UK Expansion Worker visa (Global Business Mobility)

A UK Expansion Worker visa allows you to come to the UK to set up a branch of an overseas business that has not started trading in the UK yet.

You must already work for the overseas business as either a senior manager or specialist employee

If your business is already trading in the UK, you should apply for a Senior or Specialist Worker visa instead

To be eligible for a UK Expansion Worker visa you need to:

• have a valid certificate of sponsorship from your employer
• have worked for your employer outside the UK
• do a job that’s on the list of eligible occupations
• be paid the minimum eligible salary required for your job

The specific eligibility depends on your job.

How long you can stay in the UK
You can stay in the UK with a UK Expansion Worker visa for whichever is shorter of:

• 12 months after the start date of the job on your certificate of sponsorship
• the time given on your certificate of sponsorship plus 14 days

If you want to stay longer in the UK, you can extend your visa by 12 months. The maximum time you can stay in the UK on a UK Expansion Worker visa is 2 years.

If you’ve spent time in the UK on this or another visa, you might not be able to stay on a UK Expansion Worker visa for as long. You can only stay in the UK for a maximum of 5 years in any 6 year period if you’ve spent time on any of these visas:

• Intra-company Graduate Trainee visa
• Intra-company Transfer visa
• Graduate Trainee visa (Global Business Mobility)
• Secondment Worker visa (Global Business Mobility)
• Senior or Specialist Worker visa (Global Business Mobility)
• Service Supplier visa (Global Business Mobility)
• UK Expansion Worker visa (Global Business Mobility)