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Transfer to the UK Under the Global Business Mobility - Senior or Specialist Worker Visa
If you’re a senior manager or specialist employee working for a multinational organisation, this visa allows you to transfer to your UK branch. It replaces the old Tier 2 Intra-Company Transfer route. Our SRA-regulated solicitors ensure your CoS, salary and overseas employment evidence meet every Home Office requirement for a fast, compliant approval.
For detailed assistance, you can call at 020 3384 4389.
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The Global Business Mobility – Senior or Specialist Worker Visa is designed for overseas employees of multinational organisations who need to work temporarily in their company’s UK branch. This route replaced the previous Tier 2 Intra-Company Transfer Visa and now covers all intra-group assignments for senior managers and specialist staff.
To qualify, you must:
- Hold a valid Certificate of Sponsorship (CoS) from a Home Office-licensed sponsor
- Earn at least £52,500 per year or the job’s going rate (whichever is higher)
- Have worked for the same employer overseas for 12 months, unless earning £73,900 or above
- Meet the English language and financial maintenance requirements
Our experienced UK immigration solicitors can review your company’s sponsorship licence, verify your eligibility, and prepare a compliant, end-to-end application.
Quick Facts You Shouldn't Miss
Old Route Closed
The former Tier 2 ICT has been replaced by the Global Business Mobility – Senior or Specialist Worker route.
Who Qualifies
Senior managers and specialists transferring to a UK branch under the same organisation.
Salary Threshold
Minimum £52,500 or the going rate, whichever is higher; high earners (£73,900+) exempt from 12-month overseas service.
Sponsor Requirement
You must have a UK sponsor with an A-rated licence and a valid CoS issued within three months.
When applying for a Marriage Visitor Visa, you do not need to pay the Immigration Health Surcharge. This visa is for a short, single stay and does not grant access to the UK’s public healthcare system.
Up to five years in any six year period if earning under £73,900; up to nine years in any 10 years if earning £73,900 or more.
When applying for a Spouse visa, you must pay the Immigration Health Surcharge to cover your healthcare costs while in the UK. Since February 2024, the surcharge has been £1,035 per year, following a 86% increase. For in-country application, it will be for 30 months and out-country application, it will be for 33 months.
Visa fee £769–£1,751; IHS £1,035 per year; employers may also pay the Immigration Skills Charge.
The Marriage Visitor Visa allows for a single stay of up to 6 months. This visa cannot be extended, and you must leave the UK at the end of this period.
You can bring your partner and children, subject to financial proof of support.
This visa allows you to get married or register a civil partnership, but you cannot work, study, or live in the UK. You must use this visa solely to visit and get married.
Does not lead directly to ILR; you can switch to a route that qualifies for settlement later.
Let Our Experts Verify Your CoS and Salary Compliance
Most refusals happen because of small inconsistencies between the Certificate of Sponsorship, job code or salary declaration. Our lawyers cross-check every detail before submission, preventing delays and refusals so your transfer is approved the first time.
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Forget sleepless nights over Home Office hurdles. Trust our experienced UK Immigration Solicitors to fast-track your journey to the UK.
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From Consultation to Visa Approval
Our immigration specialists streamline your application process by clearly identifying which evidence and strategies will strengthen your case.
By aligning your unique circumstances with Home Office requirements, we help you focus on high-impact preparations while addressing any potential weaknesses in your application.
From Consultation to Visa Approval
Our immigration specialists streamline your application process by clearly identifying which evidence and strategies will strengthen your case.
By aligning your unique circumstances with Home Office requirements, we help you focus on high-impact preparations while addressing any potential weaknesses in your application.
Maximising Your Approval Chances
Our goal is to maximise the chances of your visa being approved the first time. By carefully reviewing your circumstances, identifying potential weaknesses, and preparing strong supporting evidence, we significantly reduce the risk of refusals. Every application is checked by senior immigration solicitors who apply their expertise to make your case as clear, accurate, and persuasive as possible. This attention to detail is what improves success rates and helps our clients move forward with confidence.
Success Rate Optimisation
We carefully analyse every detail of your application to maximise the chances of approval. By addressing weaknesses, strengthening supporting evidence, and ensuring full compliance with Home Office rules, we optimise your case for success. This thorough approach significantly improves approval rates and gives you confidence throughout the process.
Risk Mitigation Strategies
We identify potential risks in your application early and put safeguards in place to address them. By preparing strong evidence, clarifying complex points, and anticipating Home Office concerns, we minimise the chance of delays or refusals.
