GLOBAL BUSINESS MOBILITY - SERVICE SUPPLIER VISA

The Global Business Mobility – Service Supplier Visa is for overseas workers who are either a contractual service supplier employed by an overseas service provider or a self-employed independent professional based overseas, who need to undertake a temporary assignment in the UK to provide services covered by one of the UK’s international trade commitments. 

The Global Business Mobility – Service Supplier Visa does not lead directly to settlement in the UK.  However, you may be able to switch into another immigration route which does lead to settlement.  Applicants may be joined or accompanied by a partner and dependent children.

Requirements for a Global Business Mobility – Service Supplier Visa

In order to qualify for a Global Business Mobility – Service Supplier Visa, you will need to satisfy UK Visas and Immigration that:

• You are aged 18 or over;
• You are currently working as or for an overseas service provider that will provide services to your UK sponsor;
• You have worked as or for the overseas service provider outside the UK for a cumulative period of 12 months;
• Your UK sponsor has a contract with an overseas service provider, where that contract has been registered with the Home Office, and on which you as a Service Supplier will work;
• You have a valid Certificate of Sponsorship issued by your UK sponsor for the job you are planning to do;
  
• The job you are planning to do is genuine;
• The job you are planning to do is at an appropriate skill level or you have a degree and 3 to 6 years experience;
• You satisfy a nationality requirement;
• You have enough money to support yourself without relying on public funds;
• You have provided a valid TB certificate, if required.

The exact requirements you will need to satisfy may vary depending on your circumstances.  You may want to speak to an immigration lawyer for expert advice.

To discuss your Global Business Mobility – Service Supplier Visa application with one of our immigration barristers, contact our business immigration team on 0203 617 9173 or complete our enquiry form below.

Global Business Mobility – Service Supplier Visa Overseas Work Requirement

If you are applying for a Global Business Mobility – Service Supplier Visa then you must be currently working as or for an overseas service provider that will provide services to your UK sponsor and have worked as or for the overseas service provider outside the UK for a cumulative period of 12 months.

The 12 months’ work outside the UK can have been accumulated over any period provided that you were either continuously working for your overseas service provider, whether in or out of the UK, for at least 12 months before the date of application; or if you are a self-employed overseas service provider, continuously working in the same sector as the service you will provide to your sponsor, whether in or out of the UK, in the 12 months immediately before the date of application.

Any breaks in the 12 months period can only have been for statutory maternity, paternity, parental or shared parental leave, statutory adoption leave, sick leave, assisting with a national or international humanitarian or environmental crisis with the agreement of the sponsor group or taking part in lawful industrial action.

Global Business Mobility – Service Supplier Visa Contract Requirement

Your UK sponsor must have a contract with an overseas service provider, where that contract has been registered with the Home Office, and on which you, as a Service Supplier, will work.

Global Business Mobility – Service Supplier Visa Certificate of Sponsorship (CoS) Requirement

In order to obtain a Global Business Mobility – Service Supplier Visa you will need to have a valid Certificate of Sponsorship for the job you are planning to do.  Your Certificate of Sponsorship will need to have been issued by an employer that is authorised by the Home Office to sponsor a Service Supplier.

Your sponsor must be listed as A-rated on the Home Office’s register of licensed sponsors, unless you were last granted permission as a Service Supplier and are applying to continue working for the same sponsor as in your last permission.

Your Certificate of Sponsorship must have been issued not more than 3 months before the date of your Global Business Mobility – Service Supplier Visa application.

Your Certificate of Sponsorship must include certain mandatory information, including:

• Details of your name, job and salary;
• Confirmation that you have worked as or for your overseas service provider outside the UK for a cumulative period of 12 months;
• A start date which is no more than 3 months after the date of your Global Business Mobility – Service Supplier Visa application;
• Confirmation that the Certificate of Sponsorship has not been used in a previous application which was either granted or refused and has not been withdrawn by the sponsor or cancelled by the Home Office.

Genuine Job Requirement

In order to be granted a Global Business Mobility – Service Supplier Visa, you will need to satisfy the Home Office that you are being sponsored to undertake a genuine job.

If there are reasonable grounds to believe that the job you are being sponsored to do does not exist, is a sham or has been created mainly so that you can apply for a Global Business Mobility – Service Supplier Visa then your application will be refused.

