The Global Mobility Routes, which were recently introduced by the UK government give employers a variety of options to sponsor foreign employees in the country. It is divided into five subcategories, each of which is meant to help UK firms attract and engage skilled and expert personnel on a temporary basis. The majority of the channels replace prior immigration categories that were blocked at the same time on April 11th, 2022.
The new visa essentially creates a multi-category sponsored route that will reform and expand on a number of existing business visas, including two types of intra-company visas, the Representative of an Overseas Business visa, and Temporary Work – International Agreement route visas for contractual service providers and independent professionals. It also opens up a whole new avenue for international workers to be sent to the UK as part of a high-value contract or investment by their parent firm overseas.
Here are the five Global Mobility Routes:
- The Senior or Specialist Worker Route
- The Graduate Trainee Route
- The UK Expansion Worker Route
- The Service Provider Route
- The Secondment Worker Route
Each of these avenues has its own set of requirements, such as a financial requirement and, in certain cases, the submission of a valid tuberculosis certificate. Below, we’ll go through the additional requirements for each path in depth.
The Senior or Specialist Worker Route
This route, which replaced the Intra Company Transfer visa, is for top managers or specialists who are allocated to a UK business that is related to their employer’s overseas operations. The role must pay a minimum of £42,400 to be accepted. Unless they are a high earner earning over £73,900, applicants must have worked for the overseas firm for at least 12 months. Under the Global Business Mobility Routes and Intra-Company routes, they are typically limited to five years of stay in any six years (or nine years in any ten years for individuals earning over £73,900).
The aspirant must satisfy the Home Office’s financial requirements. Unless their sponsor has verified maintenance on their Certificate of Sponsorship (entry clearance or leave to remain) or they have been in the UK for 12 months before the ILR application, they must have an adequate amount of maintenance funds in their bank account.
Graduate Trainee Route
The Intra-Company Graduate Trainee path has been rebranded as this one. It is designed for students enrolled in a graduate programme leading to senior management or speciality post who must do a work placement in the United Kingdom. The role must pay at least £23,100 per year to fulfil the general wage criteria. Under the Global Business Mobility Routes and Intra-Company Routes, they are typically limited to no more than five years of stay in any six-year term.
Under the Tier 2 (Intra-Company Transfer) Graduate Trainee route, there used to be a limit on the number of Graduate Trainees that may be sponsored annually; however, now, there is no limit on the number of CoS the sponsor can assign under this route.
There are no English Language requirements anymore for Graduate Trainees, however, there are certain financial requirements that need to be met. Moreover, Graduate Trainees are allowed to bring their dependents to the United Kingdom.
UK Expansion Worker Route
This route is intended to allow foreign personnel to work in the UK in support of a foreign company’s development in the country. It should be highlighted that the foreign firm in question has most likely not yet begun trading in the United Kingdom. The route of Representative of Overseas Business (Sole Representative) has been replaced by this one.
In this case, the employee must be personally sponsored by the UK employer, unlike the Sole Representative Route. In that instance, the company must apply for a “provisional sponsor licence” from outside the country to help with the visa application.
The UK Expansion worker cannot be granted leave to remain if it would allow them to stay in the country for more than 5 years in any 6-year term. The visa would be valid for up to 12 months at a time, with no more than two years of continuous leave allowed under this category.
The sponsor can sponsor several expansion workers, unlike its predecessor, which was confined to a single representative.
Dependents of UK Expansion workers can be sponsored.
Service Supplier Route
This route replaces previous provisions in the International Agreement category and is intended for an overseas worker working in the UK temporarily as a contractual service supplier (employed by a service supplying company) or as a self-employed worker. One of the UK’s international trade agreements must include their employees in the UK.
Option A (qualified roles for sponsorship under the Global Mobility route, which are normally graduate-level or above) or Option B (non-eligible roles for sponsorship under the Global Mobility route) (the candidate holds a University degree unless the role falls on the list of exemptions, such as fashion modelling).
Employees must have worked for the service provider for at least 12 months outside of the UK, and nationality/residence status requirements will apply.
Secondment Worker Route
This method allows persons to work in the UK temporarily as part of a high-value contract or investment by their business overseas. The candidate must be sponsored by a UK company with which they will be on secondment that already has a Sponsor Licence. The applicant must also have worked for their overseas employer for at least 12 months. The UK company’s contract with the foreign corporation must be registered with the Home Office. Under the Global Business Mobility Routes and Intra-Company Routes, they are typically limited to no more than five years of stay in any six-year term.
Employers who possessed a Tier 2 (Inter-Company Transfer) sponsor licence on 10 April 2022 and want to continue to recruit and employ overseas workers in their UK branch will find that the Senior or Specialist worker and Graduate Trainee will be a feasible choice. Employers who want to start hiring from their international locations can sign up as a new Global Mobility sponsor. For international employees who are obliged to open a UK branch for their firm, the UK expansion worker will be a viable choice. This alternative is less appealing than its predecessor, the Sole Representative route because it is now a sponsored path that can only be given for a year at a time and does not lead to Indefinite Leave to Remain.
We are here to assist you!
Contact A Y J Solicitors for assistance if you are an existing sponsor and would want to learn more about the new pathways, or if you are a business interested in applying for a sponsor licence. With our experience, we can help you achieve your Global Mobility goals by guiding and advising you from start to finish.
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