Sponsor licences · IAA-regulated advice
Global Business Mobility Sponsor Licence Advice in Birmingham & London
Move staff from your overseas group, graduate trainees or contract workers to your UK business for a set period. We check your link to the overseas business, which routes you need and what each one costs, and prepare your licence application with you, for a fixed fee agreed in writing.
Last checked 11 October 2026 · Reviewed by Vishal Gautam, IAA-regulated adviser
Overview
What is a Global Business Mobility sponsor licence?
Global Business Mobility (GBM) is a family of five routes for temporary work assignments in the UK. There’s no single ‘GBM licence’: Senior or Specialist Worker is a Worker route, while Graduate Trainee, Service Supplier, Secondment Worker and UK Expansion Worker are Temporary Worker routes. You apply for the routes you need, on a new licence or added to one you already hold.
The sponsor is the UK business the worker comes to, and it must show a qualifying link to the overseas business: common ownership or control, a joint venture, or a qualifying contract. The jobs must normally be skilled to degree level, the worker must already work for the overseas business, and none of these routes leads to settlement. An overseas business that isn’t trading in the UK yet needs the UK Expansion Worker licence instead.
✓This is the right licence if…
- Your UK business is linked to an overseas business by common ownership or control, or by a joint venture
- Or you have a contract with an overseas business that qualifies for the Service Supplier or Secondment route
- The workers already work for the overseas business, usually for at least 12 months (3 months for graduate trainees)
- The jobs are skilled to degree level and the assignments are temporary
→Look at another route if…
- Your overseas business hasn’t started trading in the UK yetUK Expansion Worker licence →
- You’re recruiting new staff for a UK jobSkilled Worker licence →
- You’re the employee being transferredSenior or Specialist Worker visa →
- You want the worker’s side of all five routesGlobal Business Mobility visas →
Quick check
Can you sponsor? Six questions, one minute
Answer honestly. Nothing is saved or sent: this is a general guide, not advice on your case.
Is your UK business genuinely operating or trading in the UK?Every GBM route except UK Expansion Worker needs a UK operating or trading presence.
Is your UK business linked to the overseas business by common ownership or control, or a joint venture?For example, one controls the other’s board or holds more than half its voting rights, or both share a parent that does. A joint venture must already be operating.
Or do you have a qualifying contract with an overseas business?Service Supplier: a services contract of up to 12 months covered by a UK trade agreement. Secondment: goods or investment worth at least £50 million.
Has the worker already worked for the overseas business for long enough?Usually 12 months outside the UK; 6 months for Secondment Workers and 3 months in a row for Graduate Trainees. Senior or Specialist Workers paid £73,900 or more are exempt.
Is the job skilled to degree level, and paid at the route’s rate?Senior or Specialist: £52,500 or the going rate, if higher. Graduate Trainee: £27,300 or 70% of the going rate, if higher. Service Supplier and Secondment: at least the minimum wage.
Do you have UK-based key people and systems to meet sponsor duties?You need an Authorising Officer, a Key Contact and a Level 1 User who is a settled employee, director or partner.
Eligibility
Global Business Mobility licence requirements
On top of the general licence rules, each GBM route has its own rules for the link, the worker and the pay. You can hold several GBM routes on one licence, alongside Skilled Worker if you need it.
Senior or Specialist Worker
- For senior managers or specialist employees transferred by a linked overseas business. It replaced the Intra-company Transfer route
- A Worker route: the licence costs £1,682 if you’re medium or large, each certificate £525, plus the Immigration Skills Charge
- The worker needs 12 months’ work for your group outside the UK, unless they’re paid £73,900 or more
- Your link can be common ownership or control, or a joint venture that’s already operating
EU nationals transferred from an EU business in your group for up to 3 years may be exempt from the Immigration Skills Charge.
Graduate Trainee
- For employees on a structured graduate training programme leading to a senior management or specialist role in your group
- You send evidence of the programme, such as a brochure or recruitment details, with your application
- The trainee needs 3 months’ continuous work for your group outside the UK, just before applying
- Trainees can move between roles linked to the programme without a new visa, as long as you tell the Home Office
Because of the 3-month overseas rule, trainees normally can’t switch to this route, or extend it, from inside the UK.
