UK Expansion Worker visa: who can apply, pay, cost and how long you can stay

The UK Expansion Worker visa (Global Business Mobility) is for a senior manager or specialist employee of an overseas business that has not yet started trading in the UK and wants to set up a UK branch. GOV.UK says you need a certificate of sponsorship and pay of at least £52,500 or the going rate.

Who is this visa for?

It lets you come to the UK to set up a branch of an overseas business that has not started trading in the UK yet. You must already work for the overseas business as a senior manager or a specialist employee.

If the business is already trading in the UK, GOV.UK says to apply for a Senior or Specialist Worker visa instead.

Can I apply?

To apply, you need to:

• have a valid certificate of sponsorship from your employer
• have worked for your employer outside the UK
• do a job on the list of eligible occupations
• be paid the minimum salary that applies to your job

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 table 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 a year or the going rate for your job, whichever is higher. Each occupation code has its own yearly going rate.

Your employer must also make sure your job pays at least the minimum wage and follows UK rules on weekly hours. If it does not, your application will be refused.

Time working for your employer abroad

You must have worked for your employer outside the UK for at least 12 months, unless one of these applies:

• you are earning over £73,900
• you are a Japanese national doing work for a Japanese company that is expanding to the UK
• you are a national or permanent resident of Australia doing work for an Australian company that is expanding to the UK

You might be asked to 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

English language

GOV.UK’s UK Expansion Worker pages do not set an English language requirement.

How much does it cost?

Cost	Amount
Application fee	£340
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, your partner and your children each need to pay the application fee and the healthcare surcharge for each year of your stay.

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 your own savings if you have been in the UK with a valid visa for 12 months or more. Family members do not have to show theirs if you have all been in the UK with a valid visa for at least 12 months.

How long can I stay?

You can stay for whichever is shorter of:

• 12 months after the start date of the job on your certificate of sponsorship
• the time on your certificate of sponsorship plus 14 days

You can extend by 12 months. The most you can stay on a UK Expansion Worker visa is 2 years.

You can only stay in the UK for a maximum of 5 years in any 6-year period if you have spent time on any of these visas:

• 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)

Once you have applied, the usual decision time is:

Where you are when you apply	Usual decision time
Outside the UK	3 weeks
Inside the UK	8 weeks

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
• 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

Your child must live with you, unless they live away from home in full-time education. Your child must not be married or in a civil partnership.

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 must be in the UK to extend. You can apply to extend 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

Changing jobs

You must apply to update your visa if your job changes to a different occupation code. You must still have the same employer. Your new job must meet the eligibility rules, and you need a new certificate of sponsorship.

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.