Senior or Specialist Worker Visa for Intracompany Transfers

The requirements for granting entry clearance or permission to stay on this route can be found in the eligibility requirements contained in ‘Appendix Global Business Mobility – Senior or Specialist Worker’ of the UK’s Immigration Rules. However, to be eligible for a Senior or Specialist Worker visa, all applicants must be awarded 60 points as follows:

• 20 points for sponsorship: the applicant must have been assigned a valid CoS for the job they are planning to do for their UK sponsor. A sponsorship certificate is only valid if certain requirements are met, where the certificate assigned to the applicant must confirm all the necessary information, including the details of the job role and salary. The CoS must also confirm that the applicant has worked outside the UK for the sponsor group for a minimum of 12 months, known as the overseas work requirement, unless they are applying as a high earner with a proposed annual salary in the UK of at least £73,900.
• 20 points for a job at the appropriate skill level: the applicant must be coming to the UK to do a job role that falls within an occupation code listed as being eligible for one of the GBM routes in either Table 1 or Table 2 of Appendix Skilled Occupations of the Rules.
• 20 points for a salary at the required level: the applicant must be paid a salary by their UK sponsor that is at or above both the general salary threshold of £45,800 or the going rate for Senior or Specialist Workers as set out under Appendix Skilled Occupations, where the going rate is the minimum salary applicable for a particular occupation code.

When it comes to the overseas work requirement, an applicant must usually have worked for the sponsor or any linked overseas business for at least 12 months. The 12 months outside the UK do not need to be immediately prior to the application, and nor do they need to be consecutive, provided the applicant was working continuously for the sponsor group from the start of the 12-months to the date of their application. However, there is no minimum work experience period for high earners, with a salary of £73,900+ based on a maximum 48-hour week, although they must be currently working for the sponsor group.

The points requirements are mandatory under the Senior or Specialist Worker route. An applicant must also satisfy a number of non-points requirements in relation to tuberculosis testing, where applicable, available funds to able to support themselves on arrival in the UK, known as the financial requirement, and a maximum length of assignment rule.

An applicant can meet the financial requirement by either their UK sponsor certifying that they will maintain and accommodate their employee up to the end of the first month of their employment to an amount of at least £1,270 or, alternatively, by providing evidence showing they have held funds in their bank account of at least £1,270 for a 28-day period. The applicant will not need to prove this requirement if they are applying to switch to this route or extend their visa and have already lived lawfully in the UK for at least 12 months.

However, the maximum length of time an applicant can hold permission on any of the GBM routes is a cumulative total of 5 years in any 6-year period, although high earners can have a maximum of 9 years in any 10-year period. Importantly, this means that if an applicant has already had permission to be in the UK under either the same route, another GBM route or the ICT legacy route, they may not be granted further leave under the Rules.