UK Expansion Worker
(GBM) visa
Establish your new business venture
in the UK
The UK Expansion 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.
A UK Expansion Worker visa allows you to come to the UK to set up a branch of an overseas business that has not started trading in the UK yet. You must already work for the overseas business as either a senior manager or specialist employee.
Eligibility
To qualify for a UK Expansion Worker visa, you must:
- Have a ‘Certificate of Sponsorship’ (CoS) from your employer with information about the work you will do in the UK.
- Have worked for your employer outside the UK.
- Do a job that’s on the list of eligible occupations.
- Be paid at least £48,500 or the ‘going rate’ for your job – whichever is higher.
You must have worked for your employer outside the UK for at least 12 months, unless:
- You’re earning over £73,900
- You’re a Japanese national working for a Japanese company that is expanding to the UK
- You’re a national or permanent resident of Australia working for an Australian company that is expanding to the UK.
Costs
When you apply for a UK Expansion 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 UK Expansion 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 UK Expansion Worker visa up to 3 months before the day you are due to start work in the UK (this date is listed on your CoS).
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 UK Expansion Worker visa for whichever is shorter of:
- 12 months after the start date of the job on 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 UK Expansion Worker visa is 2 years.
If you’ve spent time in the UK on this or another visa, you might not be able to stay on a UK Expansion Worker visa for as long. 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 UK Expansion 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 are eligible and 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 UK Expansion Worker visa application. We have worked with overseas businesses in a range of sectors to enable them to send representatives to the UK and successfully set up a branch or wholly owned subsidiary of the overseas business.
To find out more about how we can help your business expand into the UK, please contact us today.
Frequently asked questions
Under the old Sole Representative route, overseas businesses were only permitted to send one senior employee to the UK to undertake the expansion work. In contrast, the new UK Expansion Worker route allows a team of employees to come to the UK to undertake the set-up phase (up to a maximum of 5 workers at any one time).
Unlike other sponsored work routes, companies applying for a sponsor licence on the UK Expansion Worker route must not already be actively trading in the UK. They must, however, show that they have:
– A UK ‘footprint’
– An overseas trading presence
– Credible plans to expand to the UK and establish a trading presence within 2 years.
Smith Stone Walters can advise your business in more detail about the requirements for obtaining a Home Office sponsor licence under this route.
Once your business has established a UK trading presence, you can apply to add other routes to your licence (for example, Skilled Worker or Senior or Specialist Worker). You will then be able to issue a new Certificate of Sponsorship to the worker(s) for the relevant route so they can apply for a new visa.
Alternatively, Smith Stone Walters is on hand to provide tailored advice and answer any questions you may have.
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