ENTITY Business Imm GHI

Global Business Mobility (GBM) provides a group of sponsored immigration routes for overseas businesses that need to send workers to the UK for specific business purposes.

The routes are particularly relevant to multinational organisations, overseas businesses establishing UK operations and companies involved in qualifying cross-border contracts and assignments.

GBM is different from conventional international recruitment. Rather than simply hiring an overseas worker into a UK position, the routes generally support a defined temporary business relationship or assignment involving the worker, the overseas organisation and the UK sponsor.

Employers considering GBM should therefore start with the commercial purpose of the UK assignment before deciding which immigration route is appropriate.

1. What is Global Business Mobility?

Global Business Mobility is an umbrella category comprising five sponsored work routes:

• Senior or Specialist Worker
• Graduate Trainee
• UK Expansion Worker
• Service Supplier
• Secondment Worker

Each route serves a different business purpose.

The routes can support activities such as transferring experienced personnel within an international group, delivering structured graduate training, establishing a UK business, fulfilling qualifying service agreements and undertaking high-value secondments.

All five routes require sponsorship.

The sponsoring organisation therefore needs the appropriate sponsor licence arrangements for the particular GBM route being used.

GBM routes are generally designed for temporary business mobility. Unlike Skilled Worker, they do not provide a direct route to settlement in the UK.

This distinction can be significant when deciding how an internationally mobile employee should be brought to the UK.

2. Senior or Specialist Worker

Senior or Specialist Worker is intended for senior managers and specialist employees being assigned to a UK business that is linked to their overseas employer.

The route is commonly relevant to multinational groups moving established personnel between international operations.

The worker generally needs to satisfy requirements relating to their employment with the overseas business, the proposed UK occupation and salary.

The UK business also needs to have the appropriate sponsor licence arrangements and the necessary qualifying relationship with the overseas organisation.

Employers may use the route where, for example:

• an international group needs a senior executive in its UK operation
• specialist technical expertise is required temporarily in the UK
• an overseas employee is being assigned to support a UK project
• a multinational needs to move experienced personnel between group companies

The fact that a worker is already employed within the international group does not automatically make Senior or Specialist Worker the best route.

Where the individual is expected to remain in the UK long term, employers should consider whether Skilled Worker offers a more suitable immigration strategy.

3. Graduate Trainee

Graduate Trainee supports eligible overseas employees undertaking a structured graduate training programme that includes a UK placement.

The route is designed for international businesses developing employees towards senior management or specialist positions.

It is not intended simply as a way to recruit an overseas graduate into a UK job.

The worker must be participating in a qualifying graduate training programme and satisfy the requirements applying to overseas employment, occupation, salary and sponsorship.

For employers operating international graduate programmes, the route can allow participants to gain experience within the UK part of the organisation while remaining within a wider structured development programme.

The employer should be able to demonstrate the relationship between the UK placement and the underlying graduate training programme.

4. UK Expansion Worker

UK Expansion Worker is intended for overseas businesses that need to send senior managers or specialist employees to the UK to establish a UK operation.

It is relevant where the overseas organisation has not yet begun trading in the UK.

The route can support the early stages of UK market entry, allowing qualifying personnel to undertake work involved in establishing the new operation.

This creates a different sponsorship context from an established UK company recruiting workers.

The business may need to consider:

• the structure of the proposed UK operation
• the relationship with the overseas business
• who will initially manage the sponsor licence
• which employees need to be transferred
• when the UK entity will begin trading
• how sponsorship arrangements will change as the UK operation becomes established

UK Expansion Worker should therefore form part of the wider planning for establishing the UK business rather than being considered solely as an individual visa application.

5. Service Supplier

Service Supplier allows qualifying overseas service providers to undertake temporary work in the UK in connection with eligible international trade agreements.

The route can apply to qualifying employees of overseas service businesses and, in certain circumstances, self-employed independent professionals.

The underlying commercial arrangement is central to eligibility.

Before considering the individual’s immigration position, the organisations involved should establish whether the service arrangement falls within the scope of an applicable trade commitment and satisfies the requirements of the route.

