passed 14 or more days before you make the decision, you cannot grant permission.

For applications for permission to stay, you may exceptionally grant 14 days permission to stay to allow the applicant to make a further application or leave the UK without becoming an overstayer. You should only do this because of delays outside the applicant’s control, such as:

• Home Office process delays

• suspension then reinstatement of their sponsor’s licence

Irish citizens

Irish citizens are not eligible to apply for permission under the immigration rules. You must reject any application for a visa from an Irish citizen as invalid except where they are subject to:

• a deportation order made under section 5(1) of the Immigration Act 1971

• an exclusion decision, or an exclusion order made under regulation 23(5) of the Immigration (European Economic Area) Regulations 2016

• a travel ban implemented under section 8B of the Immigration Act 1971

If an Irish citizen falls within one of the above categories, you should consider their application in line with the rules in the same way as any other applicant.

Digital status

European Economic Area (EEA) and Swiss nationals making an application using the UK Immigration: ID Check app will be given digital status if they are granted permission.

Other EEA, Swiss and non-EEA nationals will be given a biometric residence permit if they are granted permission for longer than 6 months.

Grant or refuse entry clearance

This section tells you how to grant or refuse entry clearance for the Global Business Mobility routes.

Endorsements

You must use one of the following endorsements:

• GLOBAL BUSINESS MOBILITY SENIOR OR SPECIALIST WORKER

• GLOBAL BUSINESS MOBILITY GRADUATE TRAINEE

• GLOBAL BUSINESS MOBILITY UK EXPANSION WORKER

• GLOBAL BUSINESS MOBILITY SERVICE SUPPLIER

• GLOBAL BUSINESS MOBILITY SECONDMENT WORKER

The category is ‘D’.

Biometric information for entry clearance

Successful applicants for entry clearance are given either a digital status or a biometric resident permit (BRP). If the entry clearance application is successful, you must give those given a BRP a 90-day visa to allow them to collect their BRP after they have arrived in the UK.

Refuse entry clearance

You must refuse the application if you are not satisfied that the applicant has met all the suitability and eligibility requirements of the Global Business Mobility route they have applied for, or if any of the grounds for refusal in Part 9 of the Immigration Rules apply.

Rights of appeal and administrative review - out of country applications

If an application for entry clearance is refused, the applicant cannot appeal against our decision. However, if they think the Home Office has made an error in considering their application, they can apply for an administrative review.

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Grant or refuse entry at a UK port

You must refuse under paragraph 9.14.1 of the Immigration Rules if someone seeks entry under any of the Global Business Mobility routes without a valid UK entry clearance or permission to stay for that purpose.

If you are considering cancelling an applicant’s entry clearance or permission to stay under the Global Business Mobility routes, you must refer to Part 9 of the Immigration Rules.

Related content

Grant or refuse permission to stay

This section tells you how to grant or refuse permission to stay on the Global Business Mobility routes.

Biometric information

Successful applicants for permission to stay are given either a digital status or a biometric resident permit (BRP).

European Economic Area (EEA) and Swiss nationals making an application using the UK Immigration: ID Check app will be given digital status if they are granted permission.

Other EEA, Swiss and non-EEA nationals will be given a biometric residence permit if they are granted permission for longer than 6 months. You must check the biometric residence permit (BRP) system before you submit a BRP card production request. Further details can be found in the Biometric information: case working guidance.

Rights of appeal and administrative review

If an application for permission to stay is refused, applicants cannot exercise a right of appeal in country. However, if they think the Home Office has made an error in considering their application, they can apply for an administrative review. Details of how to make an administrative review application must be included in the decision letter.

If the applicant raises consideration of any of human rights, section 47 and section 55, see:

• Safeguard and promote child welfare

• Section 55 and the child’s best interests

• Human rights considerations: Article 8

• ISG 01 19 13 Removal decisions under section 47 of the Immigration, Asylum and Nationality Act 2006

Related content

Conditions of stay

This section tells you about the conditions that an applicant is subject to if they are granted permission in the Global Business Mobility routes.

Applicants granted entry clearance or permission to stay in a Global Business Mobility route are subject to the following conditions:

• they cannot take employment except:

  • working for the sponsor in the job recorded on their certificate of sponsorship

  • supplementary employment (for Senior and Specialist Workers who were previously granted permission under the rules in place before 11 April 2022)

  • voluntary work

  • working out a contractual notice period for any job they were lawfully working in on the date of application (this does not apply to Service Suppliers)

• they have no access to public funds

• study (with no limit on the number of study hours if it does not interfere with the job they have been sponsored to do) subject to the below restrictions

The applicant can do voluntary work in any sector. They must not be paid or receive other money for the voluntary work, except reasonable expenses as described in section 44 of the National Minimum Wage Act.