The Home Office will also want to be satisfied that you have not entered into an arrangement whereby you will fill a temporary or permanent position with a third party who is not the sponsor, or undertake contract work which involves undertaking an ongoing routine role or providing an ongoing routine service to a third party who is not your sponsor.

Global Business Mobility – Service Supplier Visa Job Skill Level Requirement 

Option A

In order to qualify for a Global Business Mobility – Service Supplier Visa, the job you are being sponsored to do must be an eligible job at or above a minimum skill level.

The job you are planning to do must be skilled to at least RQF Level 6 (graduate equivalent).  You do not necessarily need to hold a degree, but the role must be equivalent to a graduate level role.

The Home Office has published a list of jobs that are eligible for a Global Business Mobility – Service Supplier Visa. The list includes the relevant occupation code, job type and related job titles.  

The Home Office also sets out eligible jobs in Appendix Skilled Occupations. Each eligible job has a SOC 2020 occupation code.  You must be sponsored for a job in an eligible SOC 2020 occupation code listed in Appendix Skilled Occupations.

You will usually meet the job skill level requirement if the job you are being sponsored for is on the list.

However, your sponsor must choose an appropriate occupation code.  If the Home Office has reasonable grounds to believe that your sponsor has not chosen the most appropriate occupation code then your application for a Global Business Mobility Visa will be refused.

In assessing whether your sponsor has chosen the most appropriate occupation code, the Home Office will consider factors such as whether they have shown a genuine need for the job as described, whether you have the appropriate skills, qualifications and experience needed to do the job as described and the sponsor’s history of compliance with the immigration system.

Option B

In order to qualify for a Global Business Mobility – Service Supplier Visa, you must have a university degree or equivalent level technical qualification unless you are employed by an overseas service provider supplying one of the following types of services, in which case the qualification requirements in parentheses apply:

• Fashion and modelling (none required)
• Chef de cuisine (an advanced technical qualification)
• Entertainment services (excluding audio-visual services under the CARIFORUM-UK Economic Partnership Agreement) (none required)
• Management consulting services and services related to management consulting (managers and senior consultants) (university degree (equivalent level technical qualification not permitted)
• Advertising or translation (relevant qualifications)
• Technical testing and analysis (university degree or a relevant technical qualification)

You will need to hold any professional qualifications or registrations required to provide the services under UK law or sectoral requirements.

You must have professional experience in the sector in which you will supply services as follows:

• 3 years’ experience; or
• If you are supplying chef de cuisine services under the CARIFORUM-UK Economic Partnership Agreement, 6 years’ experience; or
• If you are a self-employed overseas service provider, 6 years’ experience.

Global Business Mobility – Service Supplier Visa Salary Requirement

Employers that are authorised by the Home Office to sponsor a Service Supplier under the Global Business Mobility – Service Supplier Visa route do not need to satisfy either a general salary requirement or the ‘going rate’ for the occupation (as set out in the relevant occupation code mentioned above).

Global Business Mobility – Service Supplier Visa Nationality Requirement

In order to qualify for a Global Business Mobility – Service Supplier Visa, you must be:

• A national of the country or territory in which the overseas service provider is based; or
• Where the service that you will provide is covered by a commitment in the General Agreement on Trade in Services and your employer is established in a country or territory that has made a notification under Article XXVIII(k)(ii)(2) of that agreement, a permanent resident of that country or territory; or
• Where the service that you will provide is covered by a commitment in the Temporary Agreement between the Swiss Confederation and the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland on Services Mobility, a permanent resident of Switzerland; or
• Where the service that you will provide is covered by a commitment in the United Kingdom-European Union Trade and Cooperation Agreement, a national of any Member State of the European Union or any other person included in the definition of “natural person of a Party” for the European Union in Article 512(k) of that agreement; or
• Where the service that you will provide is covered by a contractual service supplier commitment in the CARIFORUM-United Kingdom Economic Partnership Agreement, a national of any CARIFORUM State that has provisionally applied or brought into force that agreement; or
• Where the service that you will provide is covered by a commitment in the Free Trade Agreement between the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and Australia, a permanent resident of Australia; or
• Where the service that you will provide is covered by a commitment in the Free Trade Agreement between the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and New Zealand, a permanent resident of New Zealand.

Immigration Skills Charge Requirement

Employers that are authorised by the Home Office to sponsor a Service Supplier are not required to pay the Immigration Skills Charge.