Relevant issues can include:

• the nature of the services being supplied
• the contractual relationship
• the applicable trade agreement
• the worker’s overseas employment or professional status
• occupation requirements
• qualifications or experience
• the duration of the UK assignment

The route is therefore considerably narrower than a general work visa.

6. Secondment Worker

Secondment Worker is designed for overseas workers being seconded to the UK as part of a qualifying high-value contract or investment involving their overseas employer and the UK organisation.

The route is intended for particular commercial arrangements rather than ordinary recruitment or routine secondments.

The UK sponsor needs to satisfy the requirements relating to the relevant business relationship, while the worker must meet the individual requirements of the route.

Employers considering Secondment Worker should assess the underlying contract and sponsorship structure before relying on the route for individual workers.

A commercial arrangement described internally as a “secondment” will not necessarily satisfy the immigration requirements for the Secondment Worker route.

7. Global Business Mobility or Skilled Worker?

International businesses frequently need to decide whether a worker should use a Global Business Mobility route or Skilled Worker.

The answer depends on the purpose and expected duration of the UK move.

GBM may be appropriate where the worker remains part of an international business structure and is coming to the UK for a defined temporary assignment.

Skilled Worker may be more appropriate where the individual is taking substantive employment in the UK and a longer-term immigration route is required.

Factors to compare include:

• the commercial purpose of the move
• the worker’s existing overseas employment
• the relationship between the overseas and UK businesses
• the proposed UK role
• salary requirements
• sponsorship costs
• anticipated length of stay
• flexibility if the worker’s circumstances change
• whether settlement in the UK is an objective
• the position of accompanying family members

Employers should avoid assuming that an intra-group employee must use a GBM route simply because they are being transferred from an overseas group company.

The immigration strategy should reflect what the organisation and worker are trying to achieve.

8. Planning an international transfer

An international transfer can involve more than securing UK immigration permission.

Businesses may also need to coordinate:

• overseas and UK employment arrangements
• assignment documentation
• remuneration
• payroll
• tax
• social security
• benefits
• relocation
• dependant visas
• accommodation
• travel
• right to work
• sponsor compliance

These issues can interact with immigration requirements.

For example, the salary and employment arrangements described in the immigration process need to reflect the actual assignment structure, while changes made during the assignment may have sponsorship implications.

Immigration should therefore be integrated into the wider mobility process.

9. Sponsor compliance for GBM workers

GBM sponsorship creates ongoing responsibilities for the UK sponsor.

The organisation should ensure that the worker continues to undertake the role and assignment for which they were sponsored and that relevant changes are identified and reported where required.

Compliance issues can arise where:

• the worker’s duties change
• the UK assignment ends early
• the worker moves to another entity
• salary arrangements change
• the work location changes
• the underlying commercial arrangement ends
• the worker is absent from the assignment
• the relationship between relevant businesses changes

The sponsor should have processes for receiving this information from the teams managing the worker.

For multinational organisations, this can require coordination between UK HR, overseas HR, global mobility teams, business managers and sponsor licence personnel.

10. Building Global Business Mobility into workforce strategy

GBM is most effective when businesses view the routes as part of their wider international workforce strategy rather than as isolated visa categories.

Different commercial objectives can require different immigration solutions.

An organisation may use Skilled Worker for long-term UK recruitment while using Senior or Specialist Worker for temporary intra-group assignments, Graduate Trainee for international development programmes and UK Expansion Worker when entering the UK market.

The underlying question is not simply:

Which visa can this employee obtain?

It is:

What is the purpose of the worker’s move to the UK, how is the employment or assignment structured and which immigration route properly reflects that arrangement?

Answering that question at the outset can help the organisation choose a route that works for both the immediate assignment and its longer-term business objectives.

 
 
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Not every overseas national coming to the UK for business needs a work visa.

The UK’s visitor rules allow overseas employees, directors and other businesspeople to undertake specified business activities during a visit, provided their activities remain within the permitted scope of the route.

For employers, the challenge is distinguishing a genuine business visit from activity that amounts to work requiring a different form of immigration permission.

The assessment should focus on what the individual will actually do while physically present in the UK, rather than simply describing the trip as a meeting, business visit or short-term assignment.

1. When can an overseas employee visit the UK for business?

An overseas employee can potentially visit the UK without obtaining a sponsored work visa where the purpose and activities of the trip fall within the activities permitted under the visitor rules.

