New Route

Equivalent Route under previous rules

Summary of requirements

Salary threshold

Global Mobility – Senior or Specialist Worker

Intra-Company Transfer

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.

Applicants must be currently working for the sponsor group and have worked for them for a cumulative period of at least 12 months, unless they are a high earner.

The job that the worker is coming to the UK to do must fall under one of the occupation codes listed in the immigration rules as eligible for the GBM routes, unless they fall into one of the limited exemptions.

£42,500 (some limited exceptions)

High earner: £73,900

Global Business Mobility – Graduate Trainee

ICT Graduate Trainee

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.

Applicants must be currently working for the sponsor group and have worked for them for a continuous period of at least three months prior to the date of application.

£23,100 and if the job is listed in Table 1, 70% of the going rate. If the job is listed in Table 2, they must be paid at least 100% of the pro-rated going rate.

UK Expansion Worker

Sole Representative of an Overseas Business

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.

This route can only be used when the business has not yet begun trading in the UK. If the business is already trading in the UK, workers should apply under Appendix Global Business Mobility – Senior or Specialist Worker instead.

The business must have an A-rated sponsor licence, unless the applicant was last granted permission on this route and is applying to continue working for the same sponsor as in their last permission or the applicant holds the role of authorising officer on the licence and the sponsor has a provisional rating. This latter provision may be a way to get around the fact that in order to get a sponsor licence, a business must be trading in the UK, which contradicts the requirement for this route that the business does not yet have a trading presence in the UK. This is not clarified in the statement of changes so we await guidance to explain how this will operate in practice.

The applicant must be currently working for the sponsor group and have worked for them outside the UK for a cumulative period of at least 12 months unless they qualify for one of the limited exemptions.

£42,400 for jobs listed in Table 1.

Appendix Global Mobility – Service Supplier

Tier 5 International Agreement

This 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 commitments.

Applicants must currently be working for an overseas service provider that will provide services to the sponsor and have been working as or for them outside the UK for a cumulative period of 12 months.

There are two options with regards to skill level:

Option A: the applicant must be coming to the UK to carry out a job listed as eligible for the GBM routes

Option B: the applicant must have a university degree or equivalent level technical qualification unless they are employed by an overseas service provider supplying one of the identified services for which the qualification level is stipulated in the rules. These include fashion and modelling, chef de cuisine, management consulting services and services related to management consulting and technical testing and analysis, amongst others.

Applicants must have at least three years’ professional experience in the sector in which they will supply services, unless they qualify for one of the limited exemptions. They must be a national of the country in which the overseas service provider is based, unless an exception applies.

National Minimum Wage

Appendix GBM – Secondment Worker

This 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.

The applicant must currently be working for an overseas business that has a contract with the sponsor that has been registered with the Home Office by the sponsor and has worked outside the UK for that overseas business for a cumulative period of at least 12 months. It is not clear how contracts are to be registered with the Home Office. This will likely be clarified in guidance which will be published when the routes go live.

The applicant must be sponsored to do a job listed in Appendix Skilled Occupations as eligible for the GBM routes.