In the latest Statement of Changes to the Immigration Rules (HC1118), published on 15 March 2022, the Home Office has provided further details of several new business immigration routes:
The High Potential Individual route is opened for recent graduates of top global universities who would like to work or look for work in the UK. The applicant must have successfully completed the study equivalent to UK Bachelor’s degree level or above.
This route does not require sponsorship. Applicants may be joined or accompanied by a dependent partner and dependent children.
The successful applicants will be granted entry clearance or permission to stay of 3 years if their eligible qualification is PhD or in other doctoral-level; while entry clearance or permission to stay of 2 years will be granted for other degree levels of qualifications.
This route does not lead to settlement.
Applicants will need to show that they have sufficient funds to support their stay in the UK.
This route is aimed at individuals recruited by an authorised UK Scale-up company having the skills to enable the Scale-up business to continue growing.
Applicants must have a high-skilled job offer from the authorised Scale-up company at the required salary level. This route leads to settlement and applicants can sponsor dependent partners and children on this route.
A scale-up company is defined by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) as a company that can show annual growth of at least 20% for the previous 3-year period in terms of turnover or staffing and has a minimum of 10 employees at the start of this 3-year period. The scale-up company must be listed as A-rated on the Home Office’s register of licensed sponsors.
To qualify the individual must have a valid Certificate of Sponsorship for the job they are planning to do.
The salary for the job that is being sponsored must be equal to or exceed both £33,000 per year, £10.58 per hour, and the going rate for the selected occupation code.
After the initial grant of a scale-up worker visa, the applicant can subsequently extend their visa without a Home Office approved sponsor provided that they meet the following:
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.
The Global Business Mobility routes are designed for businesses and workers undertaking temporary business assignments in the UK. The routes will NOT lead to settlement in the UK. However, once in the UK, Global Business Mobility visa holders may be able to switch into another immigration route that does lead to settlement.
There will be five global business mobility routes that correspond to different temporary assignment types:
The Senior or Specialist Worker Visa will be for senior managers and specialist employees who wish to undertake a temporary work assignment in the UK. This route will replace the existing Intra-Company Transfer route, which will close to new applicants on 11 April 2022.
Senior or Specialist Worker Visa applicants will need to be currently working for a business or organisation that is linked to their UK sponsor by common ownership or control, or by a joint venture on which they are sponsored to work. They must have worked outside the UK for the linked business or organisation for a cumulative period of at least 12 months, unless they are a high earner earning £73,900 per year or more.
Applicants will also need to have a valid Certificate of Sponsorship (CoS) for the job they are planning to do, issued by an employer that is authorised by the Home Office to sponsor a Senior or Specialist Worker. The job will need to be an eligible job at or above a minimum skill level and the applicant will need to be paid a salary that equals or exceeds £42,400 per year and 100% of the pro-rated going rate for the occupation, whichever is higher. Applicants will not, however, be required to satisfy an English language requirement.
Permission will be granted for either the time given on the applicant’s Certificate of Sponsorship plus 14 days, a period of 5 years or the length of time that will take the applicant to the maximum time period allowed in the Global Business Mobility route, whichever is shorter. The maximum time allowed in the Global Business Mobility route will be 5 years in any 6 year period if paid less than £73,900 per year; or 9 years in any 10 year period if paid £73,900 or more per year.
Global Business Mobility – Senior or Specialist Worker Visa holders will be permitted to work for their sponsor in the job described on their CoS.
The Graduate Trainee Visa will be for overseas workers who wish to be transferred to the UK by their employer for a work placement in the UK as part of a graduate training course leading to a senior managerial or specialist role. This route will replace the existing Intra-Company Graduate Trainee Visa, which will close to new applicants on 11 April 2022.
Graduate Trainee Visa applicants will need to be currently working for a business or organisation that is linked to their UK sponsor by common ownership or control, or by a joint venture on which they are sponsored to work, and have worked outside the UK for this business or organisation for at least 3 months immediately before the date of their visa application.
Applicants will also need to have a valid CoS for the job they are planning to do, issued by an employer that is authorised by the Home Office to sponsor a Graduate Trainee. The job will need to be an eligible job at or above a minimum skill level and, in most cases, the applicant will need to be paid a salary that equals or exceeds £23,100 per year and 70% of the pro-rated going rate for the occupation, whichever is higher. If the applicant is being sponsored for a job in one of the health or education occupation codes, the going rate requirement will be 100% of the pro-rated going rate. Applicants will not, however, be required to satisfy an English language requirement.
Permission will be granted for either 1 year from the start date of the job detailed in the Certificate of Sponsorship, the time given on the Certificate of Sponsorship plus 14 days or the date at which the applicant will have had cumulative permission in the Global Business Mobility routes and Intra-Company routes totalling 5 years in any 6-year period, whichever is shorter.