Depending on the circumstances, permitted business activities can include:

• attending meetings
• attending conferences and seminars
• negotiating and signing contracts
• attending trade fairs for promotional purposes
• conducting site visits and inspections
• gathering information for overseas employment
• receiving certain forms of work-related training
• undertaking specified intra-corporate activities
• carrying out other activities expressly permitted under the visitor rules

The fact that an individual is employed overseas does not automatically mean that everything they do for their employer while in the UK is permitted as a visitor.

The proposed activities need to be assessed against the visitor rules.

2. Do business visitors need a visa?

Whether an individual needs to obtain a visit visa before travelling depends principally on their nationality and circumstances.

Some travellers are visa nationals and must obtain entry clearance before travelling to the UK as a visitor.

Others may be able to travel without obtaining a visit visa in advance, subject to applicable UK entry requirements, including the Electronic Travel Authorisation regime where relevant.

Being able to travel to the UK without obtaining a visitor visa in advance does not create broader permission to work.

The same restrictions on permitted visitor activities apply.

Employers arranging frequent business travel should therefore distinguish between:

permission to travel to the UK and permission to undertake the proposed activity while in the UK.

These are separate questions.

3. Meetings, conferences and negotiations

Business visitors can undertake a range of conventional business activities.

These can include attending:

• internal or external meetings
• conferences
• seminars
• interviews
• negotiations
• certain trade-related events

Visitors can also negotiate and sign contracts where the activity falls within the permitted visitor framework.

These activities allow international businesses to conduct ordinary cross-border business without requiring a work visa for every short UK trip.

The position becomes more difficult where the visitor moves beyond meetings and negotiations and begins carrying out productive work for a UK business or filling a role within the UK workforce.

Employers should therefore consider the substance of the itinerary rather than relying on the fact that meetings form part of the visit.

4. Intra-corporate activities

Employees of overseas companies can undertake certain activities with UK businesses within the same corporate group.

Depending on the applicable visitor rules and circumstances, these can include activities such as:

• advising and consulting
• troubleshooting
• providing training
• sharing skills and knowledge
• participating in specified internal projects

Permitted intra-corporate activity can also include certain client-facing activity where the conditions of the Visitor Rules are satisfied, including where the activity is incidental to the visitor’s overseas employment and does not amount to the offshoring of a project or service to the overseas employer.

These provisions can be useful to multinational organisations that need overseas personnel to interact with UK colleagues for limited business purposes.

They should not, however, be treated as a substitute for an appropriate work route where the individual is effectively being assigned to work in the UK.

The distinction can depend on the nature, purpose and context of the activities.

5. Training

The visitor rules allow certain forms of work-related training.

For example, an overseas employee may in appropriate circumstances receive training from a UK organisation where the training is relevant to their overseas employment and the applicable visitor requirements are met.

Specific provisions can also apply to particular professional and corporate activities.

Employers should establish whether the proposed activity is genuinely training or whether the individual will be undertaking productive work during the UK visit.

Calling an assignment “training” does not determine its immigration status.

The Home Office can consider what the visitor will actually be doing.

6. What can a business visitor not do?

The visitor route is not a general short-term work visa.

A business visitor should not normally use the route to enter the UK labour market or undertake work outside the activities permitted under the visitor rules.

Potential problems can arise where a visitor:

• fills a UK vacancy
• performs an ongoing role within the UK workforce
• carries out productive work outside the permitted activities
• provides goods or services in circumstances not allowed under the route
• is effectively based in the UK through repeated visits
• uses frequent or successive visits to undertake activity that should require work permission

The duration of the trip is not determinative.

An activity does not become permissible merely because it will only be undertaken for a few days.

Equally, some activities expressly permitted by the visitor rules may lawfully be undertaken during a business visit.

The employer therefore needs to assess the activity, not simply the length of stay.

7. Can a business visitor work remotely while in the UK?

The Visitor Rules permit remote activity connected with a visitor’s overseas employment, such as dealing with emails, taking calls or attending remote meetings, provided remote working is not the primary purpose of the visit.

