The UK government is set to launch new visas in spring 2022. Among these visas is the Global Business Mobility Visa, a route that will hugely benefit foreign entrepreneurs. Notably, this new visa will make it easier for foreign businesses to establish a presence in the UK.
What is the UK Global Business Mobility Visa?
The UK Global Business Mobility Visa is a new visa that will enable foreign companies and businesses to send one or more employees to the UK. As a foreign entrepreneur with a presence in the UK, you can easily transfer foreign workers to work in your UK branch. Likewise, you can transfer workers or representatives to set up a branch in the UK. This means you can leverage this visa whether you already have a UK presence or not.
Already, several UK work and business visas for foreign entrepreneurs allow companies to transfer workforce to the UK, but the Global Business Mobility visa comes with improved conditions to make the process easier. The new visa is a sort of reform of the Representative of an Overseas Business visa, Intra-Company Transfer, and the Intra-Company Graduate Trainee visas. There are five pathways under the Global Business Mobility visa, including:
- Senior or specialist workers
- Graduate trainees
- Secondment workers
- Service suppliers
- Expansion workers
The first two pathways are for businesses with a UK presence, while the last three are for businesses with no UK presence.
How Can Foreign Entrepreneurs Leverage It?
When the Global Mobility Business Visa launches, it will become the best option for foreign entrepreneurs to transfer workers to their UK branch or establish a presence in the country. First off, the UK government is particular about making the route easier for businesses as they want to bring in highly skilled individuals that’ll help boost the country’s economy.
The existing Intra-Company Transfer visa requires English language proficiency but the Senior or Specialist Worker pathway under the Global Mobility Business Visa doesn’t. Entrepreneurs from non-English speaking countries can leverage this.
In addition, the Senior or Specialist Worker pathway can lead to settlement in the UK as the period of duration counts as residency.
The senior or specialist worker pathway will require a £42,400 minimum annual salary compared to £41,500 for the Intra-Company Transfer visa.
The Graduate Trainee pathway, expected to replace the Intercompany Graduate Trainee Visa, comes with a minimum salary reduction. While the existing Intercompany Graduate Trainee requires £23,000 per year, the Graduate Trainee pathway is expected to reduce to £20,480. This reduction should enable foreign businesses to send more graduate trainees.
Foreign entrepreneurs can send workers to the UK to handle tasks they aren’t used to with the Secondment Worker pathway. It’s different from business visitor visas for workers to perform permissible activities. It presents an opportunity for businesses to send workers for skills exchange, up-skilling, or to temporarily replace an employee.
There’s not much change about the Service Suppliers pathway as it’s the same with the Temporary Work – International Agreement visa except now under the Global Mobility Business Visa umbrella.
The last pathway under the Global Mobility Business Visa – Business Expansion Workers – is for entrepreneurs looking to set up a branch in the UK. Current UK business visas for foreign entrepreneurs only allow sending a sole representative – just one person. With this new visa, they can send a sole representative or a small team of workers – up to 5 persons.
Requirements For The Visa
Not much information is available about the requirements for the UK Global Mobility Business Visa at the moment. More information is expected in the coming months as spring draws near. Nevertheless, one key requirement is that all pathways require sponsorship by employers.
This is feasible for businesses with a UK presence, but it’s unclear how businesses with no UK presence will sponsor their workers in the UK. In such a case, seeking guidance from UK Immigration Lawyers is pivotal for applying. Also, since it’s a new visa, UK Immigration Lawyers are in the finest position to put businesses through.
Aside from the sponsorship requirement, workers are expected to meet a particular skill level, salary threshold, and minimum length of employment to qualify for the visa. There are no specifics as it depends on the pathway.
