The Global Business Mobility routes are a new category of sponsored routes for overseas businesses seeking to establish a presence in, or transfer staff to, the UK for specific business purposes. There are five routes that correspond to different assignment types which are set out below.
The Global Business Mobility routes replace four existing business mobility routes and create a new provision for secondments. These are:
Senior or Specialist Worker
The Senior or Specialist Worker route is for senior managers or specialist employees who are being assigned to a UK business linked to their employer overseas. This route replaces the Intra-Company Transfer route.
Graduate Trainee
The Graduate Trainee route is for workers on a graduate training course leading to a senior management or specialist position and who are required to do a work placement in the UK. This route replaces the Intra-Company Graduate Trainee route.
UK Expansion Worker
The UK Expansion Worker route is for senior managers or specialist employees who are being assigned to the UK to undertake work related to a business’s expansion to the UK. This route replaces the Sole Representative route.
Service Supplier
The Service Supplier route is for contractual service suppliers employed by an overseas service provider and self-employed independent professionals based overseas, that need to undertake an assignment in the UK to provide services covered by one of the UK’s international trade commitments. This route replaces the contractual service supplier and independent professional provisions in the Temporary Work – International Agreement route.
Secondment Worker
The Secondment Worker route is for workers being seconded to the UK as part of a high value contract or investment by their employer overseas. This is a new route in the Immigration Rules.
The Global Business Mobility route does not lead to settlement and is for businesses and workers undertaking temporary business assignments in the UK.