Global Business Mobility Visa vs Skilled Worker Visa
Which Route for Indian Staff Moving to the UK?
The Global Business Mobility visa is a family of five UK work routes for staff whom an overseas employer moves to the UK on a temporary basis, most often the Senior or Specialist Worker route. It needs a salary of at least £52,500 or the going rate, whichever is higher (GOV.UK), and unlike the Skilled Worker visa it does not lead to settlement.
Key points
Global Business Mobility (GBM) is for temporary transfers of existing staff, for example into a new UK subsidiary of an Indian company. The Skilled Worker visa is for hiring into a UK job, and it can lead to settlement.
Senior or Specialist Worker: at least £52,500 or the going rate, generally 12 months' prior service with the group, up to 5 years in any 6 (9 in 10 if paid £73,900 or more).
Skilled Worker: at least £41,700 or the going rate, a degree-level (RQF 6) job in most cases, and indefinite leave to remain (ILR) after 5 years under the current rules.
UK Expansion Worker is the GBM route for a business that has not yet started trading in the UK. It lasts up to 2 years in total.
The India–UK trade agreement locks in access to the intra-company route but does not create a new visa or change fees or salary thresholds.
What is the Global Business Mobility visa?
The Global Business Mobility visa is not one visa but an umbrella for five sponsored routes that let an overseas business send workers to the UK for a specific, temporary purpose. GOV.UK lists them as:
Senior or Specialist Worker: managers or specialists transferring to the UK branch or subsidiary (it replaced the Intra-company Transfer visa).
Graduate Trainee: recent graduates on a structured training programme.
UK Expansion Worker: senior staff setting up a UK presence for a business not yet trading in the UK.
Service Supplier: staff or self-employed professionals delivering a contract covered by a UK trade agreement, for 6 or 12 months.
Secondment Worker: staff seconded to a different UK business under a high-value contract.
All five need a certificate of sponsorship, none leads to settlement, and time on any of them counts towards a shared cap of 5 years in any 6. For most Indian tech companies, the two that matter are Senior or Specialist Worker (once the UK entity trades) and UK Expansion Worker (before it does), covered in detail in our UK Expansion Worker visa guide.
Senior or Specialist Worker vs Skilled Worker: what is the difference?
The core difference is the relationship: Senior or Specialist Worker moves an existing group employee to the UK temporarily, while Skilled Worker is for a UK job that can be filled by anyone, including someone who has never worked for you. That difference drives everything else in the table below.
Feature | Senior or Specialist Worker (GBM) | Skilled Worker |
|---|---|---|
Who it is for | Existing employee of the overseas group, transferring to the UK branch or subsidiary | Anyone with a job offer from a UK licensed sponsor |
Prior service with employer | At least 12 months outside the UK, unless paid £73,900 or more | None |
Minimum salary | £52,500 or the going rate, whichever is higher | £41,700 or the going rate, whichever is higher (lower rates in limited cases, e.g. from £33,400) |
Skill level | Job must be on the GBM eligible occupations list | Generally a "higher skilled" (RQF 6) occupation; medium-skilled roles only via the immigration salary list or temporary shortage list |
English language test | Not listed as a requirement on GOV.UK | Required |
Maximum stay | 5 years in any 6 (9 in any 10 if paid £73,900 or more) | Up to 5 years per grant, extendable without limit |
Leads to settlement (ILR) | No | Yes, after 5 years under current rules (reform proposed) |
Immigration Skills Charge | Yes | Yes |
Sponsor licence type | Worker licence | Worker licence |
Source: GOV.UK route pages and employer sponsorship guidance, accessed 5 October 2026.
In practice, the higher floor for Senior or Specialist Worker (£52,500 against £41,700) means a mid-level engineer may qualify as a Skilled Worker but not as a transferee.
Does the Global Business Mobility visa lead to settlement (ILR)?
No. GOV.UK states that Senior or Specialist Worker and UK Expansion Worker holders cannot apply to settle permanently, and the same applies across the GBM routes, which are built for temporary assignments.
If the person may stay long term, the usual path is the Skilled Worker route. GBM routes are not on GOV.UK's list of visas from which you cannot switch to Skilled Worker inside the UK, so a switch is generally possible if the role qualifies.
Settlement itself is under review. In November 2025 the Home Office consulted on an "earned settlement" model with a 10-year baseline. The Statement of Changes HC 584 (3 September 2026) did not implement it, and GOV.UK still describes Skilled Worker settlement after 5 years.
