Global Business Mobility visa routes
The Global Business Mobility visa is really five routes that let an overseas business send its own people to work for a linked UK organisation for a fixed period. Your UK business is the sponsor, and none of the five routes leads to settlement.
- Routes in the family5each with its own pay and time rules
- Leads to settlementNoon any of the five routes
- Certificate, you pay£55 or £525£525 for Senior or Specialist, £55 for the rest
- Service abroad first3 to 12 monthswith the sending business, by route
Figures from GOV.UK, Sponsor a Global Business Mobility worker.
The five Global Business Mobility routes compared
Each route has its own purpose, pay floor and time limit, all set out in the Home Office guidance for GBM sponsors. In every case the worker comes from a business outside the UK.
| Route | Who it is for | Minimum pay | Longest stay |
|---|---|---|---|
| Senior or Specialist Worker | Senior managers and specialists moving to a linked UK business | £52,500 or the going rate, whichever is higher | 5 years in any 6, or 9 in 10 on £73,900 or more |
| Graduate Trainee | Staff on a graduate training programme doing a UK placement | £27,300 or 70% of the going rate | 12 months per visa |
| UK Expansion Worker | Senior staff setting up a first UK branch or subsidiary | £52,500 or the going rate | 2 years |
| Service Supplier | Staff of an overseas service provider, or an independent professional, delivering a contract | National Minimum Wage | 6 or 12 months per assignment |
| Secondment Worker | Staff seconded under a contract worth £50 million or more | National Minimum Wage | 2 years |
The going rate is the minimum the Home Office sets for each occupation code. Senior or Specialist Worker sits on the Worker licence, which costs £611 for a small business or charity and £1,682 for a medium or large one. The other four are Temporary Worker routes, licensed for £611 whatever your size (GOV.UK licence fees).
Senior or Specialist Worker transfers
This is the main GBM route and the replacement for the old Intra-company Transfer visa. It suits a group moving an experienced employee, usually with 12 months' service abroad, into its UK arm. It is also the most used by far: 10,351 organisations hold it on the Home Office register of licensed sponsors (22 October 2026 edition). Our Senior or Specialist Worker guide covers pay and costs.
Graduate Trainee placements
A Graduate Trainee is on a structured graduate programme with your overseas group and needs a UK work placement as part of it. Only 3 months' service abroad is needed, but the visa cannot be extended from inside the UK. The register lists 621 sponsors on this route. See the Graduate Trainee visa guide.
UK Expansion Worker for a new UK branch
This route is only for an overseas business that has not started trading in the UK. It can sponsor up to 10 people at a time to set up the branch and is expected to be trading within 2 years of getting its licence. 438 organisations hold it. The UK Expansion Worker guide explains the provisional licence.
Service Supplier contracts
Here your business has bought a service from an overseas provider with no UK presence, and the provider's staff come to deliver it. The contract must fall under one of the UK's trade agreements. Just 56 organisations use this route. Read the Service Supplier visa guide.
Secondment Worker for high-value contracts
A Secondment Worker comes from an overseas company that supplies goods or investment to your business under a contract big enough to pass the Home Office high-value test. With 6 sponsors on the register, it is the least used of the five. The Secondment Worker guide sets out the contract rules.
Questions employers ask about the GBM routes
Does time on one GBM route count against another?
Yes. Time on all five routes, and on the old Intra-company visas, counts towards one shared cap of 5 years in any 6-year period for most workers. So a worker who spends 12 months as a Graduate Trainee has 4 years left if you then move them to Senior or Specialist Worker. Check a worker's history before you set the dates on their certificate of sponsorship (CoS), the electronic record you assign to each sponsored worker (GBM guidance, section GBM4).
Does a Global Business Mobility visa lead to settlement?
No. None of the five routes leads to indefinite leave to remain, the right to live in the UK permanently. If you want to keep someone for the long term, the Skilled Worker visa is the route employers usually compare.
Can a worker switch into a GBM route from inside the UK?
Often, yes. People on most other visas can switch. The exceptions are visitors, short-term students, Parents of a Child Student, Seasonal Workers, domestic workers in a private household and anyone given permission outside the rules. Students must have finished their course or meet one of the other student conditions. Graduate Trainee is different: its overseas service rule means switching in the UK is not normally possible.
Which GBM routes carry the immigration skills charge?
Only Senior or Specialist Worker. The immigration skills charge, an extra levy you pay for each sponsored worker, applies to that route and to Skilled Worker. Graduate Trainee, UK Expansion Worker, Service Supplier and Secondment Worker sponsors do not pay it.
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