Employers should consider:

• the primary purpose of the visit
• the nature of the individual’s overseas employment
• how much work will be undertaken from the UK
• whether the individual is performing duties for a UK business
• the length and frequency of UK visits
• whether the arrangements indicate that the person is effectively working from the UK

The increasing prevalence of remote and hybrid working makes it particularly important not to assume that physical location is irrelevant to immigration status.

A worker employed and paid overseas can still create a UK immigration issue if their activities while physically present in the UK fall outside the permission they hold.

8. When is a work visa required instead?

A work route should be considered where the proposed activities go beyond those permitted as a visitor.

This can include circumstances where the individual will:

• take employment with a UK business
• fill a substantive UK role
• undertake an extended UK assignment
• perform productive work not covered by the visitor provisions
• be integrated into the UK workforce
• undertake activities requiring sponsorship under a work route

The appropriate immigration category will depend on the underlying arrangement.

For example, an employer recruiting someone into a substantive UK role may need to consider Skilled Worker, while a multinational transferring an existing overseas employee for a qualifying temporary assignment may need to consider Global Business Mobility.

9. Business Visitor or Global Business Mobility?

The boundary between a business visit and an international assignment can be commercially important.

A visitor route may be appropriate where an overseas employee is travelling to the UK for limited permitted activities while remaining based overseas.

A Global Business Mobility route may be required where the individual is being assigned to the UK to undertake substantive work within a qualifying business arrangement.

Employers should consider:

• what the worker will actually do
• who benefits from the activity
• whether the individual will perform productive work
• the relationship between the overseas and UK organisations
• how long the activity will continue
• whether the person will effectively occupy a UK role
• whether the proposed activity is expressly permitted for visitors

The correct answer cannot be determined simply by the employee remaining on an overseas payroll.

10. Frequent business travel

Frequent travellers can create additional immigration risk for international businesses.

Each individual trip may appear short, but a pattern of repeated visits can raise questions about whether the person is effectively working or living in the UK.

Businesses with regular international travel should consider implementing processes for identifying higher-risk travellers.

This can involve recording:

• nationality and immigration status
• purpose of travel
• planned activities
• duration of visits
• frequency of UK travel
• UK host entity
• whether the individual will undertake work
• whether immigration approval is required

This is particularly relevant to senior executives, technical specialists, consultants and other personnel who may travel frequently between international offices.

11. Planning business travel before the individual travels

Business visitor compliance is easiest to manage before travel takes place.

The UK host and overseas organisation should understand:

• why the individual is travelling
• what activities they will undertake
• where the activities will take place
• which organisations are involved
• how long the visit will last
• whether the proposed activities are permitted
• whether advance immigration permission is required

Where the proposed activities fall outside the visitor rules, the business should identify an appropriate immigration route before the individual travels.

The central question is not simply:

Can this person enter the UK as a visitor?

It is:

Can this person lawfully undertake everything the business expects them to do while they are in the UK?

That distinction is fundamental to managing business visitor risk.

 
 
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Section I: Business immigration costs

International recruitment can involve significant immigration costs for both the employer and the worker.

The total cost depends on the immigration route, length of sponsorship, size and status of the sponsoring organisation, whether dependants are applying and whether optional services such as priority processing are used.

Employers should calculate these costs before making recruitment decisions. Some sponsorship-related charges have to be paid by the employer and must not be passed to the sponsored worker, while organisations also need a clear policy on which employee visa and relocation costs they are prepared to fund.

1. What are the main business immigration costs?

A sponsored worker can generate several separate immigration charges.

Depending on the circumstances, these can include:

• sponsor licence application fee
• Certificate of Sponsorship fee
• Immigration Skills Charge
• worker visa application fee
• Immigration Health Surcharge
• dependant visa application fees
• dependant Immigration Health Surcharge
• priority or super priority processing fees
• biometric or application service costs where applicable
• legal or professional fees
• relocation and associated mobility costs

Not every charge applies in every case.

The employer should therefore calculate costs by reference to the particular worker and immigration route rather than relying on a standard sponsorship figure.

2. Sponsor licence application fee

An organisation applying to become a licensed sponsor has to pay the relevant sponsor licence application fee.

The amount payable depends on factors including the type of licence and, for relevant Worker licence applications, whether the organisation qualifies as a small sponsor or charitable sponsor for fee purposes.