Service Supplier
- For employees of an overseas service provider, or self-employed professionals based overseas, delivering a contract covered by a UK trade agreement
- The contract must last no more than 12 months, be won through open tendering or similar, and you must be the final consumer
- The overseas provider must have no commercial presence in the UK, and you register the contract with the Home Office
- There’s no salary threshold, but pay must meet minimum wage law, and certificates cost £55
You can’t sponsor a Service Supplier and then supply them as labour to another organisation.
Secondment Worker
- For employees of an overseas business seconded to you as part of a high-value contract or investment with that business
- The contract must be worth at least £10 million a year and £50 million in total, and be registered with the Home Office
- You can only assign certificates for that registered contract; tell the Home Office about any new contract and wait for its approval
- Workers get up to 12 months at first, and up to 2 years in a row; pay must meet minimum wage law
Assigning a certificate under a contract the Home Office hasn’t approved leads to revocation of your licence.
Your duties as a GBM sponsor
- Keep the details of your linked overseas business up to date on the sponsorship management system
- Check each worker’s total time on GBM routes: the usual maximum is 5 years in any 6
- Don’t use GBM workers to fill a position with another business, or to do ongoing routine work for a client
- Report changes on time, and pay your own licence, certificate and skills charge costs
Keep evidence of each worker’s overseas employment: the Home Office can ask for it.
Documents
Global Business Mobility licence documents: the easy part
You send at least 4 documents, including the mandatory evidence for each GBM route you choose. What matters most is proof of the link: who owns or controls whom, or the contract you rely on.
What everyone needs
- Your online application and the signed submission sheet
- Documents showing your UK business is genuine and trading
- Proof of your link to the overseas business, for Senior or Specialist and Graduate Trainee
- £Your qualifying contract, for Service Supplier or Secondment Worker
- Details of your graduate training programme, for Graduate Trainees
- Details of your Authorising Officer, Key Contact and Level 1 User
Plus certified translations of anything not in English or Welsh. If you also apply for Skilled Worker, you add information about your business and the jobs you plan to fill.
Costs & timeline
Global Business Mobility licence cost and processing time
A licence for Graduate Trainee, Service Supplier or Secondment Worker costs £611 whatever your size, with £55 certificates. Senior or Specialist Worker is a Worker route: £1,682 for a medium or large sponsor, £525 per certificate and the Immigration Skills Charge. Most licence decisions take under 8 weeks.
Paid by you, the UK sponsor
| Licence fee, medium or large sponsorWorker licence covering Senior or Specialist; £611 if you’re small, or for the other GBM routes only | £1,682 |
| Certificate of sponsorship, Senior or Specialist Worker£55 for Graduate Trainee, Service Supplier and Secondment Worker | £525 |
| Immigration Skills Charge, first 12 monthsSenior or Specialist only; £660 for each extra 6 months (£480 and £240 if you’re small) | £1,320 |
| Home Office total, medium or large sponsorlicence plus one Senior or Specialist Worker for 12 months | £3,527 |
Home Office fees from the fees table in force from 8 October 2026, and the Immigration Skills Charge from GOV.UK, checked 11 October 2026. A licence covering only Graduate Trainee, Service Supplier or Secondment Worker costs £611, with £55 certificates and no Immigration Skills Charge. The £750 priority service (a decision within 10 working days, limited places) is available for Senior or Specialist and Graduate Trainee applications, but not for Service Supplier or Secondment Worker. Adding a GBM route to an existing licence is usually free; a medium or large sponsor adding Senior or Specialist to a Temporary Worker-only licence pays £1,071. Visa fees are separate: £819 for a Senior or Specialist Worker applying from outside the UK for up to 3 years, and £340 on the other routes. Our consultation fees →
Map your links and roles
Before you applyConfirm your group link or contract, which routes you need, and each worker’s overseas service.
Apply online and pay
Week 0Name your linked overseas business, register any Service Supplier or Secondment contract, and send your documents within 5 working days.
Decision
Usually under 8 weeksUKVI may visit first. Senior or Specialist and Graduate Trainee applications can pay £750 for a decision within 10 working days.
Assign certificates
£525 or £55 eachPay the Immigration Skills Charge for Senior or Specialist Workers when you assign the certificate. The worker then has 3 months to apply.
Manage the assignment
Up to 5 years in any 6Track each worker’s time on GBM routes. To stay long term, a worker would need to switch to another route, such as Skilled Worker.
Avoid a refusal
Common Global Business Mobility licence refusal reasons
GBM problems usually come from the link to the overseas business, or from how the workers will be used. These are the issues we check first.
