Secondment worker
(GBM) visa
Global Business Mobility route for seconded workers
The Secondment Worker visa forms part of the UK’s Global Business Mobility (GBM) immigration route for overseas businesses who need to temporarily send workers to the UK for a specific purpose that cannot be done by a settled worker.
You can apply for a Secondment Worker visa if your overseas employer is transferring you to the UK to do an eligible job for a different organisation. Your overseas employer must have a high-value contract with the UK organisation.
Eligibility
To qualify for a Secondment Worker visa, you must:
- Be an existing employee of an overseas organisation that has a high-value contract with your UK sponsor that has been approved by the Home Office.
- Have worked for your overseas employer for at least 12 months outside the UK.
- Have a Certificate of Sponsorship (CoS) from your UK sponsor.
- Do a job that’s on the list of eligible occupations.
note:
Your overseas employer must have an eligible contract with your UK sponsor that’s worth at least £50 million.
Costs
When you apply for a Secondment Worker visa, you will need to have enough money to:
- Pay the visa application fee – It costs £298 to apply.
- Pay the Immigration Health Surcharge (IHS) – The IHS costs £1,035 per year, or £776 per year for under-18s.
- Support yourself in the UK – You will usually need to show that you have at least £1,270 in your bank account (unless you’re exempt).
note:
The visa application fee and the IHS must also be paid for any accompanying dependants.
How to apply
You must apply online for a Secondment Worker visa.
As part of your application, you will need to prove your identity and provide your supporting documents. To do this, you will need to do one of the following:
- Attend an appointment at a Visa Application Centre (VAC) if you’re outside the UK.
- Attend an appointment at a UK Visa and Citizenship Application Services (UKVCAS) service point if you’re inside the UK.
- Use the ‘UK Immigration: ID Check’ app to scan your identity document, if you are eligible.
Processing times
You can apply for a Secondment Worker visa up to 3 months before the day you are due to start work in the UK. This date is listed on your certificate of sponsorship.
Once you’ve applied online, proved your identity and provided your documents, you’ll usually get a decision on your visa within 3 weeks if you’re outside the UK, or 8 weeks if you’re inside the UK.
You may be able to pay for a faster decision using the Home Office priority services.
How long you can stay
You can stay in the UK with a Secondment Worker visa for whichever is the shorter of:
- 12 months after the start date of the job detailed in your certificate of sponsorship.
- The time given on your certificate of sponsorship plus 14 days.
If you want to stay longer in the UK, you can extend your visa by 12 months. The maximum time you can stay in the UK on a Secondment Worker visa is 2 years.
You can only stay in the UK for a maximum of 5 years in any 6-year period if you’ve spent time on any of the GBM routes, including the predecessor ICT routes.
Permitted Activites
With a Secondment Worker visa, you can:
- Work for your sponsor in the job described in your CoS
- Study
- Bring dependant family members with you, if they are eligible
- Do voluntary work
- Travel abroad and return to the UK.
You cannot:
- Access most public funds, or the State Pension.
- Change jobs, unless you update your visa
- Have a second job
- Apply to settle permanently in the UK.
How can we help
Smith Stone Walters can offer expert advice and assistance with your Secondment Worker visa application. We have worked with employers and individuals to successfully bring assignees to the UK under the Global Business Mobility routes.
To find out more about how we can help, please contact us today.
Frequently asked questions
For sponsor licencing fee purposes, the Secondment Worker route is classified as a ‘Temporary Worker’ route. This means that organisations applying for a licence to sponsor Secondment Workers will pay the standard fee for a Temporary Worker sponsor licence, regardless of their size or charitable status.
CoS assigned to workers on this route will be charged the standard Temporary Worker CoS fee (£25). Unlike the Senior or Specialist Worker route, sponsors are not required to pay the Immigration Skills Charge (ISC) for Secondment Workers.
When you know your occupation code, check the table of eligible jobs to see if it’s eligible for a Secondment Worker visa.
Alternatively, Smith Stone Walters is on hand to answer any questions you may have. Our immigration experts can assess your eligibility and guide you through the entire application process. To find out how we can help, please contact us today.
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