New Global Business Mobility Routes

New Global Business Mobility Routes

Immigration Law Update

Five new routes are now in put in place for businesses with workers outside the UK, who are planning to undertake temporary assignment work in the UK. In this article we will discuss some information about two of these new routes: 

• Specialist or Senior Workers and UK Expansion Workers. 

Specialist or Senior Worker

This route is for migrant workers who are temporarily transferring from an overseas company to a UK subsidiary or branch. For this route, the worker needs to be a specialist worker or senior manager. 

The GBM Specialist Senior Worker route has replaced the Intra-company Transfer (ICT) route, and similar to ICT route, this new route does not offer a route to settlement. However, it does once again allow the applicant to bring their dependent partner and their children under 18 years with them to the UK (subject to their eligibility). Additionally, it is possible for migrants in this category, to switch into a Skilled Worker route, which does offer a route to settlement. 

The requirements for the sponsoring business include that:

• The overseas business must be linked to the UK sponsor by common ownership, or control, or by joint venture. 
• The UK business must obtain a sponsor licence and issue a Certificate of Sponsorship (CoS) to the migrant.
• The job that the migrant is offered must be skilled to at least the RQF Level 6.
• The salary paid must be at least £42,400 per annum or the ‘going rate’ for that job, whichever is higher.

The requirements of the specialist or senior migrant worker include that:

• They are aged 18 or over.
• They have worked for the sponsoring businesses outside of the UK for at least 12 months. Alternatively, the migrant can bypass this requirement by earning £73,900.00 per year or more.  
• They must be able to show they have enough money to support themselves. 
• Depending on the country they are travelling from, they may need to produce a valid TB certificate.

UK Expansion Worker 

This route is for overseas businesses who are expanding to the UK and are not already trading within the UK. The overseas business can send a maximum of 5 employees to the UK at a time, whom must be specialist or senior workers. 

The GBM UK Expansion Worker route has replaced the Sole Representative Business route. Unlike the Sole Representative route, the UK Expansion Worker route does not provide a path to settlement. It does however still allow the main applicant to bring their dependent partner and their children under 18 years old with them to the UK (subject to their eligibility). It is also possible for migrants to switch from this route into the Skilled Worker route, which does offer settlement in the UK. 

The requirements for the sponsoring business include that:

• The business is not yet trading in the UK. 
• The UK business must obtain a sponsor licence and issue a Certificate of Sponsorship (CoS) to the migrant.
• The job that the migrant is offered must be skilled to at least RQF Level 6.
• The salary paid must be at least £42,400 per annum or the ‘going rate’ of for that job, whichever is higher.

The requirements of the UK Expansion Worker include that:

• They are aged 18 or over.
• They are a senior manager or specialist employee for the sponsoring business outside the UK 
• They have worked for the sponsoring businesses outside of the UK for at least 12 months.  This is not required if the migrant worker will be earning £73,900.00 or more. Additionally, Japanese nationals performing work for a Japanese company that is expanding to the UK under the UK-Japanese Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement also do not need to meet this requirement 
• They must be able to show they have enough money to support themselves. 
• Depending on the country they are travelling from, they may need to produce a valid TB certificate. 

The above requirements may vary depending on individual circumstances. 

How KTS Legal can help

If you would like more information about the above categories, our specialist team in the Immigration department can provide expert advice. We provide Immigration services for Businesses and Individuals migrating into the UK. 

We can be reached by email or telephone at info@ktslegal.com and +44 (0) 208 367 0505.