Global Business Mobility · IAA-regulated advice
UK Expansion Worker Visa Advice in Birmingham & London
Being sent to the UK to set up your employer’s first UK branch or subsidiary? The UK Expansion Worker visa lets senior managers and specialists of an overseas business do that for up to 2 years. We check you qualify and prepare your application, for a fixed fee agreed in writing.
Last checked 11 October 2026 · Reviewed by Vishal Gautam, IAA-regulated adviser
Overview
What is the UK Expansion Worker visa?
The UK Expansion Worker visa is for senior managers and specialist employees sent by an overseas business to set up its branch or subsidiary in the UK. The business must not have started trading in the UK yet. If it already trades here, the Senior or Specialist Worker route is the one to use.
It’s one of the five Global Business Mobility routes, set out in Appendix Global Business Mobility of the Immigration Rules, and it’s still open. You can stay up to 2 years on it, and it doesn’t lead to settlement. Once the UK business is trading, your employer can add other routes to its licence.
✓This is your visa if…
- Your employer is an overseas business that hasn’t started trading in the UK yet
- You’re a senior manager or specialist, and have worked for the business outside the UK for 12 months (or an exemption applies)
- Your job is on the eligible list and pays at least £52,500 a year and the going rate
- Your employer has a UK Expansion Worker sponsor licence, or is applying for one
→Look at another route if…
Quick check
Could you qualify? Six questions, one minute
Answer honestly. Nothing is saved or sent: this is a general guide, not advice on your case.
Is your employer an overseas business that hasn’t started trading in the UK?It needs a UK ‘footprint’, such as premises or a Companies House registration, but no UK trading yet.
Does your employer hold, or is it applying for, a UK Expansion Worker sponsor licence?If you’re the first person sent over, you may also be named on the licence as its Authorising Officer.
Have you worked for the business outside the UK for at least 12 months in total?Not needed if you’re paid £73,900 or more, or for some Japanese and Australian nationals.
Will you be paid at least £52,500 a year, and at least the going rate for your job?Only guaranteed basic pay and certain guaranteed allowances count.
Is your job on the list of eligible occupations?Jobs skilled to RQF level 6 (degree level) or above, plus some health and education roles.
Do you have £1,270 in savings, held for 28 days in a row?Your sponsor can’t certify maintenance on this route. Not needed after 12 months in the UK with permission.
Eligibility
UK Expansion Worker visa requirements
You, your job and your employer must all meet the requirements on the day you apply.
Your employer’s expansion
- An overseas business that is trading now, normally for at least 3 years (with exceptions for some Japanese, Australian and listed businesses)
- Not yet trading in the UK, but with a UK ‘footprint’: premises, or a branch or subsidiary registered at Companies House
- A credible plan to start trading in the UK within 2 years, in the same type of business
- Investment-only businesses, such as private equity or venture capital funds, can’t use the route
Your employer shows these when it applies for its licence. See our UK Expansion Worker licence page for the business side.
Licence and certificate
- A UK Expansion Worker licence, sponsoring only as many workers as the expansion genuinely needs
- If the Authorising Officer is overseas, the licence starts with a Provisional rating and 1 certificate, which they assign to themselves
- A certificate of sponsorship issued no more than 3 months before you apply
- A genuine job, not the hire of you to a third party or routine contract work
Your sponsor pays the £55 certificate fee. There’s no Immigration Skills Charge on this route.
Salary
- Your salary must meet both £52,500 a year and the going rate for your occupation code
- Only guaranteed basic pay and guaranteed allowances count; accommodation allowances count up to 30% of the package
- Pay for hours over 48 a week doesn’t count towards the £52,500
- Bonuses, overtime, employer pension contributions and benefits in kind don’t count
The threshold rose from £48,500 to £52,500 on 22 July 2025.
Your job and work for the business
- You must work for the business now, and have worked for it outside the UK for 12 months in total
- Not needed if you’re a high earner, paid £73,900 or more
- Not needed for Japanese nationals setting up a UK branch under the UK-Japan agreement, or Australian nationals or permanent residents under the UK-Australia agreement
- A job in an eligible occupation code: skilled to RQF level 6 or above, or a listed health or education role
Only certain breaks in your work are allowed, such as parental leave or sick leave.
How long you can stay, and funds
- Granted for 12 months from your job start date, or until 14 days after your job ends, if sooner
- Extend in the UK, in the same job with the same employer, up to 2 years in total
- £1,270 in savings unless you’ve been in the UK with permission for 12 months; your sponsor can’t certify this for you
- No English requirement; you can only work in your sponsored job (plus voluntary work), and can’t claim public funds
All Global Business Mobility and Intra-Company time counts towards a limit of 5 years in any 6. This visa doesn’t lead to settlement.
Documents
UK Expansion Worker visa documents: the easy part
Most of the paperwork is straightforward. Refusals come from the details: your salary, your overseas work and what the certificate says.
What everyone needs
- Your passport or other travel document
- Your certificate of sponsorship reference number
- Your job title, occupation code and annual salary
- Proof you’ve worked for the business outside the UK, if asked
- £Bank statements showing your savings
- Proof of your relationship, if family are applying with you
Plus a TB test if you’re coming from a listed country, an ATAS certificate if your sponsor says you need one, and certified translations of anything not in English or Welsh.