Costs, duration and extensions
Both routes carry the same personal application fees, but the employer costs and time limits differ. The figures below are from GOV.UK and apply per person unless stated.
Cost item | Senior or Specialist Worker | Skilled Worker | UK Expansion Worker |
|---|---|---|---|
Visa fee, applying from outside the UK | £819 (up to 3 years), £1,618 (over 3 years) | £819 (up to 3 years), £1,618 (over 3 years); lower if on the immigration salary list | £340 |
Visa fee, extending or switching inside the UK | £943 (up to 3 years), £1,865 (over 3 years) | £943 (up to 3 years), £1,865 (over 3 years) | See GOV.UK at the time of extension |
Immigration Health Surcharge | £1,035 per year (adult) | £1,035 per year (adult) | £1,035 per year (adult) |
Certificate of sponsorship (employer) | £525 | £525 | £55 (Temporary Worker licence) |
Immigration Skills Charge (employer) | £480 small / £1,320 medium or large for the first 12 months, then £240 / £660 per extra 6 months | Same as Senior or Specialist Worker | Not applicable |
Duration and extensions | Up to 5 years per grant; extend up to the 5-in-6 (or 9-in-10) cap | Up to 5 years per grant; extend as often as needed | 12 months, one 12-month extension, 2 years maximum |
Sponsor licence fees are separate: £611 for a small sponsor and £1,682 for a medium or large sponsor on a Worker licence, according to GOV.UK. UK Visas and Immigration says most licence applications are decided in under 8 weeks.
Visa decisions usually take 3 weeks from outside the UK and 8 weeks from inside.
Example: a ₹150 Cr Bengaluru SaaS company, whose UK subsidiary is a medium-sized sponsor, transfers its delivery head to London for three years as a Senior or Specialist Worker. Visa fee £819, health surcharge £3,105, Skills Charge £3,960 (£1,320 plus 4 x £660) and certificate £525 come to about £8,400, before the licence fee and dependants. A small sponsor would pay nearer £5,900. These figures are illustrative.
The trade agreement changes none of this: the UK's business mobility explainer confirms the surcharge, Skills Charge and certificate fee still apply, and the UK can amend salary thresholds at any time.
Which route suits your first UK hire?
It depends on three facts: whether the UK entity is trading, whether the person is an existing employee, and how long they will stay.
Not trading yet, sending a senior manager to set up: UK Expansion Worker. A provisionally rated Temporary Worker licence can assign one certificate, to the authorising officer; after that person's visa, the licence can be upgraded and up to 9 more requested (GOV.UK).
Trading, moving a senior engineer or delivery lead for 2 to 3 years: Senior or Specialist Worker, if they meet the salary floor and 12-month service test.
Hiring locally, or moving someone who plans to stay: Skilled Worker, with its lower salary floor and route to settlement.
Delivering a defined project for a UK client without a UK entity: consider Service Supplier.
Social security is the other cost lever. Under the UK–India Double Contributions Convention, in force from 15 July 2026, qualifying employees sent temporarily from India to the UK can keep paying only Indian contributions for up to 60 months, with an EPFO certificate of coverage.
Employees already working in the other country before 15 July 2026 are not detached workers under it (GOV.UK). See our explainer on the double contribution convention between India and the UK.
Planning your first UK transfer? Get the India→UK corridor checklist, or book a 30-minute structuring call with Greenwolf Advisors to map entity, visa, payroll and tax for your first UK hire.
The Greenwolf view
Commercial design comes first; the visa follows the role, and tax follows the functions. Before choosing between GBM and Skilled Worker, we ask:
What is the UK role for? Enterprise sales and account management build a UK-facing business; a delivery lead managing an Indian team is a different function with different transfer pricing consequences.
Who is the real employer? If a transferee concludes contracts or runs the UK business, profit attribution between India and the UK must reflect it.
How long is the plan? A two-year launch suits GBM; a permanent UK leadership team points to Skilled Worker.
Where do payroll and social security sit? The Double Contributions Convention helps only if the assignment is structured and certified from day one.
The visa is the visible decision. The real one is what should genuinely sit in Britain.
This article is general information, not advice for a specific case. Immigration rules, fees and thresholds change often; check GOV.UK and take advice before acting.
Author – Team Greenwolf
10 October, 2026 | 10 Min Read
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