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Evidence-based case preparation
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Home Office compliance checks
-
Success rate optimisation
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Risk mitigation strategies
From Consultation to Visa Approval
Our immigration specialists streamline your application process by clearly identifying which evidence and strategies will strengthen your case.
By aligning your unique circumstances with Home Office requirements, we help you focus on high-impact preparations while addressing any potential weaknesses in your application.
Maximising Your Approval Chances
Our goal is to maximise the chances of your visa being approved the first time. By carefully reviewing your circumstances, identifying potential weaknesses, and preparing strong supporting evidence, we significantly reduce the risk of refusals. Every application is checked by senior immigration solicitors who apply their expertise to make your case as clear, accurate, and persuasive as possible. This attention to detail is what improves success rates and helps our clients move forward with confidence.
Success Rate Optimisation
We carefully analyse every detail of your application to maximise the chances of approval. By addressing weaknesses, strengthening supporting evidence, and ensuring full compliance with Home Office rules, we optimise your case for success. This thorough approach significantly improves approval rates and gives you confidence throughout the process.
Risk Mitigation Strategies
We identify potential risks in your application early and put safeguards in place to address them. By preparing strong evidence, clarifying complex points, and anticipating Home Office concerns, we minimise the chance of delays or refusals.
Work With Trusted, SRA-Regulated UK Immigration Experts
Your immigration journey is too important to risk on unqualified or unregulated help. Every case we handle is prepared by SRA-regulated solicitors who apply structured legal reasoning, precise documentation checks and full compliance with Home Office and UKVI rules.
Our accreditations are your assurance that you are working with a reputable, experienced and highly trained legal team. We combine decades of immigration expertise with strict professional standards to give you clarity, confidence and complete peace of mind — no matter which visa or application route you are pursuing.
What is Tier 2 Intra Company Transfer Visa UK?
You can no longer apply through this route. If you are a senior manager or specialist worker who wants to move within your company, you must apply for a Global Business Mobility – Senior or Specialist Worker Visa.
With the intra-company transfer visa UK, skilled workers from another country can move to work in the UK branch as long as they have worked for the same company for at least one year. People who want to apply for this visa must have a job offer from their present employer’s branch in the UK. The employer must also give a Certificate Of Sponsorship and have a current Intra-company transfer sponsorship licence.
What are the Requirements for a UK Intra Company Transfer Visa?
To be eligible for an Intra-Company Transfer Visa, you must meet the following requirements set out by UK Visas and Immigration:
- You are at least 18 years old;
- Working for a company that has been approved by the Home Office as a sponsor;
- You have worked for your sponsor or a business owned by your sponsor outside of the UK for at least 12 months unless you will make at least £73,900 in the UK;
- Moreover, you can legally work in the country because your sponsor has given you a Certificate of Sponsorship;
- You intend to do a genuine job;
- You have the right amount of skills for the job you want to do;
- Also, you’ll get at least £41,500, or the “going rate” for your job, whichever is higher;
- Your employer has paid any necessary Immigration Skills Charges;
- You don’t need any public money to pay your bills because you have enough money;
- Must possess a valid TB certificate, if needed.
Employment Requirement for UK ICT Visa
The person applying for an Intra-Company Transfer Visa must be making less than £73,900 a year and must have been working for their sponsor or a business owned by their sponsor outside of the UK for at least 12 months.
Work experience from outside the UK can be built up over time if you worked continuously for the sponsor group for 12 months before the application date, either in the UK or abroad, and any breaks were only for legal parental, maternity, paternity, or parental leave, adoption leave, sick leave, helping with a national or international humanitarian or environmental crisis, or legal industrial action.
As long as you make at least £73,900 a year, you don’t have to have worked for a certain amount of time.
What is the Certificate of Sponsorship (CoS) Requirement for Intra Company Transfer Visa UK?
You need a legal Certificate of Sponsorship for the job you want to do to get an Intra-Company Transfer Visa. In order to obtain a Certificate of Sponsorship for an intra-company transfer, your prospective employer must be one that the Home Office has approved to sponsor such a job.
If you applied for permission under the Intra-Company routes and want to keep working for the same sponsor, your sponsor must be named as A-rated on the Home Office’s register of licensed sponsors.
Your Sponsorship Certificate must have been given no more than three months before you applied for an intra-company transfer.
Your Certificate of Sponsorship must have the following information:
- Your name, family name, job description, and salary information;
- Proof that you have worked for your company outside of the UK for at least 12 months unless you make a lot of money;
- You can’t start working for the same company more than three months after applying for the intra-company transfer visa.
