​Senior or Specialist Workers (5 years)

The Senior or Specialist Worker route allows you to sponsor overseas workers to undertake temporary work assignments for you in the UK, where the worker is a senior manager or specialist employee and is being assigned to you by a linked overseas business.

The Senior or Specialist Worker route replaced the Intra-Company Transfer route from 11 April 2022. The requirements of this route are essentially the same as its predecessor route. The key differences are:

• The general salary threshold has increased from £41,500 to £45,800 (or £42,400 for applications supported by a Certificate of Sponsorship assigned before 12 April 2023).
• Creative sector jobs below RQF level 6 are no longer eligible for the route (unless a transitional arrangement applies).
• Workers on this route are no longer allowed to take ‘supplementary employment’ (employment additional to their sponsored work) unless a transitional arrangement applies.

Except where a transitional arrangement applies, Senior or Specialist Workers must be paid at least the general salary threshold, or the specified going rate for the occupation (whichever is higher).

A Senior or Specialist Worker can be granted permission to enter or remain in the UK for up to 5 years initially, with the option to extend up to the maximum cumulative period for workers on the GBM routes.

Graduate Trainees (12 months)

The Graduate Trainee route allows you to sponsor overseas workers to undertake temporary work assignments with you in the UK, where the worker is on a structured graduate training programme leading to a senior management or specialist position with a linked overseas business and is required to do a work placement in the UK as part of that programme.

The Graduate Trainee route replaced the Intra-Company Graduate Trainee route from 11 April 2022. The requirements of this route are essentially the same as its predecessor route. The key differences are:

• The general salary threshold has increased from £23,000 to £24,220 per year (or £23,100 for applications supported by a Certificate of Sponsorship assigned before 12 April 2023).
• Graduate Trainees are no longer permitted to take supplementary employment (employment additional to their sponsored work).
• There is no longer a limit on the number of Certificates of Sponsorship you can assign on this route (under the previous rules, you were limited to assigning no more than 20 each financial year).

Graduate Trainees must be paid at least the general threshold, or the applicable going rate for the occupation code (whichever is higher). For most occupations, the applicable going rate is 70% of the full going rate but for some health and education occupations, workers must be paid the full going rate.

Graduate Trainees can come to the UK for up to one year at a time, up to the maximum cumulative period permitted on the GBM routes.

A person you are sponsoring on the Graduate Trainee route can work in different job roles for you during their period of permission without needing to make a new application for permission, provided each job is related to their graduate training programme, and they continue to meet the requirements of the route.