Senior or Specialist Worker visa: who can apply, pay, cost and how long you can stay

The Senior or Specialist Worker visa (Global Business Mobility) lets an existing employee of a Home Office-approved sponsor do an eligible job at the employer’s UK branch. GOV.UK says you need a certificate of sponsorship and pay of at least £52,500 or the going rate. You can stay up to 5 years.

Who is this visa for?

It is for people who already work for an employer that is a Home Office-approved sponsor, and who are moving to its UK branch to do an eligible job.

It replaced the Intra-company Transfer visa, which was previously the Tier 2 (Intra-company Transfer) Long-term Staff visa.

People on a graduate trainee programme apply for the Graduate Trainee visa instead. See Graduate Trainee.

Can I apply?

You can apply if you:

• are an existing employee of an organisation approved by the Home Office as a sponsor
• have a certificate of sponsorship from your employer with details of the work you will do in the UK
• do a job on the list of eligible occupations
• are paid at least £52,500 a year

The eligibility page also says you must have worked for your employer outside the UK.

You can apply up to 3 months before the day you are due to start work in the UK. You must apply within 3 months of getting your certificate of sponsorship.

What do I need?

Your job and pay

You need the 4-digit SOC occupation code for your job. You can get it from your employer or from your certificate of sponsorship.

GOV.UK publishes a list of Global Business Mobility eligible occupations and a Global Business Mobility going rates table. The going rate is a set pay figure for the job’s occupation code. This site explains how going rates and the Appendix Skilled Occupations tables work.

You must be paid at least £52,500 or the going rate for your job, whichever is higher. Each occupation code has its own yearly going rate.

Time working for your employer abroad

How long you must have worked for your employer outside the UK depends on your pay:

Annual pay	Time you must have worked for your employer outside the UK
Less than £73,900	At least 12 months
£73,900 or more	No minimum time

If you earn less than £73,900, you might be asked to show you have worked for your employer outside the UK for at least 12 months. You can show this with:

• printed payslips
• online payslips supported by a signed letter from your sponsor
• bank or building society statements
• a building society pass book

Occupation codes removed from the list

GOV.UK says these occupation codes have been removed from the list for people who previously had an Intra-company Transfer visa or a Tier 2 (Intra-company Transfer) Long-term Staff visa:

SOC code	Occupation
3411	Artists
3412	Authors, writers and translators
3413	Actors, entertainers and presenters
3414	Dancers and choreographers
3422	Product, clothing and related designers

People already sponsored in one of these codes can keep working in their job until the visa expires. They can extend to do the exact same job.

Long-term staff since 6 April 2011

If you have been in the UK since 6 April 2011 on a Tier 2 (Intra-company Transfer) Long-term Staff visa, an Intra-company Transfer visa or a Senior or Specialist Worker visa, there is no salary requirement. You must still be paid the going rate for your job.

English language

GOV.UK’s Senior or Specialist Worker pages do not set an English language requirement.

How much does it cost?

The application fee for each person depends on where you apply from and how long you will stay:

Applying from	Time in the UK	Application fee per person
Outside the UK	Up to 3 years	£819
Outside the UK	More than 3 years	£1,618
Inside the UK (extend, switch or update)	Up to 3 years	£943
Inside the UK (extend, switch or update)	More than 3 years	£1,865

You also need:

Cost	Amount
Healthcare surcharge	Usually £1,035 per year
Savings to support yourself	At least £1,270 (unless exempt)
Savings for a partner	£285
Savings for one child	£315
Savings for each additional child	£200

You must have had the savings for at least 28 days in a row. The 28 days must end within 31 days of the day you apply.

You do not have to show them if:

• you have been in the UK with a valid visa for 12 months or more
• your employer covers your costs during your first month, up to £1,270, and confirms this on your certificate of sponsorship

How long can I stay?

You can stay for whichever is shorter of the time on your certificate of sponsorship plus 14 days, or 5 years.