The sponsor licence fee is an organisational cost rather than a fee for an individual worker’s visa application.

Businesses planning international recruitment should therefore distinguish between the initial cost of obtaining sponsorship capability and the costs generated each time an individual worker is sponsored.

Once the licence is in place, individual sponsorship can generate further Home Office charges.

3. Certificate of Sponsorship fee

A fee is payable when a Certificate of Sponsorship is assigned to a worker.

Current fees distinguish between Worker and Temporary Worker sponsorship. The Worker CoS fee is £525, while the Temporary Worker CoS fee is £55. International Sportsperson sponsorship can attract the Worker or Temporary Worker level depending on the duration of sponsorship. Within Global Business Mobility, Senior or Specialist Worker uses the Worker-level fee, while Graduate Trainee, UK Expansion Worker, Service Supplier and Secondment Worker use the lower Temporary Worker-level fee.

The CoS fee is separate from both the worker’s visa application fee and any Immigration Skills Charge that applies.

Where an organisation sponsors multiple workers, CoS fees therefore become a recurring recruitment cost.

The sponsor must also comply with the Home Office rules restricting recovery of sponsorship costs from sponsored workers.

4. Immigration Skills Charge

The Immigration Skills Charge is one of the most significant employer costs associated with sponsorship under routes where the charge applies.

Under the current rates, a small or charitable sponsor pays £480 for the first 12 months of sponsorship and £240 for each additional six months. A medium or large sponsor pays £1,320 for the first 12 months and £660 for each additional six months.

The charge applies principally to relevant Skilled Worker and Senior or Specialist Worker sponsorship, subject to exemptions.

The charge can therefore become substantial where an employer sponsors a worker for several years.

Some sponsorships are exempt from the Immigration Skills Charge.

Employers should establish whether the charge applies to the particular worker and sponsorship rather than assuming it is payable in every case.

Where it does apply, the cost should be included in the recruitment budget before the Certificate of Sponsorship is assigned.

The Immigration Skills Charge is a sponsor cost and must not be passed on to the sponsored worker.

5. Visa application fees

The worker generally has to pay a Home Office application fee when applying for immigration permission.

The amount varies according to factors including:

• immigration route
• where the application is made
• length of permission requested
• the worker’s circumstances
• whether a reduced fee category applies

Employers frequently choose to pay or reimburse visa application fees as part of an international recruitment or relocation package, although responsibility for particular costs should be agreed clearly.

The organisation should distinguish between costs it chooses commercially to fund and sponsorship costs that the immigration framework requires the sponsor itself to bear.

6. Immigration Health Surcharge

Many work visa applicants are required to pay the Immigration Health Surcharge as part of the immigration application.

The charge is generally calculated according to the period of immigration permission being requested.

Where the surcharge applies, it can represent a substantial part of the overall cost of a multi-year visa.

Dependants making their own immigration applications may also have to pay the surcharge.

This means the cost difference between recruiting a worker alone and supporting relocation of a worker with a family can be significant.

Some immigration routes or categories are exempt. Eligible Health and Care Worker applicants, for example, are not required to pay the Immigration Health Surcharge.

7. Costs for dependants

Where an immigration route permits dependants, a worker may want their partner and children to accompany them to the UK.

Each dependant generally makes their own immigration application and can generate separate costs.

Depending on the route and circumstances, these can include:

• visa application fees
• Immigration Health Surcharge
• priority processing
• biometric or application-related services
• relocation costs

Employers are not necessarily responsible for paying these costs simply because they are sponsoring the main worker.

Organisations recruiting internationally should therefore decide whether their immigration support policy covers:

• the employee only
• the employee and partner
• the employee and all eligible dependants
• visa fees only
• IHS as well as visa fees
• professional fees for dependant applications
• relocation expenses

A consistent policy can help avoid different arrangements being negotiated independently for each recruit.

8. Priority and super priority processing

Where available, priority services can reduce the expected Home Office decision time for an additional fee.

Availability depends on the immigration application, where it is made and the services available at the time.

Priority processing can be commercially valuable where an organisation needs a worker to start urgently, but it should not be treated as a guarantee of a decision by a particular date.

An application can still take longer where the Home Office needs additional information or further checks are required.