Applicants in the Global Business Mobility routes are allowed to study, but they must obtain an Academic Technology Approval Scheme (ATAS) certificate for the course or research they intend to undertake and present it to their education provider before they start their study if:

• they are not a national of the countries listed in Appendix ATAS 3.1

• their course is in a subject listed in Appendix ATAS 4.1 and it:

  • leads to a master’s degree

  • leads to a PhD

  • leads to another postgraduate qualification

  • is a period of study or research which is part of an overseas postgraduate qualification

If their course (or research) completion date is postponed or delayed for more than 3 calendar months or there are any changes to the course contents (or the research proposal), they must apply for a new ATAS certificate within 28 calendar days and must provide a printout of the new certificate to their education provider promptly.

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The certificate of sponsorship checking system

This section tells you how to check a certificate of sponsorship (CoS) using the checking system and how to record it as used on the system.

How to search the certificate of sponsorship checking system

You can access the checking system using their username and password. To access the search function, click ‘CoS check’. The checker times out every 30 minutes, so you may need to log in again after this time.

You can search the system using the:

• certificate of sponsorship reference number, by entering it into the relevant screen

• applicant’s details

• sponsor’s details

Searching using the applicant’s details

If you select this option, you can search by:

• passport or travel document number

• family name

• given name

• nationality

• date of birth

• gender

The more information is provided, the narrower the search will be.

Searching using the sponsor’s details

If this option is selected, you can search by:

• sponsor licence number

• sponsor name

• sponsor address

• postcode

When you check the certificate of sponsorship, you must:

• find it on the certificate of sponsorship checking system

• check the case type given on the caseworking system matches the type of certificate of sponsorship issued - this is on the top of the certificate

• record it as used in all approval and refusal cases

• not mark it as ‘used’ if you are rejecting the application as invalid, or withdrawing or voiding the application, or the applicant is varying it to another route, because no decision has been made and they could use it again

Check the current status of the certificate of sponsorship

Status of certificate of sponsorship on the checking system	What you must do
Assigned	Continue to assess the application.
Suspended	not decide the case keep it on hold contact the sponsor licensing unit (SLU) to find out if they will be re- instating the sponsor or if it will be suspended indefinitely, and what information you can share with the applicant If they do not issue a new certificate of sponsorship, you must refuse the application.
Withdrawn	Refuse the application if the sponsor does not assign another certificate of sponsorship because it is no longer valid.
Used	Check to see if the sponsor has assigned a new certificate of sponsorship. If not, you must refuse the application because there is no valid certificate of sponsorship.

Requesting more information

This section tells you about requesting more information or supporting documents related to Global Business Mobility applications.

Applicants and their sponsors should provide all the necessary evidence and information with the application and certificate of sponsorship. If, however, there is a clear error or omission, it may be appropriate for you to discuss the application with a manager or technical expert to consider contacting the applicant and/or their sponsor to invite them to provide additional evidence or information. For more information see the Evidential flexibility guidance.

Taking a fair and proportionate approach to assessment of evidence

You must review the information on the application form and other available evidence before deciding whether you are satisfied on the balance of probabilities (it is more likely than not) a requirement is met.

If the evidence with the application is meant to show the requirement is met and you are not satisfied the evidence is genuine, you should consider the guidance on false representations.

Official – sensitive: start of section

The information on this page has been removed as it is restricted for internal Home Office use.

Official – sensitive: end of section

Format of evidence

The immigration rules no longer set out specific format requirements for most documents. This does not mean format is irrelevant – it will help you assess if a piece of evidence is genuine and if it provides the information needed for you to be satisfied a requirement is met. You must not refuse an application because the evidence is not in a particular format but may request alternative or additional evidence if you are not satisfied what the applicant (or their sponsor) has provided shows the requirements of the rules are met.

If evidence, such as a bank letter, does not include the information you would normally expect, you should consider whether to take further action to verify it.

Where evidence is missing or inadequate

The applicant will be told what evidence to provide as part of the application process. However, sometimes evidence is missing or inadequate to enable you to assess whether the financial requirement is met.

You should consider seeking further information or making verification checks when, for example:

• evidence is missing (for example a missing page from a series) you believe the applicant has, or could obtain

• evidence is inadequate but could be clarified, for example, if a letter from an official financial sponsor does not include all the information you would expect

You should check any discrepancies about information on the certificate of sponsorship with the sponsor.

