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 transferred to you from a linked overseas business.

To be eligible for a Senior or Specialist Worker visa, you must:

• Have a valid certificate of sponsorship: Your employer must provide this electronic record, detailing your job and role in the UK.​GOV.UK+2GOV.UK+2GOV.UK+2

• Work for your employer outside the UK: If your annual salary is less than £73,900, you must have worked for your employer outside the UK for at least 12 months. If your salary is £73,900 or more, there is no minimum time requirement.​

• Perform an eligible job: Your job must be on the list of eligible occupations.​

• Meet the salary threshold: You must be paid at least £48,500 per year or the ‘going rate’ for your job, whichever is higher.

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 requirements of this route are:

• The general salary threshold is £25,410.

• Be currently employed by a company that is part of a group with a UK entity.

• Have worked for your employer outside the UK for at least 3 months immediately before the application.

• Be on a structured graduate training programme that leads to a managerial or specialist role.

• Have a Certificate of Sponsorship (CoS) issued by a UK-licensed sponsor.

• Be applying for an eligible job with a valid occupation code

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.