Costs & timeline
UK Expansion Worker visa cost and processing time
The Home Office fee is £340, plus the health surcharge of £1,035 for a 12-month visa. Most decisions take about 3 weeks from outside the UK and 8 weeks in the UK.
| Home Office application fee | £340 |
| Immigration Health Surcharge12-month visa; £1,552.50 if it runs over a year | £1,035 |
| Home Office total, per applicantbefore savings, TB test and translations | £1,375 |
| Home Office application feeextending or switching | £340 |
| Immigration Health Surcharge12 months at £1,035 a year | £1,035 |
| Home Office total, per applicantbefore savings, TB test and translations | £1,375 |
Home Office fees from the fees table in force from 8 October 2026 and the health surcharge from GOV.UK, checked 11 October 2026. Your partner and children each pay the same £340 fee; the surcharge is £776 a year for children under 18. Your sponsor pays the £55 certificate fee. You may be able to pay for a faster decision. Our consultation fees →
Licence and certificate
Before you applyYour employer gets its UK Expansion Worker licence and assigns your certificate of sponsorship.
Apply and prove your identity
Up to 3 months before you startOnline application, fee and surcharge paid, then the ID check app or a visa centre appointment.
Decision
Usually within 3 weeks from outside the UKIn the UK, usually within 8 weeks. You’ll be told if it will take longer.
Extend
Up to 2 years in totalApply in the UK before your visa ends, in the same job with the same employer.
UK business trading
Expected within 2 yearsYour employer can add routes such as Skilled Worker or Senior or Specialist Worker, and you may be able to switch.
Avoid a refusal
Common UK Expansion Worker visa refusal reasons
Most refusals come down to salary, overseas work or the evidence. These are the issues we check first.
Already trading in the UK
The route is only for businesses that haven’t started trading here. If the business already trades in the UK, another route applies.
We check: the business’s UK position before anyone applies.
Pay that doesn’t count
Bonuses, some allowances and pay for hours over 48 a week can leave you below £52,500 or the going rate.
We check: which parts of your package count.
Short of 12 months
You need 12 months’ work for the business outside the UK, unless you’re a high earner or a Japanese or Australian exemption applies.
We check: your employment dates, breaks and any exemption.
The wrong occupation code
The code must be eligible and fit the job. A code with a lower going rate than the real job can lead to refusal.
We check: the code matches the work you’ll actually do.
Relying on your sponsor for funds
Unlike most Global Business Mobility routes, your sponsor can’t certify maintenance: you must show £1,270 yourself, held for 28 days.
We check: your bank evidence covers the right period.
Licence steps out of order
If the Authorising Officer is overseas, they apply first, and the licence must be upgraded to an A-rating before anyone else is sponsored.
We check: the order of the licence steps and applications.
How we help
Our UK Expansion Worker visa services
Choose a one-off consultation, or let us handle your application from start to finish for a fixed fee.
Eligibility consultation
We check your job, salary and overseas work against the Rules, and tell you plainly about any risk.
Document review
We check your certificate details, employment history and savings before you apply.
Full application
We prepare and submit your application, and your family’s, with a cover letter that sets out how you qualify.
Extension and next route
We help you extend, and switch to a route such as Skilled Worker once the UK business trades.
Our scope: we’re regulated by the Immigration Advice Authority at Level 1. If you’re refused, we explain your options, including administrative review, and refer you to a solicitor or higher-level adviser where your case needs a higher level of advice.
FAQs
UK Expansion Worker visa questions, answered
Is the UK Expansion Worker route still open?
Yes. It’s still part of Appendix Global Business Mobility, and no Statement of Changes has closed or replaced it. For certificates issued from 22 July 2025, the salary threshold is £52,500. Since July 2025 a business can sponsor up to 10 workers on the route at a time.
What counts as ‘not yet trading’ in the UK?
The business can have a UK footprint, such as premises or a branch or company registered at Companies House, and can carry out limited pre-trade activity, such as employing the person who will be its Authorising Officer. It must not already be actively trading in the UK.
I’m the first person going to the UK. How does that work?
If there’s no suitable person in the UK, a senior employee of the overseas business can be the licence’s Authorising Officer. The licence then starts with a Provisional rating and 1 certificate, which they assign to themselves. Once they have their visa, they ask for an A-rating before the business can sponsor anyone else.
Can I bring my family?
Yes. Your partner and children under 18 can apply as your dependants, and can work (except as a sportsperson or sports coach) and study. They need £285 for a partner, £315 for one child and £200 for each other child, held for 28 days, unless you’ve all been in the UK with permission for 12 months. Your sponsor can’t certify this.
What happens when the UK business starts trading?
Your employer can add other routes to its licence, such as Skilled Worker or Senior or Specialist Worker, and you may then be able to switch if you meet the requirements. The UK Expansion Worker licence lasts 4 years and can’t be renewed, and the Home Office expects the business to be trading within 2 years.
Can I switch to this visa from inside the UK?
Sometimes, if you meet all the requirements, including 12 months’ work for the business outside the UK unless you’re exempt. You can’t switch if you’re here as a visitor, short-term student, seasonal worker, domestic worker in a private household or parent of a child student, on immigration bail, or with permission outside the Rules.
Can I settle in the UK on a UK Expansion Worker visa?
No. It isn’t a route to settlement. To stay longer, you’d need to switch to a route that leads to settlement, such as Skilled Worker, once your employer can sponsor you on it.
What happens if my application is refused?
Refusals on this route carry administrative review, not an appeal: a check of the decision for a caseworking error. We explain your options, and refer you on where your case needs a higher level of advice.
Related routes
Other Global Business Mobility routes
Ready when you are
Expansion, sorted.
Book a consultation, or start with the free quick check on this page.