You may decide to ask for further information from the applicant, sponsor, or issuing institution (for example, the bank which issued the applicant’s financial documents) or make verification checks in other cases if you think it would help assess whether the requirements are met. If you are not sure whether this would help, you should discuss this with a manager.

When contacting the applicant or sponsor, they should be given 10 UK working days in which to provide a response.

You do not need to contact the applicant or sponsor if evidence is missing or inadequate, but:

• you do not need the information because you can find it elsewhere, for example, from the certificate of sponsorship

• receiving it would make no difference to the decision (for example because you would still refuse the application for other reasons)

If the evidence supplied is inadequate, you do not have to offer the applicant an opportunity to provide different evidence. For example, if the applicant provides bank statements and they do not show the required level of funds or the evidence is not sufficient, you do not need to check whether the applicant has another bank account which might meet the requirement.

Failure to supply requested information

If you request additional information from the applicant or their sponsor, you should ask them to provide it, or an explanation why they are unable to, within 10 working days of the date you send the request letter.

If you do not receive the requested information in this timeframe, you must assess whether any excuse provided is reasonable and if so, you should give the applicant more time to respond. If the applicant does not provide a reason or the reasons given are not satisfactory, you may refuse the application.

Immigration skills charge

This section only applies to applications from Senior or Specialist Workers and tells you how to check the sponsor has paid the immigration skills charge (ISC). It also explains how to request a top-up payment or refund through the ISC admin team.

Checking the sponsor has paid the ISC

The ISC payment is linked to the assignment of the certificate of sponsorship, not the application for entry clearance or permission to stay. It is paid by the sponsor.

The charge applies when the sponsor assigns a certificate of sponsorship to a migrant worker under the Skilled Worker or the Senior or Specialist Worker routes.

An application is exempt from the ISC if any of the following apply:

• the applicant is seeking entry clearance for less than 6 months

• the job is a PhD-level occupation under SOC codes 2111, 2112, 2113, 2114, 2119, 2150 or 2311

• the job is in SOC codes 2444 (Clergy), 3441 (Sports Players) or 3442 (Sports coaches, instructors and officials) (note these occupations are not eligible for Global Business Mobility and must apply under the T2 Sportsperson or T2 Minister of Religion route as appropriate)

• the applicant currently has permission for the purpose of study (is switching from the Tier 4 (General) route or the Student route)

• the applicant was previously exempt having switched from the Tier 4 (General) or the Student route and is now applying to extend their permission in the same role with the same sponsor

• the sponsor is the same as on the applicant’s previous application and the period covered by the new certificate of sponsorship overlaps the period covered by the previous certificate of sponsorship (the exemption only covers the overlap; the sponsor must pay the ISC to cover any extra time beyond the overlap)

• the applicant initially entered Tier 2 (General) or Tier 2 (Intra-Company Transfer) with a certificate of sponsorship assigned before 6 April 2017 and has held continuous permission ever since under:

  • Tier 2 (General)

  • Tier 2 (Intra-Company Transfer)

  • Skilled Worker

  • Intra-Company Transfer

  • Senior or Specialist Worker

• the worker is covered by the UK-EU Trade and Cooperation Agreement: to be covered, all of the following must apply:

  • the Certificate of Sponsorship (CoS) was assigned on or after 1 January 2023

  • the worker is a national of an EU country (does not include Iceland, Liechtenstein or Norway) or is a Latvian non-citizen

  • the worker has been assigned to the UK by a business established in the EU, and which forms part of the same sponsor group

• the end date of the assignment, as specified on the CoS, is no more than 36 months after the start date

If an exemption applies, the sponsor should have used an ISC exempt certificate of sponsorship and provided details of the exemption, such as confirming that the UK- EU Trade and Cooperation Agreement exemption applies and providing the location in the EU of the business that assigned the worker to the UK.

Latvian non-citizens and the EU ISC exemption

If a sponsor claims the UK-EU Trade and Cooperation Agreement exemption applies and that the worker is a Latvian non-citizen, you should confirm they hold a Latvian non-citizen’s passport or are otherwise entitled to one. This will normally be the travel document they have supplied with their application.

Charging costs

This section explains how much a sponsor is charged and the length of employment given on the certificate of sponsorship.

Applications which do not fall under an exemption attract a fee based on the type of sponsor and the length of the certificate of sponsorship.

A sponsor is eligible to pay the small or charitable sponsor ISC charge if it has charitable status or is subject to the small companies’ regime as set out in chapter one, paragraphs 381-384 of the Companies Act 2006 or is a person who employs no more than 50 employees. This is consistent with the differential rate that sponsors currently pay for a Senior or Specialist Worker sponsor licence. If the sponsor does not pay the charge or does not pay the right amount, the certificate of sponsorship is not valid.