You can apply to extend, or apply for another visa, as many times as you like up to the maximum total stay:

Annual pay	Maximum total stay
Less than £73,900	5 years in any 6-year period
£73,900 or more	9 years in any 10-year period

Time on these visas counts towards the maximum:

• Intra-company Graduate Trainee
• Intra-company Transfer
• Graduate Trainee (Global Business Mobility)
• Secondment Worker (Global Business Mobility)
• Senior or Specialist Worker (Global Business Mobility)
• Service Supplier (Global Business Mobility)
• UK Expansion Worker (Global Business Mobility)

GOV.UK gives this example. A person paid less than £73,900 worked 3 years in the UK and then 6 months in Sweden. They could now stay a maximum of 2 years. Then they must spend another 6 months outside the UK before they can get a Global Business Mobility visa again.

If you have been in the UK since 6 April 2011 on one of those three visas, you can stay as long as your employer is sponsoring you. There is no maximum stay.

The usual decision times are 3 weeks from outside the UK and 8 weeks from inside the UK. You may be able to pay for a faster decision.

With this visa you can:

• work for your sponsor in the job on your certificate of sponsorship
• study
• travel abroad and return
• do unpaid voluntary work

You cannot:

• apply for most benefits or the State Pension
• change jobs, unless you update your visa
• have a second job (unless you previously had an Intra-company Transfer or Tier 2 (Intra-company Transfer) Long-term Staff visa)
• apply to settle permanently

Can I bring my family?

Yes. Your partner and children can apply to join you or stay in the UK. GOV.UK calls them dependants. A dependant is:

• your husband, wife, civil partner or unmarried partner
• your child under 18, including a child born in the UK during your stay
• your child over 18, if they currently have permission to be in the UK as your dependant

To count as your partner, you must be able to prove one of these:

• you are in a marriage or civil partnership that the UK recognises
• you have lived together in a relationship for at least 2 years when you apply
• you have been in a relationship for at least 2 years when you apply but cannot live together, for example because you work or study in different places, or your culture does not accept it

If your child is 16 or over, they must:

• live with you (unless they are in full-time education at boarding school, college or university)
• not be married, in a civil partnership or have any children
• be financially supported by you

Each family member makes a separate application and pays the visa fee. Their visa will usually end on the same date as yours.

Partners and children can work, except as a sportsperson or coach. They can also study. They cannot apply for most benefits or the State Pension.

Some family members cannot switch to your visa from inside the UK. This applies to partners and children who are in the UK:

• on a visit visa
• on a short-term student visa
• on a Parent of a Child Student visa
• on a seasonal worker visa
• on a domestic worker in a private household visa
• on immigration bail
• with permission to stay outside the immigration rules

A partner or child on a Student visa can only switch if they have finished the course they were sponsored to study, or have studied for a PhD for at least 24 months.

Can I extend or switch?

Extending

You can usually extend from inside the UK if all of these are true:

• you have the same job as when you were given your previous permission
• your job is in the same occupation code as then
• you are still working for the employer who gave you your current certificate of sponsorship
• you have not reached the maximum total stay

You can do extra paid work as long as you are still doing the job you are sponsored for. It can be for up to 20 hours a week, in a job that is either:

• in the same occupation code and at the same level as your main job
• on the Skilled Worker shortage occupation list

Changing jobs

You must apply to update your visa if your job changes to a different occupation code. You must have the same employer, or be employed by an organisation owned by your employer. You need a new certificate of sponsorship. You can apply up to 3 months before the start date of the new job.

Switching from another visa

You must meet the eligibility rules. If you are on a Student visa, one of these must also be true:

• you have finished the course you were sponsored to study
• your job start date is after your course has finished
• you are studying for a PhD full time and have been for at least 24 months

You cannot switch if you are in the UK:

• on a visit visa
• on a short-term student visa
• on a Parent of a Child Student visa
• on a seasonal worker visa
• on a domestic worker in a private household visa
• on immigration bail
• with permission to stay outside the immigration rules

In those cases, you must leave the UK and apply from abroad.

Extensions, updates and switches usually get a decision within 8 weeks.