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The updated UK Immigration Rules that were introduced in March 2022 and effective from April 2022 state five new business immigration channels. Companies and individuals can apply for the relevant tier under the Global Business Mobility Visa to establish or conduct business in the UK.
The Global Business Mobility Visa routes are for company workers outside the UK who are set to undertake a temporary professional assignment in the country. The rules for a Global Business Mobility Visa can seem complex and extensive. But, with the professional advice of highly-trained solicitors at Osbourne Pinner, these visa routes can become a valuable part of any organisation’s global mobility development programme for their UK-based operations.
If you are interested in applying for a GBM visa, this guide is for you. It tells you what the Global Business Mobility Visa is, what the eligibility requirements are for it and the length of stay under three tiers or sub-categories.
The Global Business Mobility UK visa is a broad term for five sponsored work visa routes for international businesses wanting to develop, support or establish UK-based operations.
The Global Business Mobility visas readapt and expand upon the previous UK work and business visas, aiming to allow non-UK-based organisations to station limited personnel to the United Kingdom operations temporarily.
The visa also opens up an entirely new route for international workers to be deployed to the UK for an economically premium contract or investment independently or for their parent company based out of the UK.
A UK employer licensed to sponsor professionals to work in the UK provides a supporting document known as the Certificate of Sponsorship. This statement is a vital requirement for any individual applying for Tier 2, Tier 4 or Tier 5 Visas.
A CoS is different for every sponsored worker. It consists of a worker’s particular details, such as their professional role during the UK visit and details of the employer that is sponsoring them. A Certificate of Sponsorship confirms the necessary requirements for a particular type of visa are met. It also confirms if the sponsoring employer has satisfied sponsorship responsibilities.
When filing the CoS application, your sponsor company must choose the correct employment code. Your request for a Global Business Mobility Visa will be declined if the Home Office finds good reason to trust that your sponsor company has not chosen the right occupation code.
The UK Home Office will take into consideration several factors whether your employer has shown a genuine requirement for the role as described if you possess the experience required to perform the working title as described, if you have the required skills and the sponsor’s history of adherence with the immigration system.
The Global Mobility Business route is broad. There are five sub-categories to it, and the specific purpose of any foreign worker or business organisation will decide which tier they apply under. The five tiers are as follows:
You will be eligible to work independently or on behalf of your foreign company if you enter the UK under any of these visas. We will be focusing on Tier 2, 4 & 5 under the Global Business Mobility visa.
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The Graduate Trainee visa is a route for foreign workers enrolled in a graduate training course that is due to lead up to a senior management or specialist position in the company. Graduate Trainee applicants are required by their employer organisation to undertake a UK work placement for their training. This visa route will substitute the Intra-Company Graduate Trainee route.
The eligibility for a Tier 2 visa under the Global Business Mobility route is as follows:
The permission for sponsorship will only be granted to the applicant in one of the three conditions:
Supporting Partner on the Tier 2 Visa: The Tier 2 Graduate Trainee Visa supports partner or dependent visa under the condition that they are above the age of 18 years, have all their documents in place, including the employee’s tier 2 visa and the relationship between the partner and graduate trainee must be subsisting and genuine.
The Service Supplier route is for contract-based service suppliers hired by foreign service providers or independent self-employed professionals located overseas, wanting to undertake temporary work assignments in the UK to offer services covered by a UK international trade agreement.
This route substituted the independent professional conditions and the contractual service supplier that fell under the Temporary Work – International Agreement route. The eligibility for a Tier 4 route is as follows:
If the visa application is successful, permission is granted to the applicant for the following amount of time:
The Secondment Worker visa route is for overseas workers wanting to undertake temporary work assignments in the UK. Here the applicant is being seconded to enter the UK as part of a high-value investment or contract by their foreign employer. This is a completely new immigration route.
The eligibility criteria for this specific Tier 5 route are as follows:
If and when the tier 5 visa application is accepted, permission is granted to the applicant for the following amount of time:
The rules for the renewal of the Global Business Mobility visa vary for all the tiers within the spectrum.
For the renewal of the Secondment Worker and Service Supplier Visa:
As for the renewal of the Graduate Trainee Visa, you cannot extend or renew your existing visa but can apply for a new visa from outside the UK.
Your child or partner’s visa does not automatically extend when you apply to extend yours. If your partner and child do not apply for renewal or to extend their visa, it only remains valid until the visa’s original end date.
They can then either reapply along with you or at any time prior to their current visa expiration date.
Rejection of a visa can occur for several reasons. Getting your visa refused or rejected can be a very stressful time. Therefore, it is important to know what to avoid so you can be prepared for the best outcome.
Learning the reasons for rejection or refusal can also help you understand the process. Several GBM visas get rejected or refused if inaccuracies or discrepancies are found in the application process. Additionally, if the applicant does not meet the eligibility criteria in their application, their visa can get refused or rejected. Some reasons for visa refusal or rejection are:
If your visa application is refused, you can challenge the refusal by reapplying with the correct information and necessary supporting documents.
But, if your visa application is rejected, it implies that the UK Home Office reviewed your application and decided not to grant it. This means you shall not be permitted to enter or stay in the UK under that particular visa category. Many factors can lead to visa rejection.
In times like this, especially for international firms that deal with high-value time-constrained projects on a regular basis as a part of their Global Business Mobility programme, it is vital to seek the counsel of a skilled immigration lawyer. We at Osbourne Pinner help applicants fully understand their alternatives and ensure their application is solid to avoid visa refusal.
Our team of business immigration solicitors is one of the best in the field. At Osbourne Pinner, our only focus is assisting you in getting a complete understanding of the eligibility requirements and preparing all the supporting documentation you might need. We offer you advice and assistance throughout your visa application process and represent your case in any required administrative reviews or appeals.
Our dedication is reflected in the results we provide for our clients. Here is what our client Mr Nikhil Parmar had to say about our assistance in his UK Start Up project. He commended the professionalism and responsiveness of the immigration team. The entire execution of the process was smooth and without any hiccups. He also emphasised that our team updated him about the progress of his application all the time. With the hard work of our team, his endorsement decision came in less than 3 weeks.
The team at Osbourne Pinner believes in providing our clients highest levels of support during all the stages, as we did with Mr Parmar by preparing him for the endorsement body. Mr Parmar states, “Thank you for all your support and help throughout the tricky process. I will highly recommend seeking services from Osbourne Pinner.”
The Global Business Mobility set of visas offers several opportunities for foreign workers and international companies to visit and conduct business in the UK. They enhance the UK’s current set of work visas in several different ways and aim to vivify and promote the UK’s economy by ramping up international trading.
If you’re a foreign service provider, organisation or trader wanting to apply for a Global Business Mobility visa route, then Osbourne Pinner is at your service. We are a team of skilled immigration specialists who aim to help a business get positive results for all their immigration needs. We offer a broad range of services designed to carry your organisation’s needs.
If you’re looking to test the waters and expand your business into the UK by establishing a new branch or need help to undertake short-term contract work in the UK, we are ready to help. Call us at 0203 983 5080 or contact us at [email protected].
Yes, you can move to the UK to establish a business branch there with the help of the Global Business Mobility route. But the lengthy requirements need you to have permission from the UK Home Office under the UK’s Immigration Rules. You must meet the visa application’s strict eligibility requirements for the same.
Under the Global Business Mobility route, you can apply for five different visas, including senior or specialist employee visas, graduate trainee visas, service suppliers’ visas and secondment worker visas.
As long as the business has a working presence outside of the UK along with an appropriate connection to a UK-based company, organisations of all capacities are eligible to apply for the Global Business Mobility routes and get a working licence.
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