To establish whether the sponsor has paid the correct charge, you must:

• check the ISC payment amount using the Certificate of Sponsorship (CoS) checker

• use the work start and end dates to determine the length of employment then use the below table to ensure the correct payment has been made:

Work start and end dates	Small or charitable sponsor	Medium or large sponsor
12 months or less	£364	£1,000
More than 12 months, but no more than 18 months	£546	£1,500
More than 18 months, but no more than 24 months	£728	£2,000
More than 24 months, but no more than 30 months	£910	£2,500
More than 30 months, but no more than 36 months	£1,092	£3,000
More than 36 months, but no more than 42 months	£1,274	£3,500
More than 42 months, but no more than 48 months	£1,456	£4,000
More than 48 months, but no more than 54 months	£1,638	£4,500
More than 54 months, but no more than 60 months	£1,820	£5,000

Contacting the ISC admin team

You will need to email the ISC Admin Team or ISC Admin Team in the Global Address List (GAL) whenever the sponsor needs to pay either:

• the full charge

• a top-up payment

You must also contact the ISC Admin Team where a partial refund is required.

You must you send all emails from your Team Mailbox and format the subject heading of your email as below:

‘Department name – CID reference – CoS reference – action required’ For example:

‘PSC – 17571913 - E4G7TK6D12M0J1 – partial refund’

‘SKILLED WORKER – 1968524 – 54JGS5451PO032 – top up payment’

In the body of the email, you will need to confirm:

• the sponsor

• certificate of sponsorship reference number

• applicant’s details

• reason for top-up / refund

• top-up / refund value

The ISC Admin Team will reply to your team mailbox to confirm the sponsor has made the correct payment or after 10 UK working days if they haven’t paid in full.

Further details on ISC, including a list of frequently asked questions, is included in separate Immigration Skills Charge process guidance.

Sponsor pays top-up after write out

Once the sponsor has paid the correct charge, you must complete consideration of the case as normal.

Granting a shorter period of permission

If you grant an applicant a shorter period of permission than they requested, the sponsor will need a partial refund. You must:

• send e-mail to the ISC Admin Team to request a partial refund using the agreed naming convention confirming the sponsor, certificate of sponsorship reference number, applicant’s details, reason for refund and refund value

• add Admin Event ‘ISC Partial Refund – migrant granted lesser period of leave’ to CID

Granting leave where sponsor has overpaid

If you grant an applicant leave but the sponsor has overpaid the ISC, such as if the sponsor paid the large sponsor payment when they qualify as a charity, the sponsor will need a partial refund. You must:

• email the ISC Admin Team to request a partial refund using the agreed naming convention confirming the sponsor, certificate of sponsorship reference number, applicant’s details, reason for refund and refund value

• add Admin Event ‘ISC Partial Refund – overpayment’ to CID

Refusing the application

If you refuse the application and the sponsor is due a full refund, you do not need to request a refund. The refund will be picked up by the ISC Admin Team using Management Information (MI).

If the sponsor does not pay the top-up after write out

You must continue with consideration the application. The appropriate Admin Event must be added to CID when refusing case, for example:

• ‘Refusal Reason – ISC only’

• where the only ground for refusal is the sponsor has not paid the necessary ISC and we have given them at least 10 UK working days from the date of the appointment / initial case consideration to pay it

• ‘Refusal Reason – ISC plus other’

• where the sponsor has paid the incorrect ISC but this is not the only reason for refusing the application

Related content

• Immigration Skills Charge process guidance

Evidence of overseas work and permitted absences

This section tells you what documents an applicant should be able to provide to show they have worked outside the UK for the sponsor and linked businesses for the period required as outlined in the overseas work requirement section of this guidance.

Their evidence should show they have worked for the sponsor and/or any eligible linked businesses outside the UK for at least the required period (usually 12 months), and that from the start of that period to the date of application, they have continuously worked for the sponsor and any linked businesses (whether in or out of the UK).

If there were any breaks in the continuous period of work, the applicant must be able to demonstrate that these were for permitted absences. An applicant who has undertaken permitted absences must still demonstrate they accumulated the required amount of overseas work for the sponsor and linked businesses.

You should request information in accordance with this guidance: Requesting more information.