Global Business Mobility – Graduate Trainee Visa holders will be permitted to work for their sponsor in the job described on their Certificate of Sponsorship.
The UK Expansion Worker Visa will be for senior managers and specialist employees who wish to be assigned to the UK temporarily to undertake work related to the expansion of an overseas business in the UK. This route will replace the Sole Representative of an Overseas Business Visa, which will close to new applicants on 11 April 2022.
UK Expansion Worker Visa applicants will need to be currently working for a business or organisation that is linked to their UK sponsor by common ownership or control, or by a joint venture on which they are sponsored to work. They must have worked outside the UK for the linked business or organisation for a cumulative period of at least 12 months, unless they are a high earner earning £73,900 per year or more or they are a Japanese national seeking to establish a UK branch or subsidiary of the linked business or organisation under the UK-Japan Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement.
Applicants will also need to have a valid CoS for the job they are planning to do, issued by an employer that is authorised by the Home Office to sponsor a UK Expansion Worker. The job will need to be an eligible job at or above a minimum skill level and the applicant will need to be paid a salary that equals or exceeds £42,400 per year and 100% of the pro-rated going rate for the occupation, whichever is higher. Applicants will not, however, need to satisfy an English language requirement.
Permission will be granted for either 1 year after the start date of the job detailed in the applicant’s Certificate of Sponsorship, the time given on the Certificate of Sponsorship plus 14 days, the date on which the applicant will have had continuous permission as a UK Expansion Worker totalling 2 years or the date on which they will have had cumulative permission in the Global Business Mobility routes totalling 5 years in any 6-year period, whichever is shorter.
The Secondment Worker Visa will be for overseas workers who wish to be temporarily seconded to the UK by their overseas employment as part of a high-value contract or investment.
Secondment Worker Visa applicants will need to be currently working for an overseas business that has a contract with their UK sponsor that has been registered with the Home Office by the UK sponsor and have worked outside the UK for that overseas business for a cumulative period of at least 12 months.
Applicants will also need to have a valid CoS for the job they are planning to do, issued by an employer that is authorised by the Home Office to sponsor a Secondment Worker. The job will need to be an eligible job at or above a minimum skill level but applicants will not need to satisfy a salary requirement. Secondment Worker Visa applicants will also not need to satisfy an English language requirement.
Permission will be granted for either 1 year from the start date of the job detailed in the CoS, the time given on the CoS plus 14 days, the date on which the applicant will have had continuous permission as a Secondment Worker totalling 2 years, or the length of time that will take them to the maximum time period allowed in the category, whichever is shorter. The maximum time allowed in the category is 5 years in any 6 year period.
The Service Supplier Visa will be for overseas workers who are either a contractual service supplier employed by an overseas service provider or a self-employed independent professional based overseas, who need to undertake a temporary assignment in the UK to provide services covered by one of the UK’s international trade commitments. This route will replace the contractual service supplier and independent professional provisions in the Temporary Work – International Agreement route.
Service Supplier Visa applicants will need to be currently working as or for an overseas service provider that will provide services to their UK sponsor and have worked as or for the overseas service provider outside the UK for a cumulative period of 12 months.
Their UK sponsor must have a contract with an overseas service provider, where that contract has been registered with the Home Office, and on which the applicant, as a Service Supplier, will work.
Applicants will also need to have a valid CoS for the job they are planning to do, issued by an employer that is authorised by the Home Office to sponsor a Service Supplier.
The job will need to be an eligible job at or above a minimum skill level but applicants will not need to satisfy a salary requirement. Service Supplier applicants will also not need to satisfy an English language requirement, but they will need to satisfy a nationality requirement.
Permission will be granted for either the time given on the CoS plus 14 days, the length of time that will take the applicant to the maximum time period allowed in the category or the maximum single assignment period (which is either 6 months or 12 months if covered by a relevant UK international trade commitment), whichever is shorter. The maximum time allowed in the category will be 5 years in any 6 year period.
The Global Business Mobility Visa Routes will not lead directly to settlement in the UK. However, subject to satisfying the eligibility requirements, Global Business Mobility Visa holders may be able to apply from within the UK to switch into another immigration route which does lead to settlement.
The main work and business routes for achieving settlement are likely to be:
If you would like further information or would like to discuss how the new rules will impact your business please get in touch below:
Our Immigration team has a wealth of experience in assisting UK companies of all sizes and across all industries to sponsor migrant workers coming into the UK, whether they are intra-company assignees from offices overseas or migrants who are being hired to fill permanent positions here in the UK.
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