What the Global Expansion Worker visa is
This is part of the Global Business Mobility framework, which is the UK’s route for moving employees between linked businesses. The Expansion Worker category is the one most used: it lets a business in the UK bring in a senior manager or specialist employee from an overseas office, on a defined period and usually at a fixed salary.
It is a sponsored route. Unlike the Global Talent visa, it needs an employer who is licensed to sponsor, a certificate of sponsorship, and a job that meets the going rate for the relevant occupation and location. It is also distinct from the ICT route, which is intended for a longer-term transfer without the same UK-entity requirement for some cases.
Who can qualify
You need to fall into one of two role types, and the distinction matters because the rules differ.
Senior manager
A senior manager occupies a role that focuses on managing an organisation, a department or a substantial body of work, with authority over colleagues and responsibility for their work. Titles are not the test. The Home Office looks at the duties and the organisational structure, not the job title, and a business hire who does day-to-day work rather than manage people does not qualify as a senior manager.
Specialist employee
A specialist employee carries knowledge and expertise essential to the UK business. This covers roles such as engineers, architects, financial analysts, researchers, medical consultants and specialist professionals, among others. The knowledge has to be something the UK operation genuinely needs and could not readily hire for locally.
Excluded categories
Some role types are not eligible under this category, including most graduate and trainee positions, certain generalist administrative roles, and roles filled by a worker who could readily be filled in the UK. If your intention is to bring in a junior team on a budget, this is the wrong route.
Salary and costs
The salary test is the most important gate in this route, and it has two parts.
| Test | Requirement | Approximate Gulf equivalent |
|---|---|---|
| Going rate for the occupation and location | The higher of the going rate or the salary floor | varies by role |
| General salary floor | £52,500 per year, or the hourly equivalent | approx. AED 259,875 / SAR 265,125 / BHD 188,475 |
| Higher salary exception, often used for new roles | £73,900 per year, or the hourly equivalent | approx. AED 365,805 / SAR 373,195 / BHD 265,301 |
| Initial assignment, unless the higher salary applies | Usually 12 months with the sponsor | n/a |
| Application to extend the visa | Must be made before the current visa expires | n/a |
Read that first row carefully. The salary has to clear both the going rate for that occupation in that part of the UK and the general floor, whichever is higher. A sponsored offer that clears the floor but not the going rate for a London-based senior manager is not eligible. Going rates are published by occupation code and location, so check the specific number rather than the headline floor.
The salary is paid in pounds by the UK sponsor. The Gulf column shows the scale for planning, and your bank will set its own conversion rate.
The Home Office visa application fee is set in the published fee table and is not quoted on this page, because it changes. Look it up under Expansion Worker in the current fee table before you budget, and make sure the fee you use is the one for the category and the length of stay you are applying for.
You will also need to cover the Immigration Health Surcharge for each adult, and the employer will need to pay the sponsorship costs and the Certificate of Sponsorship charge on your behalf.
How the process works
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The employer checks the role
The UK sponsoring business confirms the job is a senior manager or specialist employee, that the salary clears both the going rate and the floor, and that the role is genuine rather than filled to make a visa possible.
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Certificate of Sponsorship
The employer, which must be licensed to sponsor, assigns you a Certificate of Sponsorship with the correct occupation code and salary. This is the document that makes the application possible.
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You apply for the visa
Using the certificate, you apply through the UK immigration system, pay the fee, and complete biometrics. Applications should be made within three months of the certificate being assigned.
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Decision
The Home Office assesses the application. A sponsored route carries the risk that the role or the sponsor can be scrutinised, so accuracy in the application and the certificate matters.
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Work in the UK
You take up the role on the terms agreed. If the job or the employer changes, the employer must report the change and you may need a new certificate.
Documents to have ready
The employer provides the sponsorship paperwork; you provide the personal evidence. Expect to be asked for both.
- Valid passport
- Certificate of Sponsorship reference number, supplied by the sponsoring employer
- Evidence of your employment with the overseas entity, such as a contract or employment letter
- An organisational chart showing how the overseas office relates to the UK sponsor
- Role description setting out your duties and reporting line
- The UK job offer, stating salary, location and start date
- Evidence of the salary meeting the going rate and the general floor
- English translations of anything not already in English or Welsh
- Qualifications and supporting evidence for a specialist employee role
- Evidence of any dependants travelling with you
Using this route from a Gulf business
If your business is registered in the UAE, Saudi Arabia or Bahrain and you need a manager or specialist in the UK, this is a route your company can actually use. The mechanics are specific and they reward early planning.
Licensing is the first gate
Your entity cannot sponsor without holding a sponsor licence, and the licence takes time to obtain. If nobody in your organisation has looked at the sponsor licence, start there. Many applications fail on this detail, not on the candidate.
Which Gulf office the worker comes from
The employee can come from your overseas branch or a linked group company, which is what makes the intra-company move genuine. The relationship has to be documented, not asserted. Keep the corporate structure records ready, because a mismatch between the group chart and the certificate is a common cause of refusal.
Apostilling for the UK application
Every document issued outside the UK must be in English or Welsh, or come with a certified translation. The UAE, Saudi Arabia and Bahrain are all members of the Hague Apostille Convention, so a document is normally apostilled in-country: notarised first, then stamped by the competent authority for that emirate or province. The competent authority is not the same body in every emirate, so confirm yours before you pay a notary. You do not need full embassy legalisation on top of an apostille. Employment letters, group-structure evidence and qualification certificates are the documents most often caught out by a missing apostille or an unofficial translation.
Apply from the right place and the right time
The application can be made from the Gulf, and biometrics go to the Visa Application Centre covering where the worker lives. The three-month window from the certificate being assigned is short, so plan the appointment before the certificate is assigned rather than after.
Settlement is a five-year question
Unlike the Innovator route, this is a five-year route to settlement. Retention matters, and extended absences can put the settlement application at risk. If your business is sending someone for two years, be clear-eyed that the settlement case is a separate step later.
Common questions
Yes. This is a sponsored route, and a Certificate of Sponsorship from a licensed sponsoring company is required. The UK sponsor must be able to show the role is genuine and meets the salary requirements.
The higher of the going rate for that occupation in that part of the UK, or the general salary floor of £52,500 a year. Going rates vary by occupation and location, so the specific number matters more than the floor.
The usual initial period is 12 months with the sponsor. Higher salary exceptions, and certain nationalities or arrangements, can differ. The official guidance sets out when the minimum does not apply, so check the current rules for your case.
Up to five years, subject to the conditions of the grant. Your employer has obligations to report changes in your role, salary or employment, and failing to do so can affect the visa.
Dependants can be included in most cases, subject to the dependant conditions for the route. Each adult dependant pays their own Immigration Health Surcharge, and the employer will need to account for them in the process.
It is set in the published Home Office fee table under the Expansion Worker category, and it varies by length of stay. Check the current fee table for the specific category before you budget, and remember the sponsorship costs are paid by the employer.
Official sources
Every figure on this page comes from the authority that sets it. Check the source before you pay, because fees and thresholds change.
- UK Government, Global Expansion Worker visa — the primary authority for this route
- UK Government, Expansion Worker: eligibility and conditions — role types, salary rules and the 12-month position
- UK Government, Skilled Worker going rates — the occupation-specific going rates that apply to the salary test
- UK Government, Visa fees — the current published fee table