Evidence of work

If required, the applicant must be able to supply documents to show they have worked for the sponsor and/or linked businesses for the required period. These documents should cover the whole period from the first month working outside the UK to the date of application (with the last document dated no more than 31 days before the date of application). This will normally be in the form of:

• payslips: these must be formal payslips issued by the employer or linked overseas business showing the employer’s name - if payslips are printouts of online payslips, they must provide a letter from the employer, confirming the information on the payslips is accurate; this letter can be posted, faxed or scanned and emailed to you - the letter must be on company headed paper, and must be signed by a senior official

• personal bank or building society statements: these must clearly show the applicant’s name, account number, date of statement, the financial institution’s name and logo and transactions between the applicant and their sponsor covering the full specified period:

  • you can accept ad hoc bank statements printed on the bank’s letterhead as evidence (this does not include mini-statements from automatic teller machines (ATMs))

  • you can accept electronic bank statements if they contain all of the details listed above - applicants must also provide a supporting letter from their bank, on company headed paper, confirming the authenticity of the statements and with the official stamp of the bank on every page of the electronic bank statements

• building society passbooks: these must clearly show the applicant’s name, account number, financial institution’s name and logo, and transactions between the applicant and their sponsor or linked business covering the full specified period immediately before the date of the application

If evidence of work is not available in the above format, the applicant may provide alternative evidence (see missing evidence below).

Sponsors of Senior or Specialist Workers, Graduate Trainees and UK Expansion Workers are required to retain evidence to show that the applicant has the required level of experience. If they are not able to supply this evidence, they may be in breach of their sponsor duties.

Evidence of self-employment for Service Suppliers

Service suppliers who are self-employed independent professionals must have worked in sectors relevant to the service they will provide for at least 12 months immediately before they apply. This can include both employed work and self- employed work. If you request evidence of a service supplier’s professional experience, you should request they evidence their employed work as outlined above. Any self-employed work should be evidenced by the following:

• invoices for work done

• a copy of the accounts of the business

• an accountant’s letter confirming the activity of the business and the profits achieved

• leases on business premises (where applicable)

• advertisements and publicity material for the business

• business bank statements and/or personal bank statements to show the receipt of the income of the business

Permitted absences

If you ask the applicant to provide evidence of their overseas work, you must, at the same time, ask the applicant to provide evidence that any absences from that work are permitted. This can include the following:

• 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

• taking part in legally organised industrial action

• jury service

• attending court as a witness

Evidence of statutory maternity, paternity, parental, shared parental, or adoption leave

The applicant should normally evidence these absences by providing 2 of the following:

• birth or adoption certificates, containing the names of the parents or adoptive parents of the child for whom the leave was taken

• a letter from their sponsor or linked overseas business, on company headed paper, confirming the start and end dates of leave

• payslips or personal bank or building society statements or building society passbook covering the entire period of leave, as well as the 12 months working, showing statutory maternity, paternity, parental, shared parental, or adoption payments to the applicant (if the applicant received such payments)

Evidence of sick leave

The applicant should normally evidence these absences by providing both of the following:

• a letter from their sponsor or linked overseas business, on company headed paper, confirming the start and end dates of the applicant’s leave

• payslips or personal bank or building society statements or building society passbook covering the entire period of leave, as well as the 12 months working, showing the applicant’s statutory sick pay and/or sick pay from their health insurance, if relevant

Evidence for assisting in a national or international humanitarian or environmental crisis or taking part in strike action

The applicant should normally evidence these absences by providing both of the following:

• a letter from their sponsor or linked overseas business, on company headed paper, confirming the start and end dates of the applicant’s leave

• payslips or personal bank or building society statements or building society passbook covering the entire period of leave, as well as the 12 months working, showing the applicant’s pay

If the applicant is unable to provide a letter from their sponsor or linked overseas business, they must provide a full explanation of why the document cannot be provided, together with any other relevant documents, from an official source and which are independently verifiable, showing the duration of and reason for each such period of absence.

Evidence of jury service or attending court as a witness

The applicant should normally evidence these absences by providing both of the following:

• a letter from their sponsor or linked overseas business, on company headed paper, confirming the start and end dates of the applicant’s leave

• a letter from the relevant authority, on headed paper, confirming the applicant’s jury service or attendance at court as a witness (but this does not apply if the applicant is undertaking jury service or acting as a witness in a country where the relevant authorities do not issue such documentation, although in such circumstances the applicant will be required to demonstrate that such documentation is not issued)

Missing evidence

If the applicant cannot provide documents from those listed above, they may provide alternative documents such as those listed below.

This is not an exhaustive list and each case must be judged on its merits.

Evidence must be from an official source, must be independently verifiable and must relate to their work or reason for the absence:

• official adoption papers issued by the relevant authority

• any relevant medical documents

• a relevant extract from a register of birth provided it is accompanied by a letter from the issuing authority

If you are not satisfied with the evidence that has been provided, you may refuse the application.