What is the Global Business Mobility Visa?
In July 2021, the Government published its UK Innovation Strategy which detailed several new immigration routes. This included the Global Business Mobility Visa which is set to be introduced in Spring 2022 and promises to provide a visa route allowing overseas businesses greater flexibility in transferring migrant workers to the United Kingdom to establish and expand their business.
The route aims to accommodate overseas entities and innovative companies in a post-Brexit and post-pandemic world. The Government hopes that providing greater flexibility and improving business mobility, would give the UK a competitive edge to compensate for the loss of free movement following Brexit.
What does it intend to replace?
The new Global Business Mobility visa intends to build upon the existing framework and consolidate several visa routes into a single route, including the Intra-Company route and the Sole Representative of an Overseas Business Visa.
By building on the framework of these routes, it would make it easier for overseas businesses to establish a presence in the UK and assign migrant workers.
In addition, the Global Business Mobility route is expected to include new provisions concerning import and export-related secondments.
How will the Global Business Mobility Visa look like?
The new route will enable overseas businesses, with no presence in the UK, to temporarily send an assignee (i.e., an employee) to the UK for a specific corporate purpose.
The assignment will be classified into five categories:
- Graduate Trainee
- Secondment Worker
- UK Expansion Worker
- Service Supplier
- Senior or Specialist Worker
In order to qualify for the route, the applicant will need to satisfy several requirements including; the UK receiving business shall need a sponsor licence and provide sponsorship; there must be an existing relationship between the overseas sending business and the UK receiving business; the appropriate skills and financial thresholds are met; the worker must be an existing employee with a minimum length of employment overseas; assignments will be temporary but flexible (i.e. they shall have the chance to switch into a permanent route) and there will be no English language requirement.
Any Senior personnel and key users of the service must undergo criminality checks.
How can my business prepare for hiring talent under the Global Mobility Visa?
A sponsorship licence can be obtained from the Home Office, which aims to make a decision within 8 weeks. Priority service is available which reduces the processing time down to 10 working days.
Queensbury has notable experience in helping businesses of all sizes and in various industries successfully secure a sponsorship licence. To find out more on how your business may benefit from being a sponsorship licence holder, contact us today or book a free consultation via. info@thequeensburygroup.com.
The information in this article is for general information purposes only and does not purport to provide legal advice. Whilst we try to ensure the information and law is current as of the date of publication it should be emphasised that, due to the passage of time, this does not necessarily reflect the present legal position. The Queensbury Group accepts no responsibility for loss which may arise from accessing or reliance on information contained in this news article. For formal advice on the current law please don’t hesitate to contact Queensbury. Legal advice is only provided pursuant to a written agreement, identified as such, and signed by the client and by or on behalf of Queensbury.