- It is important to note that the Certificate of Sponsorship cannot be used for another application, whether it was approved or denied. Additionally, neither the sponsor nor the Home Office have the authority to withdraw or cancel the sponsorship.
You can’t:
- Get public funds
- Start working before you get a visa
- Do voluntary work
- Study as long as it doesn’t interfere with the job you’re sponsored for
- Travel abroad and return to the UK
- Bring family members with you
Consult this page for more information about Certificate of Sponsorship.
Genuine Job Requirement
You need to:
- Have a valid certificate of sponsorship for your job
- Be paid an ‘appropriate salary’ for your job
- Have personal savings so you can support yourself when you arrive in the UK
- Show you can travel and your travel history over the last 5 years
- Have tuberculosis test results if you’re from a listed country
- Be able to show you have worked for your employer outside the UK
Requirement of Job Skill Level
To get an Intra-Company Transfer Visa, the job you are being sponsored for must be an eligible job that requires at least a certain amount of skill.
An Intra-Company Transfer Visa can be used for certain types of employment that have been made public by the Home Office. The list has the appropriate job type, occupation code, and related job titles.
If the position you are applying for is on the list, you likely have the necessary skills to be sponsored.
However, your sponsor needs to pick a good occupation code. Your application for an Intra Company Transfer Visa UK will be turned down if the Home Office has a good reason to think that your sponsor did not pick the best work code.
The Home Office will decide if your sponsor chose the right occupation code by looking at things like whether they have shown a real need for the job as described, whether you have the skills, qualifications, and experience to do the job as described, and the sponsor’s history of following the rules governing immigration.
Requirement of Immigration Skills Charge
Additionally, your sponsor is fully responsible for paying any necessary Immigration Skills Charge.
If a company wants to hire a foreign worker, they have to pay a fee called the Immigration Skills Charge. Every time a company gives a migrant a Certificate of Sponsorship, they have to pay the Immigration Skills Charge.
Appropriate salary
You usually need to be paid at least the minimum salary for your type of visa or the appropriate rate for the job you’re offered – whichever is higher.
The minimum salary is:
- £41,500 for Long-term Staff
- £23,000 for Graduate Trainee
The salary you need might be different, for example, if:
- You’re extending your Tier 2 (Intra-company Transfer) visa
- You’ve been working in the UK for less than a year
- You’ll be paid at an hourly rate
- You’ll work a set number of hours
Financial Requirements for Intra Company Transfer Visa UK
You will need to have at least £1,270 in cash on hand, with the exceptions listed below.
You must have had the money for at least 28 days in a row, ending no more than 31 days before you apply for an Intra-Company Transfer Visa.
As long as your sponsor is ready to pay at least £1,270 for your living expenses until the end of the first month of your job, you won’t have to worry about the financial requirement. Your sponsor must sign your Certificate of Sponsorship to prove this.
You will not need to show proof of funds if you have been in the UK legally for 12 months or more at the time of your application for permission to stay.
Documents Required for Intra Company Transfer Visa UK
When you apply you’ll need to provide:
- Your certificate of sponsorship reference number
- A bank or building society statement or letter that shows you have enough personal savings (unless your certificate of sponsorship shows your sponsor can support you)
- A current passport or travel document to prove you can travel – you need a page in your passport that’s blank on both sides for your visa
- Expired passports or travel documents if you need them to show your travel history
- Your tuberculosis test results if you’re from a listed country
You may need to provide additional documents depending on your circumstances.
If your documents aren’t in English or Welsh you’ll need to send a certified translation.
Proof you’ve worked for your employer outside the UK
After you apply you might be asked to prove you’ve worked for your employer for a certain amount of time.
The length of time depends on what visa you’re applying for:
- Long-term Staff earning £73,900 or less – 12 months
- Long-term Staff earning more than £73,900 – no minimum time
- Graduate Trainee – three months
If you’re asked, you’ll need to show you’ve been paid by your employer over this time period. You can provide:
- Original printed payslips
- Copies of online payslips supported by a letter from your sponsor signed by a senior staff member
- Bank or building society statements
- A building society passbook
Extend Your Intra Company Transfer Visa
You might be able to apply to extend your stay in the UK depending on what type of Tier 2 (Intra-company Transfer) visa you have.
Eligibility
You must have either of the following Tier 2 (Intra-company Transfer) visas:
- Long-term Staff
- Graduate Trainee
You should apply before your current visa expires.
