Global Business Mobility Route Sponsor Licence

The global business mobility visa allows organisation and companies outside the UK to expand their business in the UK by opening a branch or subsidiary, this would allow the foreign company to establish their presence in the UK and/or transfer their staff to the UK.

In order to apply for the Global Business Mobility (GBM), your organisation based utside the UK must apply for sponsor licence.

How to apply for Global Business Mobility, Sponsor Licence

You first need to register the company on the Home Office website by providing details of the Authorising officer and their email. Authorising officer under the GBM route can be the applicant (Expansion Worker) who will be coming to the UK in order to establish a branch or a subsidiary.

Once the registration is complete the application form must be complete and submitted online. The fee for the sponsor licence under the GBM route is £536. There is no priority available under this route.

The evidence in connection with ethe sponsor licence must be submitted via email to the Home Office.

Documents/Evidence required for the GBM Sponsor Licence

Any documents/evidence being submitted to the Home Office which is not in English or Welsh must be accompanied with a certificated translation. 

1) Proof of your UK ‘footprint’

All businesses applying under must provide evidence that they have a UK footprint. This can be the following documents:

• Evidence that you have registered a UK branch or wholly-owned subsidiary of your overseas company with Companies House in the UK;
• Evidence you have bought or leased premises for business operations in the UK (such as a lease agreement or proof of purchase from land registry)

2) Evidence of your overseas trading presence

a) Evidence you have been trading overseas for at least 36 months before the date of submitting your application:

(i) One of the following:

• company bank statements providing transactions for services or goods received or provided covering a minimum period of at least 12 months before the date of submitting the application; or
• audited or unaudited accounts for the business. In case the business is not required to file accounts then you must provide the balance sheet along with a profit and loss statement for the latest financial year. This must be accompanied by an accountant’s certificate of confirmation – this certificate should provide information of the accountant’s registration with relevant regulatory body in the country in which those accounts have been produced

(ii) One of the following:

• copies of contracts for goods or services dated within the last 12-month period before the date of submitting the sponsor licence application; or
• proof of advertising for services or goods offered by the overseas business

b) Evidence that your overseas business has been trading for last 3 years before the date of application for sponsor licence

Provide at least one of the following:

• business accounts (audited or unaudited) for the three years period (these must in accordance with the applicable laws of the country in which your business is based)
• company bank statements for the last 3 years period
• contracts for goods and services for the last 3 years period
• annual reports and information about the investors for the last 3 years period
• any other credible evidence to show you were actively trading during the last 3 years period

3) Proof of your planned expansion to the UK – Provide one of the documents listed under (a) and two listed under (b) below.

(a) Financial capability of your overseas business to fund the set-up initial costs for the business of your capability to fund your planned expansion for the first 12 months, according to your business plan – at least one of the following:

• corporate or business bank statements showing transactions from the 12-month period before the date of application (if not already submitted)
• a letter from your company bank account provider, setting out the dealings it has had with you, including the nature and duration of those dealings
• Evidence of your expansion plans, you must send at least 2 of the following:

(i) A summary of your overseas business, you must provide:

• information about the company operations which sector you operate in;
• a current hierarchy chart for the business detailing owners, directors and board members, including the total number of employees
• information about jobs you intend to fill in the UK, which should include the job title, occupation code, and salary

(ii) A business plan:

Providing summary for the last 12 months’ activity, financial position of the company, reasons why you wish to expand the business to the UK, the investment available for expansion in the UK and projected expenses for the business and operating costs for at least the first 12 months of operations in the UK.

(iii) Detailed market research explaining reasoning for choosing the UK as a viable market to expand to (ideally included in the business plan).

(iv) If the expansion is subject to a shareholder vote process, as detailed in the company’s original articles of incorporation or equivalent, you must send evidence that this process has been followed (this may form part of the company’s filed accounts).
(v) If the business plan has been drafted by a third party, you must also include certified copies of the contract or agreement for that piece of work with the third party.

4) Other documents

You must also send at least one of the following:

• annual reports and investor information where applicable;
• evidence of engagement with, or advice sought from, specialist advice companies, such as company formation businesses, relocation firms, UK corporate law services, tax services, or the British Chamber of Commerce
• details of any recruitment campaigns you have run, or plan to run, in the UK for employees of the UK business once trading begins
• Articles of Association (or equivalent document) for your overseas business
• details of any tendering or other process where any activity relating to your business expansion plan, such as the commission of market research, has been conducted by an independent third party; and
• PAYE Registration or VAT registration or Lease for business premises or employers’ liability insurance.

Once you have received the sponsor licence, there are 5 sub categories under which you can apply for a relevant visa.

A senior or specialist worker

This has replaced the old intra-company transfer route. This sub route allows foreign workers at senior level and specialist employees to a linked UK business to come to the UK for a temporary period. If the company is already based in the UK, they will be able to for the sponsor licence under the GBM route and provide evidence of common ownership or evidence that the company is linked with the overseas branch or parent company.

A graduate trainee

This route is for the overseas employees who are transferred to the UK by their employer who are enrolled on a graduate training program leading to a senior manager or specialist role for a work placement.

Secondment worker visa

This route is for transferring an employee from the overseas company to the UK in orderto work as part of high value contract for the company.

Service supplier

If you are a contractual service supplier employed by an overseas company or anindependent service supplier overseas you need to be in the UK to provide services under the UK’s international trade agreements.

A UK expansion worker

If you are a senior employee of an overseas company and you need to be transferred to the UK to establish a branch of subsidiary of the overseas business. Then you can apply for the sponsor licence under UK expansion worker route

Global business mobility sponsor license general requirements

A UK-based company that wants to sponsor an overseas employee under any of the 5 subcategories of the global business mobility route needs to first acquire a GBM sponsor license. The eligibility requirements for being approved as a GBM sponsor include the following general requirements:

• Your organization must be genuine and your company must operate lawfully in the UK.
• Your organization must be perceived as conducive to the public good.
• You must be seen as doing your sponsor duties.
• There must be human resource and recruitment systems in place
• There must not be any evidence of your key personnel having any unspent criminal conviction for a relevant offence as well as any evidence of previous non-compliance

Specific Requirements for a Global Business Mobility Sponsor License

Home Office specifies specific requirements for a UK-based organization if it wants to sponsor an overseas employee under any sub-category of the GBM route. These specific requirements include offering employment which

• Meets the skill-level requirement for the relevant route
• Meets the salary requirements of the route wherever relevant
• Is genuine 
• Meets the rules on third-party working wherever relevant
• Have a qualifying overseas business link

If you are applying on the UK Expansion Worker route, you need to meet the additional requirements for that route which are

• You have a presence in the UK
• You have a trading presence overseas
• You have a credible expansion plan and you will establish a UK presence within two years.

Documents required for global business mobility sponsor license

Depending on the sub-category of the global business mobility route you are recruiting you need to submit a different set of documents relevant to that sub-category. For example, if you are hiring under a GBM service supplier you need to give evidence that you have an eligible contract with an overseas service provider for the supply of a service that is covered by a relevant UK trade commitment and that meets the requirements set out in section GBM2 of ‘sponsor a global business mobility worker’.

How to apply?

You need to apply an online application form. You also need to pay a fee for it. The amount you must pay will depend on the route you select. You must send the relevant documents after you have submitted the Global Business Mobility sponsor license application form to the Home Office within five working days.

How long does it take to get a decision?

The sponsor license application usually takes up to eight weeks to process with a fee of £536. A priority service is also available for an extra fee of £500, and a decision is usually made within 10 working days.