A link the Home Office won’t accept
Common ownership means control of the board or more than half the voting rights, directly or through a shared parent. Informal cooperation doesn’t count as a joint venture.
We check: your group structure and the evidence for it.
Contracts that don’t qualify
Secondment contracts must reach £50 million in total. Service Supplier contracts must be covered by a trade agreement, last no more than 12 months and come from open tendering.
We check: each contract against the route’s rules.
No UK trading presence
Every route on this page needs a UK operating or trading presence. A business not yet trading in the UK must use the UK Expansion Worker route.
We check: whether you’re trading, or need the expansion route.
Roles that serve third parties
GBM workers can’t fill a position with another business or do ongoing routine work for a client. The worker’s visa can be refused and your licence revoked.
We check: where, and for whom, each worker will work.
Ineligible key personnel
Your Authorising Officer, Key Contact and Level 1 User must be UK-based, and at least one Level 1 User must be a settled employee, director or partner.
We check: who can fill each role in your UK business.
The wrong fee or sponsor size
If you don’t pay the full fee, the application is invalid. The size you declare also sets the Immigration Skills Charge on every Senior or Specialist certificate.
We check: your sponsor size before you pay.
How we help
Our Global Business Mobility licence services
Choose a one-off consultation, or let us prepare your licence application with you from start to finish, for a fixed fee.
Route consultation
We check your group link or contracts, and which GBM routes, or Skilled Worker, suit each assignment.
Evidence review
We check your link evidence, contracts, key personnel and fee category before you apply.
Licence application
We help you complete the online form and prepare your documents. The Home Office requires you to submit it yourself.
Assignments and compliance
We help you assign certificates, track each worker’s time limits and meet your reporting duties.
Our scope: we’re regulated by the Immigration Advice Authority at Level 1. There’s no right of appeal against a licence refusal. If you’re refused, we explain your options and help you reapply when you’re able to, and we refer you to a solicitor or higher-level adviser where your case needs a higher level of advice.
FAQs
Global Business Mobility licence questions, answered
Is there a single Global Business Mobility licence?
No. Senior or Specialist Worker is a Worker route and the other four GBM routes are Temporary Worker routes, so they can sit on one licence but are priced differently. You apply for each route you need.
Can we add GBM routes to our Skilled Worker licence?
Yes. Your Level 1 User applies through a shortened form, with your Authorising Officer’s approval, and sends any mandatory documents for the new route. If you paid the large fee for your Worker licence, or you’re a small sponsor, there’s no extra fee.
Do we pay the Immigration Skills Charge for every GBM worker?
No, only for Senior or Specialist Workers: £480 or £1,320 for the first 12 months, depending on your size. There’s no charge for Graduate Trainees, Service Suppliers or Secondment Workers. Some EU nationals transferred from an EU business in your group for up to 3 years are exempt.
How long can a transferred employee stay?
A Senior or Specialist Worker can be granted up to 5 years at a time, within a limit of 5 years in any 6 across all GBM routes, or 9 years in any 10 if paid £73,900 or more. Graduate Trainees get up to 12 months, Service Suppliers 6 or 12 months per assignment, and Secondment Workers up to 2 years in a row.
Can a GBM worker settle in the UK?
Not on these routes, and GBM time doesn’t count towards settlement on another points-based work route. A worker who wants to stay long term would need to switch, for example to a Skilled Worker visa, which they can do from inside the UK if they qualify.
Does a joint venture count as a link?
For Senior or Specialist and Graduate Trainee, yes, if the joint venture is already operating and the worker will work on it. You’ll need evidence such as the signed agreement or Companies House details of the new company; informal cooperation doesn’t count. Joint ventures don’t count for UK Expansion Worker.
What happens if our application is refused?
There’s no right of appeal. If the refusal came from a caseworker error, or evidence you sent wasn’t considered, you can send an error correction request within 14 calendar days. Otherwise, you can usually apply again after 6 months, once the problem is fixed.
Related routes
Other sponsor licence pages
Global Business Mobility visas
All five routes, from the worker’s side.
Read more →Senior or Specialist Worker visa
What a transferred employee needs.
Read more →UK Expansion Worker licence
For businesses not yet trading in the UK.
Read more →Compare sponsor licences
Every licence type, its fees and its routes.
Read more →Ready when you are
Transferred, sorted.
Book a consultation, or start with the free quick check on this page.