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Visa routes updates

The UK Government recently announced further details of three new visa routes which will come into effect in the coming months. These routes provide Scottish companies and inward investors with more options than ever to have overseas and international talent work for them in Scotland.

Global Business Mobility Route

The first to open is the new Global Business Mobility route which opened on 11 April 2022. This is a temporary visa route for overseas businesses seeking to establish a presence in the UK or to transfer staff to the UK. It has replaced the existing Intra Company Transfer route, the Representative of an Overseas Business route and will add additional visa options to come to the UK for a temporary period.

One of the key advantages of the new UK Expansion worker part of the Global Business Mobility route is that it enables teams of up to 5 workers to come to Scotland to set up a business (whereas previously only one person could come meaning more flexibility for inward investors).

The Intra Company transfer criteria are largely the same under the Senior and Specialist worker part of the Global Business Mobility route, save that the minimum salary for sponsorship under this route (and most of the other subcategories under the Global Business Mobility Route) is £42,400 or the going rate for the job, whichever is higher.

Specifically, international secondments and contractual service providers are sponsorable for the first time (subject to minimum service, skills and salary requirements). The UK host or employer must usually have a sponsor licence in place in order to sponsor an individual under the Global Business Mobility Route. However, this route provides Scottish businesses (or overseas businesses considering Scotland as a future business destination) more flexibility in relation to the mobility of their staff and setting up here due to these additional categories.

One of the key advantages of the new UK Expansion worker part of the Global Business Mobility route is that it enables teams of up to 5 workers to come to Scotland to set up a business (whereas previously only one person could come meaning more flexibility for inward investors).

The Intra Company transfer criteria are largely the same under the Senior and Specialist worker part of the Global Business Mobility route, save that the minimum salary for sponsorship under this route (and most of the other subcategories under the Global Business Mobility Route) is £42,400 or the going rate for the job, whichever is higher.

Examples of new Global Business Mobility routes

An American car manufacturer wishes to expand its operations to Scotland.

It has been operating in the US for 4 years but does not yet have any presence in the UK or Scotland. Following some preparatory work, the company identifies a manufacturing site near Glasgow and begins making arrangements with suppliers and contractors. Following this, they apply for a sponsor licence under the GBM UK Expansion Worker route in order to send a senior executive to manage the UK subsidiary during the pre-trading period and its initial period of operation.

Once the executive has been granted their visa, they sponsor four additional senior managers and specialists including a site manager and a HR manager. Once the business has been established and is trading, they add the Skilled Worker category to their licence and sponsor the UK Expansion workers to switch to that route so they can be localised to the UK on a permanent basis. This means that they will have the ability to settle in the UK after 5 years on that route.

An engineering firm has offices in Paris and Edinburgh. The senior manager of the firm is normally resident in Paris, but regularly needs to work for extended periods in the UK. They have worked for the firm in Paris for 5 years and earn a salary which is equivalent to £60,000 per year.

The Edinburgh office obtains a sponsor licence under the GBM Senior or Specialist Worker route and sponsors the manager for a period of 5 years.

During this time, they can work between Scotland and Edinburgh as business needs require.

A Canadian telecommunications business has a contract with a Scottish supplier for development of a communications satellite, and needs to send some of their own engineers on a year long secondment to collaborate on the project.

The engineers have worked for the Canadian employer 18 months and earn a salary which is equivalent to £50,000 per year.

The contract has a value of £98 million and is therefore eligible for the GBM Secondment Worker route. The Scottish supplier can apply for a GBM Secondment Worker licence and sponsor the engineers to work on the project for them in Scotland.

High Potential Route

The second new High Potential Visa route will open on 30 May 2022. This route will not require employers to sponsor the individual to come to Scotland to work (which helps businesses which do not have a sponsor licence). This may also mean that the High Potential Individual Visa route is likely to be a cheaper option for Scottish employers to employ international talent (as the immigration skills charge won't be payable, which is usually a considerable cost saving). The High Potential visa will cost £715 for the visa and the immigration health surcharge will also be payable, however these may be covered by the visa applicant in any case.

This route allows UK employers more flexibility as the roles they are offering will not need to meet certain skills and salary requirements in order to employ someone with this type of visa (unlike the Skilled Worker route which requires individuals to do roles which meet certain eligibility requirements).

This route will complement the existing Graduate route, which is for recent international graduates of UK Universities, and will allow Scottish Employers easier access to a wider pool of overseas talent and expertise. The fact that no sponsor licence is needed should allow businesses without a licence to recruit international talent who qualify much faster than before.

Key points:

  1. For those who have graduated from certain Top 50 non-UK universities in the last 5 years
  2. 2 year visa (or 3 if graduated from a PhD)
  3. No need for job offer in advance of applying for visa
  4. No minimum skills or salary levels applicable to those working in the UK under this visa

Find out more about the High Potential Individual visa on GOV.UK opens in a new window  

Scale Up Route

This route is for individuals who have a job offer from a qualifying scale up business. The minimum salary is £33,000 or the going rate for the job. The employer will act as a sponsor but after 6 months, the individual can work in other businesses so this may lead to new international talent coming to the UK. Employers will need a sponsor licence in order to sponsor someone under the Scale-up route for that initial period (but any business can hire the person after the first 6 months). Qualifying Scale-ups must:

  • Have an annualised growth of at least 20% for the previous three-year period in terms of turnover or employees
  • Have had a minimum of 10 employees at the start of this three-year period

UK Visas and Immigration have indicated that visa applications under the Scale-up route will be 'fast-tracked' which will be good news for those who qualify, however the specific timing is still to be confirmed. No immigration skills charge will be payable under this route, which can be a considerable cost saving compared with other sponsorship routes. The visa itself will cost £715, and the immigration health surcharge will also be payable.

Find out more about the Scale Up visa on GOV.UK opens in a new window  

You can also watch our webinar about the new Scale Up route opens in a new window  

Disclaimer

The information contained in this update is accurate as of 26 April 2022.

Talk to us

TalentScotland can offer general guidance around visa and immigration. If you’ve got any questions about visas or the immigration process, get in touch with our team.

Phone: +44 300 013 2734 opens in a new window