Senior or Specialist Worker Visa (Global Business Mobility)

• Sponsorship and certificate of sponsorshipThe worker must have a valid certificate of sponsorship from an employer authorised by the Home Office to sponsor this route, confirming the job, salary and any allowances on offer. The sponsor must normally be A-rated, unless the worker is continuing in the same job with the same sponsor as their last permission.
• Current employer and overseas workThe worker must already be working for the sponsor's group. Unless they are being paid at or above the route's higher-earner salary level, they must have worked for that group outside the UK for a cumulative period of at least 12 months.
• Eligible occupation and skill levelThe job must be in an occupation code listed as eligible for the Global Business Mobility routes at the required skill level, and the sponsor must choose the occupation code that most closely matches the job actually being done.
• Minimum salarySalary must equal or exceed both the route's general threshold of £52,500 a year and the published 'going rate' for the occupation code, whichever is higher; only guaranteed basic pay and certain guaranteed allowances count towards this.
• National Minimum Wage and working-time complianceThe sponsored job must comply with the National Minimum Wage Regulations and the Working Time Regulations.
• English languageThis route does not include a separate English language test requirement for the worker, unlike some other UK work routes.
• Financial (maintenance) requirementThe worker must show personal savings of at least £1,270 held for a 28-day period, unless they have already been in the UK with permission for 12 months or more, or their sponsor certifies on the certificate of sponsorship that it will maintain and accommodate them instead.
• GenuinenessThe worker must genuinely intend, and be able, to do the sponsored role, and must not intend to work outside that role except where the published conditions of grant allow it.
• General suitabilityThe application must not fall for refusal under the general suitability requirements that apply across UK immigration routes.

• Certificate of sponsorship reference numberGiven by the employer; needed to start the online application.
• Valid passport or other identity documentShows identity and nationality.
• Job title, annual salary and occupation codeConfirmed on the certificate of sponsorship.
• Employer name and sponsor licence numberShown on the certificate of sponsorship.
• Evidence of personal savingsFor example bank statements, unless the certificate of sponsorship confirms the employer will support the worker instead.
• Proof of relationship with a partner or childWhere a partner or child is applying at the same time.
• Tuberculosis test resultsWhere required for applicants from a listed country.
• Evidence of overseas employmentMay be requested to show at least 12 months working for the employer outside the UK, unless the higher-earner salary level is met.
• Certified translationsFor any document that is not in English or Welsh.

Apply outside the UK: up to 3 years

£819

Apply outside the UK: more than 3 years

£1,618

Apply inside the UK (extend, switch or update): up to 3 years

£943

Apply inside the UK (extend, switch or update): more than 3 years

£1,865

Immigration Health Surcharge

£1,035 per year of stay

Money you must show you have (unless exempt)

£1,270

Fees are set by the Home Office and can change. A partner or child pays the fee for the same length of stay as the main applicant, even if they apply separately. Source: GOV.UK https://www.gov.uk/senior-specialist-worker-visa/how-much-it-costs

Apply outside the UK

Usually within 3 weeks

Apply inside the UK (extend, switch or update)

Usually within 8 weeks

Standard service times published by the Home Office; a faster decision may be available for an extra fee.

• Hold the licence before you assign a certificateYou need a Senior or Specialist Worker sponsor licence before you can assign a certificate of sponsorship. For licensing purposes this route counts as a Worker route, unlike the other four Global Business Mobility routes, which count as Temporary Worker routes.
• Prove the link to the overseas businessYou must be linked to the overseas business by common ownership or control, or by a joint venture agreement. Where the link is that one individual owns shares in both, that person needs a majority shareholding in each. You give details of the linked overseas business when you apply for the licence, and you keep them up to date while you hold it.
• Confirm the worker's overseas service on the certificateYou confirm on the certificate that the worker has the overseas service the route requires. You do this even where the worker qualifies as a high earner and no minimum period applies to them.
• Sponsor only a genuine roleThe role must be real. The Home Office refuses the sponsorship points where it has reasonable grounds to believe the role does not exist. The same applies to a sham role, or one created mainly so the worker could apply. Assigning a certificate for a role that is not genuine means refusal for the worker and revocation for you.
• Check the right to work before the job startsYou check that the worker has permission to work in the UK, and to do that job, before they start. As a licensed sponsor you carry this duty for every worker you sponsor, whatever the employment relationship. The civil penalty is up to £60,000 for each illegal worker.
• Report worker changes in 10 working days, organisation changes in 20You report a change in a sponsored worker's circumstances within 10 working days of the event, unless the guidance sets another period. Examples are a worker who does not start, absence without your permission, and stopping sponsorship. Changes to your own organisation go to UKVI within 20 working days, covering a merger, a takeover, insolvency, and a change in size or type. Size and type set the skills charge you pay.
• Stop sponsoring if the salary drops below the minimumIf the worker's pay falls below the rate that applies to them, and no published exception covers it, you must stop sponsoring them. You then tell UKVI within 10 working days through your sponsorship management system account. This is a duty to act, not only to report.
• Keep the sponsorship recordsAppendix D of the sponsor guidance lists the documents you keep for each sponsored worker. They include your right to work check evidence, recruitment records, and evidence of salary and skill level. Paper or electronic is fine, as long as you can produce them on request.
• Do not recover sponsorship costs from the workerYou must not recoup the skills charge from a worker you sponsor. Since 9 April 2025 the same bar covers the licence fee, the certificate fee and the associated administrative costs. The Home Office will normally revoke the licence of a sponsor that does either.

Certificate of sponsorship, Senior or Specialist Worker

£525

Immigration skills charge, small or charitable sponsor, period up to 12 months

£480

Immigration skills charge, small or charitable sponsor, each further 6 months

£240

Immigration skills charge, any other sponsor, period up to 12 months

£1,320

Immigration skills charge, any other sponsor, each further 6 months

£660

You pay both of these yourself and must not recover them from the worker. The skills charge is set by the size and type of your organisation on the date you assign the certificate. The certificate fee is flat, and does not change with your size or the length of the assignment. Sources: GOV.UK https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/visa-regulations-revised-table/home-office-immigration-and-nationality-fees-8-april-2026 and https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/workers-and-temporary-workers-guidance-for-sponsors-part-2-sponsor-a-worker/workers-and-temporary-workers-guidance-for-sponsors-part-2-sponsor-a-worker-accessible