Global Business Mobility – Service Supplier Visa Financial Requirement

Subject to the exemptions below, you will need to have cash funds of at least £1,270 available.

You will need to have held the money for at least 28 consecutive days ending not more than 31 days before the date of your Global Business Mobility – Service Supplier Visa application.

You will be exempt from the financial requirement if your sponsor is willing to meet your maintenance costs up to the end of the first month of your employment, to an amount of at least £1,270, if necessary.  Your sponsor will need to confirm this on your Certificate of Sponsorship.

If you are applying for permission to stay and have been in the UK with permission for 12 months or more at the date of application, you will meet the financial requirement and will not need to show funds.

Global Business Mobility – Service Supplier Visa English Language Requirement

Service Supplier Visa applicants do not need to satisfy an English language requirement.

Switching into the Global Business Mobility – Service Supplier Visa Route

If you currently have leave to remain in the UK in another immigration category, you may extend your stay by switching into the Global Business Mobility – Service Supplier Visa route unless you have, or were last granted, permission as a Visitor, Short-term student, Parent of a Child Student, Seasonal Worker, Domestic Worker in a Private Household or outside the Immigration Rules.

Duration of a Global Business Mobility – Service Supplier Visa

If your application for a Global Business Mobility – Service Supplier Visa is approved, you will be granted entry clearance for either the time given on your Certificate of Sponsorship plus 14 days or the maximum single assignment period (which is either 6 months or 12 months if covered by a relevant UK international trade commitment), whichever is shorter.

Maximum Time in the Global Business Mobility Routes

The maximum period of time allowed in the Global Business Mobility Routes is 5 years in any 6 year period.

When calculating the period of time spent on the routes the Home Office will consider all previous periods of permission granted on the Global Business Mobility routes and all previous periods of permission granted on the Intra-company routes.

Conditions of Stay on a Global Business Mobility – Service Supplier Visa

Global Business Mobility – Service Supplier Visa holders are permitted to work for their sponsor in the job described on their Certificate of Sponsorship.  They may also undertake a course of study and voluntary work.  Access to public funds is not permitted.

Settlement on the Global Business Mobility – Service Supplier Visa Route

The Global Business Mobility – Service Supplier Visa does not lead directly to settlement in the UK. However, once in the UK, you may be able to switch into another immigration route which does lead to settlement, such as the Skilled Worker route or the Start-up route when combined with the Innovator route.  You will need to satisfy the requirements of the immigration route that you wish to extend into.  Details of all the main immigration routes, including whether they lead to settlement, are available on our website.

You may also be eligible to extend your stay until you qualify for settlement on the basis of Long Residence.

Dependants of Global Business Mobility – Service Supplier Visa Applicants

Global Business Mobility – Service Supplier Visa holders can be joined or accompanied by a dependent partner over the age of 18 and dependent children under the age of 18.

Global Business Mobility Sponsor Licence Application

The Global Business Mobility routes are open to businesses of all sizes, providing they have a trading presence outside the UK and a qualifying link to a UK business.

In order to hold a Global Business Mobility sponsor licence, the UK business that will be receiving the worker must:

• Have an existing presence in the UK;
• Have qualifying links to an overseas business from which it will receive workers;
• Have suitable key personnel who will be responsible for the managing the licence; and
• Have systems in place to meet the sponsor licence duties.

Qualifying links to UK businesses are specific to the type of work assignment which is being undertaken in the UK.

In the case of a Global Business Mobility – Service Supplier Worker sponsor the UK business must have an eligible contact with an overseas service provider for the supply of a service which is covered by a relevant UK trade commitment.

How Our Immigration Barristers Can Help

Our team of business immigration barristers has experience in assisting overseas workers who are contractual service suppliers employed by an overseas service provider or self-employed independent professional based overseas.  We can manage the UK visa and immigration process for overseas service suppliers to ensure that they are able to undertake a temporary assignment in the UK to provide services covered by one of the UK’s international trade commitments.  Our business immigration barristers can also assist UK employers to obtain the right sponsor licence, maintain their licence at the highest rating and comply with their sponsor duties.

We pride ourselves on being approachable and proactive in understanding and meeting our clients’ needs. We are a highly driven team, dedicated to providing clear and reliable immigration advice to employers and employees as part of a professional and friendly service.