UK Senior or Specialist Worker (intra-company) visa

The same family includes the Graduate Trainee, UK Expansion Worker, Service Supplier and Secondment Worker visas, each costing £340. They suit, respectively, graduate trainees moving within a group, staff setting up a first UK branch, contractual service suppliers under UK trade agreements, and staff seconded to a UK client contract.

You must be an existing employee of a group that holds a Home Office sponsor licence, have a certificate of sponsorship for an eligible occupation, and be paid at least £52,500 or the going rate, whichever is higher. If you earn under £73,900 you need at least 12 months working for the group outside the UK, which you may have to prove with payslips or bank statements; at £73,900 or more there is no minimum service. Some creative occupation codes were removed from the eligible list.

Visa fees match the Skilled Worker route: £819 for up to 3 years or £1,618 for longer from outside the UK; £943 or £1,865 inside. Add the £1,035 yearly health surcharge per person, and show £1,270 in savings unless your employer covers living costs.

Each grant runs for the certificate period plus 14 days, up to 5 years. Total time on Global Business Mobility and earlier intra-company routes is capped at 5 years in any 6-year period, or 9 years in any 10 if you earn at least £73,900. Leaving the UK resets the clock only after the required time abroad.

If the application is refused you can usually ask for an administrative review within 28 days of the decision if you were outside the UK (14 days inside) where you think UKVI made a caseworking error; it costs £80 and the result usually takes 28 days or more. You can also simply make a fresh application.