The Global Business Mobility visa is a suite of five sponsored work routes designed to support overseas businesses and multinational groups that need to deploy personnel to the United Kingdom on a temporary basis. It is typically used where the UK role forms part of a wider cross-border business arrangement, such as an intra-group transfer, the establishment of a UK presence, delivery of a contract, or a secondment connected to investment.
The GBM routes replaced and consolidated a number of legacy categories (including elements of the former Intra-Company Transfer framework) and are intended to align more closely with the UK’s trade commitments and modern business mobility needs.
While GBM can offer a streamlined pathway for temporary assignments, each route has its own eligibility criteria, sponsorship requirements and evidential expectations, which can make route selection and application preparation quite technical.
This route enables an overseas business to transfer a senior manager or specialist employee to a UK entity within the same corporate group. The UK and overseas entities must be linked by common ownership or control, and the UK entity must hold the appropriate sponsor licence for this route.
This route is for employees on a structured graduate training programme who are being transferred to the UK as part of that programme, with the aim of progressing into a senior managerial or specialist role within the organisation.
This route is used where an overseas business is establishing its first UK presence. It allows certain senior personnel to come to the UK to set up a UK branch or subsidiary before the UK entity is able to sponsor workers under longer-term sponsored work routes.
This route covers overseas workers who are coming to the UK to deliver services under an eligible international trade commitment. It applies both to employees of overseas service suppliers and to overseas self-employed independent professionals, provided the contractual and eligibility requirements are met.
This route permits an overseas business to second an employee to the UK in connection with a high-value contract or investment. It is intended for structured secondments where the UK role is linked to a qualifying commercial arrangement.
GBM routes are designed for temporary work assignments and are distinct from the Skilled Worker route. In many cases, they are not intended as a long-term route to settlement and are best approached as part of a broader mobility and workforce planning strategy.
Time is often critical when businesses are planning international expansion, project delivery or the relocation of key personnel. Distinct Law supports multinational organisations across a range of sectors to identify whether a Global Business Mobility (GBM) route is appropriate, select the correct sub-route, and implement a practical end-to-end strategy for corporate moves into the UK.
Assistance can be provided with initial applications, extensions and (where permitted) switching into GBM routes.
Services typically include:
The maximum period depends on the specific GBM route. GBM permission is designed for temporary assignments and is subject to route-specific time limits, which can include a cap per grant and an overall cap on cumulative time in the route.
In broad terms, the main intra-group GBM routes have the following maximum periods:
Other GBM routes (such as UK Expansion Worker, Service Supplier and Secondment Worker) are also time-limited and have their own maximum periods, which are generally short.
In most cases, no. The Global Business Mobility routes are designed for temporary corporate assignments and do not usually provide a direct route to settlement (indefinite leave to remain). This means time spent on a GBM visa will not normally put an applicant on a straightforward “5-year settlement” pathway in the way that some other work routes do. Where longer-term residence in the UK is the objective, it is often necessary to plan an onward strategy in advance (for example, switching into an immigration category that does lead to settlement, where the Immigration Rules permit this and the requirements are met).
