The Secondment Worker – Global Business Mobility visa introduced on 11 April 2022, is a new visa category enabling businesses to second personnel temporarily from on overseas organisation to work on a ‘high value’ contract or investment. The Secondment Worker is unique within the sponsorship licence system as it does not require a relationship with a linked entity overseas – the relationship is with the UK sponsor’s partner who is a party to the contract.
The UK employer must have the contract approved through the sponsor management system. The contract needs to be worth at least £10 million per year and not less than £50 million. Therefore, if the contract duration is less than 5 years it must be worth £50 million and if over 5 years at least £10 million per year. The Secondment Worker is aimed at companies who need to work on high worth contracts which are of significant commercial value. The secondment worker can only work on the contract specified.
The Secondment worker route does not lead to settlement status for an individual, but they can bring their partners and children under 18 years old.
The secondment worker must:
Meet a points-based test as follows:
The salary must meet the national minimum salary requirement.
The role an offer must be ‘genuine’ – it must not for example be a fictitious role or created only to help with obtaining a visa.
Applicants require the permission of a Government or scholarship agency if they received sponsorship which included fees and accommodation.
Approval also needs to be sought in the form of an Academic Approval Technology Certificate but only in certain circumstances including where the sponsor is also licensed as a student organisation.
The secondment worker must either have:
A secondment worker can work in the UK for:
The maximum period the secondment worker can work for is 5 years in a 6-year period and so an individual would have to leave the UK at the end of the two-year period and reapply from overseas.
A secondment worker can apply to bring their:
The application fees for dependants are:
An application for secondment worker and their respective dependants must be done online, supporting documents uploaded and attend biometrics.
For nationals of specified countries, a valid tuberculosis test certificate must be supplied.