Employers should therefore build some contingency into recruitment planning even where expedited processing is being used.

9. Who pays business immigration costs?

Responsibility for immigration costs varies according to the type of charge.

Some costs are sponsor costs and must be paid by the sponsoring organisation.

Other costs relate to the worker’s individual immigration application and may be paid by the worker or funded by the employer as part of the employment package.

A business immigration cost policy should therefore identify responsibility for each category rather than simply stating that the employer or employee pays “visa costs”.

The policy might address:

• sponsor licence costs
• CoS fees
• Immigration Skills Charge
• employee visa fees
• Immigration Health Surcharge
• dependant costs
• priority processing
• legal fees
• relocation costs
• extension applications
• settlement applications

This becomes particularly important for employers sponsoring significant numbers of workers.

10. Can immigration costs be passed to sponsored workers?

Employers need to exercise particular care when considering whether sponsorship costs can be recovered from workers.

Home Office sponsor guidance prohibits sponsors from recovering or attempting to recover specified sponsor licence fees and associated administrative costs from sponsored workers where the relevant prohibition applies. It also prohibits recovery of relevant Certificate of Sponsorship fees from sponsored workers under the applicable rules. The Immigration Skills Charge must be paid by the sponsor and must not be passed to the worker.

The precise scope and commencement of the cost-recovery prohibitions depend on the sponsorship route and when the relevant fee or CoS was incurred or assigned. Employers should therefore check the current sponsor guidance before using any repayment provision.

Breaching applicable sponsor cost rules can expose the organisation to serious sponsor licence consequences, including revocation in circumstances specified by the sponsor guidance.

Where recovery is legally permissible for other immigration expenditure funded by the employer, any repayment arrangement should also be considered from an employment law perspective.

Issues can include:

• which costs are recoverable
• the circumstances triggering repayment
• whether repayment reduces over time
• deductions from wages
• termination arrangements
• enforceability and proportionality
• compliance with immigration sponsorship requirements

The fact that an employee has signed an agreement does not override restrictions imposed by the sponsorship system.

11. Immigration repayment agreements

Employers sometimes fund substantial visa, legal and relocation costs on the basis that the worker will remain with the organisation for a minimum period.

A repayment agreement may provide for qualifying costs to be repaid if the employee resigns within a specified period.

Where such arrangements are used, employers should distinguish carefully between costs that may potentially be included and sponsorship charges that cannot lawfully be transferred to the worker.

The agreement should clearly identify:

• the costs covered
• the repayment period
• the circumstances in which repayment applies
• the amount or proportion repayable
• how the liability reduces over time
• how any deduction from final salary will be handled

Immigration and employment considerations should be addressed together when these agreements are prepared.

12. Calculating the true cost of sponsorship

The true cost of international recruitment is wider than the Home Office application charges.

An employer may also incur:

• professional fees
• recruitment fees
• relocation costs
• temporary accommodation
• travel
• internal HR and compliance costs
• salary adjustments required for immigration eligibility
• dependant support
• assignment management costs

There can also be a financial consequence if the immigration process delays the employee’s start date.

Businesses comparing domestic and international recruitment should therefore calculate the full cost of the hire rather than looking only at the visa fee.

For a sponsored worker, the calculation may be represented as:

Employer sponsorship costs + worker immigration costs funded by the business + professional costs + relocation costs + ongoing compliance costs

The result can vary considerably between workers.

13. Budgeting for an internationally recruited workforce

Businesses sponsoring workers regularly benefit from treating immigration as a planned workforce cost.

Annual budgeting can take account of:

• anticipated new sponsored hires
• visa extensions
• CoS requirements
• Immigration Skills Charge liabilities
• dependant support policies
• priority applications
• professional fees
• sponsor compliance activity
• corporate changes affecting the licence
• contingency for urgent immigration matters

HR, finance and recruitment teams should understand which costs arise at different stages of the immigration lifecycle.

This helps prevent situations where a candidate is selected and offered employment before the organisation discovers that the immigration cost is materially higher than anticipated.

For employers, the relevant question is therefore not simply “How much is a UK work visa?”

It is:

“What is the total cost to the business of recruiting, sponsoring and retaining this international worker?”

 
 
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