You must also:
- Have the same or a similar job to the one you received your previous visa for
- Still, work for the employer who provided your Certificate Of Sponsorship
- Still, earn an ‘appropriate salary’ – read the full guidance if you’re not sure
- Already in the UK
You should include any dependants who are on your current visa on your application to extend – including children who have turned 18 during your stay.
How long you can stay
The amount of time you can extend your stay depends on the type of Tier 2 (Intra-company) visa you have.
Long-term Staff
Your stay can be extended for the shortest of the following:
- The time given on your Certificate Of Sponsorship plus 14 days
- The time needed to extend your stay to the maximum time allowed in the category
- Five years (nine years if you earn more than £120,000 a year)
What is the Duration of an ICT Tier 2 Visa?
If you are approved for an Intra-Company Transfer Visa, you will be able to enter the country or stay for as long as it states on your Certificate of Sponsorship plus 14 days, which is a total of five years, or until you reach the maximum length of time allowed in your category (see below), whichever is shorter.
How Long You Can Stay on an Intra Company Transfer Visa UK?
The holder of an Intra Company Transfer visa UK can work for their sponsor in the job that is listed on their Certificate of Sponsorship. They can also work a second job for up to 20 hours a week, as long as it’s in the same field and pays the same as the first job, or it’s on the Skilled Worker shortage occupation list. They might also take a course of study. Individuals are not allowed to access public cash.
What is the Processing Time for a UK ICT visa?
People who want to work in the UK can apply for a visa up to three months before they leave. A Certificate Of Sponsorship will be issued on this date.
Standard working time for Intra-company Transfer visa applications from outside the UK is currently three weeks;
Some places where you can apply for a visa may offer Priority Service for entry clearance applications. This should help you make a decision faster on simple applications.
The Home Office says that applications for ICT extensions are handled eight weeks after the date of the application if the person applying used the standard service. To speed up the process by up to five working days, the candidate can pay for priority and super priority services.
Settlement on Intra Company Transfer Visa UK
The Intra-Company Transfer Visa does not allow people to settle in the UK. You might be able to change your legal status to one that does lead to settlement, though.
You might also be able to stay longer until you are eligible for settlement based on long residence.
Dependants
People with an Intra-Company Transfer Visa can bring a dependent partner over the age of 18 and/or dependent children under the age of 18.
Personal savings
You must show that your dependants can be supported while they’re in the UK.
Each dependant must have £630 available to them whether they apply with you or separately. This is in addition to the £945 you must have to support yourself.
You must have proof you have the money, and that it’s been in your bank account or your dependant’s bank account for at least 90 days before you or they apply.
Example:
You must have £2,205 if you want to bring your partner and one child with you to the UK (£945 to support yourself + £630 for your partner + £630 for your child).
You won’t need evidence of your savings if you have a:
- Fully approved (‘A-rated’) sponsor
- Certificate of sponsorship stating that your sponsor will give each of your dependants at least £630 to cover their costs for a month if they need it
What Can & Can’t I Do on Intra Company Visa UK?
Those who apply can:
- Job description on sponsorship certificate;
- perform a second job up to twenty hours a week in the same field and at the same level as their main job;
- Study as long as it doesn’t conflict with the job they are sponsored for.
- Volunteer;
- Go abroad and come back to the UK;
- Bring dependent family members to the UK.
People who apply can’t:
- Get money from the government;
- Get a job before they apply for a visa.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
The “ICT visa UK,” which is also called the “intra-company transfer visa,” is the old way to get into the UK before the Senior or Specialist Worker route was made official on April 11, 2022, as part of the UK’s Immigration Rules for Global Business Mobility.
The ICT visa, which is now called the Senior or Specialist Worker visa, is for senior managers or specialist workers who are being sent on a temporary job to a UK company that works with their foreign employer.
The UK’s ICT or Intra-Company Transfer visa is no longer available. The Senior or Specialist Worker visa has taken its place. Also, people who already have an ICT visa can ask to have it extended under the new rules for Senior or Specialist Workers.
You must be employed by an overseas linked entity and be assigned a Certificate of Sponsorship for a genuine senior or specialist role in the UK.
Yes. Your salary must meet the Home Office minimum for your occupation code or the route-specific higher salary requirement, whichever applies.
You typically need at least 12 months’ overseas employment with the sending company unless your UK salary meets the high-earner threshold.
No. The Senior or Specialist Worker route does not lead to settlement, though time may count if you later switch into an eligible ILR-qualifying route.
Refusals usually arise from inadequate salary evidence, unclear overseas employment history, or a role description that does not match the sponsored occupation code.
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