New types of UK visas for companies and individuals

These new categories and what they bring are summarised as follows:

New Global Business Mobility visa

These new visa categories came into force on 11 April 2022.  They replaced four existing business mobility rules and create a new one.  The five types of Global Mobility Visas will be as follows:

1. Senior or Specialist Worker – replaced the Tier 2 Intra-Company Transfer route.  This is for overseas workers to undertake temporary work assignments in the UK, where they are being assigned to a UK business linked to their overseas employment.
2. Graduate Trainee – replaced the Tier 2 Intra-Company Graduate Trainee route.  For overseas workers who are undertaking temporary work assignments in the UK, where the worker is on a graduate training course leading to a senior management or specialist position and is required to do a work placement in the UK.
3. UK Expansion Worker – replaced the Representative of an Overseas Business route (not Media Representative route).  This new route is for senior managers or specialist employees to expand a business into the UK where it has not yet begun trading.  The maximum period of Leave to Remain is a total of five years in any six year period.
4. Service Supplier – replaced the Tier 5 Temporary Work – International Agreement route.  For overseas workers undertaking temporary work assignments in the UK where the worker is either a contractual service supplier employed by an overseas service provider or a self-employed independent professional overseas and they need to undertake an assignment in the UK to provide services covered by one of the UK’s international trade agreements.
5. Secondment Worker – brand new route.  This is for overseas workers who are undertaking temporary assignments in the UK where the worker is being seconded as part of a high value contract or investment by their overseas employer.

All the above routes do not lead to Indefinite Leave to Remain, known as settlement.  Companies wishing to use these routes will need to hold a sponsor licence under the specific category issued by the Home Office.

The most notable change is the UK Expansion Worker.  This replaced the Representative of an Overseas Business, which had a route to settlement.   New applications to the Representative of an Overseas Business were closed on 11 April 2022.

New Appendix High Potential Individual (HPI) route

Coming into force from 30 May 2022, this visa will be for applicants who have graduated within five years of the date of application from a list of the top 50 universities in the world.  The non-UK university must be ranked in the top 50 of at least two of the following lists:

(a) Times Higher Education World University Rankings;

(b) Quacquarelli Symonds World University Rankings;

(c)The Academic Ranking of World Universities.

The Home Office publishes the list of these universities here – https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/high-potential-individual-visa-global-universities-list.

The visa will be granted for a period of two years for those who have the equivalent of a UK Bachelor’s or Master’s degree or for three years for those with the equivalent of a UK PhD.

This is similar to a graduate visa but from overseas and from a non-UK qualifying university.  It will allow a significant degree of initial free movement to nationals from countries that have strong historic links to the UK such as the USA, which has twenty of the top fifty universities, Canada with three and Singapore and China with two of the top fifty in the 2021  list.  The Home Office’s plan is evident in that they hope, much like the Graduate visa route, that applicants will eventually switch to other categories such as the Skilled Worker visas.

New Appendix Scale-Up

Coming into force from 22 August 2022, the intention is for applicants to have a sponsored job offer from an authorised UK scale-up company.

To be registered as a scale-up, a company will need to demonstrate that:

• They have annualised growth of at least 20% for the previous three-year period in terms of turnover or staffing;
• Have a minimum of ten employees at the start of the three-year period.

The role must:

• Be at RQF level 6, which is graduate level of above;
• Paid the appropriate salary, which will be £33,000 or the going rate, whichever is higher.

The initial visa will be granted for a period of two years.  Extensions will be granted for a period of three years.

Applicants will need to work for the scale-up company for at least six months.  After this period, their immigration status will no longer be tied to the employer and they will be free to work for whoever they wish.  To extend their leave, they will need to show PAYE earnings of at least £33,000 per year for at least 50% of their time in the UK (e.g. 1 year of 2 years permission).  For Indefinite Leave to Remain, similar provisions exist but the period is instead two years of the three-year extension period.

This route looks very similar to the old Tier 2 Worker scheme in that the skill level and the salary, to a lesser extent, are similar.  This will work well for more senior hires who do not benefit from the provisions of the HPI route (see above) who want flexibility and to not be tied to one employer.  The Rules show that companies wanting to be recognised as a scale-up will need to have a sponsor licence as well as be recognised as a scale-up.  Depending on how the registration system works for companies wishing to be recognised as such, this could work well, removing some of the cost barriers involved with sponsoring under the Skilled Worker route such as the Immigration Skills Charge and Certificate of Sponsorship.

The closure of Tier 1 Investor visa and future replacement

Many clients will of course be lamenting the loss of the Tier 1 Investor visa. The Home Secretary Priti Patel, in her written statement to parliament following the swift closure of the visa route, stated that the existing Innovator visa route will be reformed with announcements anticipated in Autumn 2022.  She stated that “The proposed future scheme will no longer focus exclusively on having cash in the bank and making passive investments. It will instead be focused on attracting the brightest and best through a rigorous assessment of an applicant’s business background, skills, and investment plans.”

Whilst we await further details, we are currently helping high net worth individuals and their employees relocate to the UK using other routes. Please feel free to get in touch to discuss options.