UK Service Supplier Visa: Requirements, Costs and How to Apply

Key Takeaways

• The UK Service Supplier visa is part of the Global Business Mobility (GBM) scheme. It lets an overseas worker come to the UK temporarily to deliver a service under a contract that is covered by one of the UK's international trade agreements.
• It is open to two groups: employees of an overseas service provider (contractual service suppliers) and self-employed independent professionals based overseas.
• Eligibility turns on the trade agreement, not just nationality. The service, the sector and the contract must all fall within a qualifying agreement, and the worker must usually have 12 months of relevant overseas experience.
• The visa is temporary. Each assignment is capped at 6 or 12 months depending on the agreement, and total time on GBM routes cannot exceed 5 years in any 6 year period. It does not lead directly to settlement.
• The UK sponsor must hold a GBM Service Supplier sponsor licence and register the service contract with the Home Office before assigning a Certificate of Sponsorship. There is no Immigration Skills Charge and no English language requirement.
• WorkPermitCloud guides overseas providers and UK businesses through the Global Business Mobility route, from securing the right sponsor licence and registering the contract to preparing a compliant Certificate of Sponsorship and visa application. Read our full Global Business Mobility visa guide, and UK employers can advertise sponsored roles on WPC Jobs.

Introduction

Since the end of free movement, UK businesses have found it harder to bring in specialist overseas workers for short, contracted projects. The UK Service Supplier visa was designed to fill exactly that gap. It allows an overseas company, or a self-employed professional based abroad, to send skilled people to the UK to carry out a specific piece of contracted work, provided the service is covered by one of the UK's international trade agreements.

The route is one of five Global Business Mobility (GBM) visas introduced in April 2022, and you can read our full overview of the scheme in our Global Business Mobility visa guide. It replaced the contractual service supplier and independent professional provisions that previously sat under the International Agreement route. In practice, it is a powerful but tightly controlled option, and applications are often refused where the trade agreement, the overseas track record or the sponsorship documents do not line up.

This guide explains, in plain English, who qualifies, what it costs, how to apply, and the common pitfalls to avoid. Whether you are an overseas provider planning an assignment or a UK business considering sponsorship, this is your complete starting point.

What Is the UK Service Supplier Visa?

The Service Supplier visa lets an overseas worker come to the UK for a fixed period to perform a contractual obligation on behalf of an overseas service provider. The provider must have a genuine contract to supply services to a UK business, and that contract must be covered by a qualifying international trade agreement. The UK business acts as the sponsor and must be the final consumer of the service.

There are two types of applicant. A contractual service supplier is employed by an overseas company that holds the contract with the UK business. A self-employed independent professional is an individual established overseas who holds the contract in their own right. In both cases the overseas provider must have no commercial presence in the UK, meaning no office, branch or subsidiary here.

Holders can deliver the services set out on their Certificate of Sponsorship, study alongside the role, undertake voluntary work, and travel in and out of the UK while their permission is valid. They cannot take a second job, access public funds, or provide services to anyone other than the sponsoring business. For the official overview, see the GOV.UK Service Supplier visa guidance.

What You Can and Cannot Do on a Service Supplier Visa

Who Is Eligible for a Service Supplier Visa?

To qualify, you must satisfy the validity, suitability and eligibility requirements of the route. The core conditions are set out below.

1. Age and overseas work requirement

You must be aged 18 or over. You must also be working as, or for, an overseas service provider that will supply services to your UK sponsor, and have worked as or for that provider outside the UK for a cumulative period of 12 months. If you are self-employed, you must have been working in the same sector as the service you will provide, outside the UK, for the 12 months immediately before you apply. Limited breaks for statutory leave, sickness or industrial action do not break this period.

2. A qualifying contract under a valid trade agreement

Your UK sponsor must have a genuine contract with the overseas service provider, and that contract must be registered with the Home Office. Crucially, the service must fall within the scope of a qualifying UK trade agreement. Eligibility depends on this agreement rather than nationality alone, so the country, the sector and the contractual arrangement must all be covered. The Home Office publishes the eligible trade agreements and sectors, and this list is updated regularly.

3. Certificate of Sponsorship

You need a valid Certificate of Sponsorship (CoS) from your UK sponsor, issued no more than three months before you apply. It must include your job details, confirm your 12 months of overseas work, name the specific trade agreement and contract, and give a start date within three months of the application. For entry clearance, an undefined CoS is used.

4. Skill level or qualifications (Option A or Option B)

You can meet this requirement in one of two ways. Under Option A, you are sponsored in an eligible occupation code, which is a role skilled to at least RQF Level 6 (graduate equivalent) and listed in Appendix Skilled Occupations. Under Option B, you hold a university degree or equivalent technical qualification and have at least three years of relevant professional experience, or six years if you are self-employed or supplying chef de cuisine services under the CARIFORUM agreement.

A small number of sectors have their own rules under Option B. For example, fashion and modelling and certain entertainment services need no formal qualification, while management consulting requires a university degree. You must also hold any professional registration required to provide the service under UK law. The full occupation list is in the GBM eligible occupations and codes and Appendix Skilled Occupations.

5. Financial requirement

Unless you are exempt, you must have at least £1,270 in savings, held for 28 consecutive days ending within 31 days of your application. You are exempt if your sponsor certifies on your CoS that they will cover your costs for your first month, or if you have already been in the UK on a valid visa for 12 months or more.

There is no English language requirement for this route, and applicants sponsored under it do not need to meet the general salary or going rate rules that apply to Skilled Workers. A tuberculosis test certificate may be required if you are applying from a listed country.

Eligible Trade Agreements and Sectors

Not every trade agreement gives access to this route, and coverage varies significantly between them. Some allow only specified professional services, while others add restrictions on qualifications or experience. Always check the current Home Office tables before assigning a Certificate of Sponsorship, because agreements are added and amended over time. Mexico was added to the eligibility tables on 22 June 2026, and the UK-India Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement came into scope from July 2026.

Annual cap for certain UK-India roles. Under the UK-India agreement, no more than 1,800 applications a year can be granted to Indian nationals working as traditional chefs, musicians or yoga instructors. The cap covers both entry clearance and permission to stay, so applicants in these roles should apply as early in the year as possible. No cap applies to any other role or agreement.

Requirements for the UK Sponsor

The Service Supplier route cannot be used without a UK sponsor, even though the overseas provider is independent of the UK. The sponsoring business must hold an A-rated Global Business Mobility Service Supplier sponsor licence, have a qualifying contract with the overseas provider, and be the final consumer of the service. Supplying the sponsored worker on to a third party is prohibited.

Before assigning a Certificate of Sponsorship, the sponsor must register the specific service contract on the Sponsor Management System (SMS) and confirm that the services fall within an eligible trade agreement. A CoS can only be assigned for that registered contract. If the sponsor wants to bring in workers under a different contract, that new contract must be submitted and approved first. The Home Office treats this strictly, and assigning a CoS against an unapproved contract can lead to licence revocation.

Sponsors must also meet ongoing duties, including record keeping, reporting relevant changes and ensuring the role remains genuine. From 8 April 2026, the sponsor guidance applies a revamped eligible role test, so sponsors should confirm the role genuinely qualifies before and throughout the sponsorship. For a wider view of recent GBM salary thresholds and job rules, see our guide to the Global Business Mobility visa changes.

How Much Does a Service Supplier Visa Cost?

Compared with many work routes, the Service Supplier visa is relatively affordable, mainly because there is no Immigration Skills Charge. The main costs are set out below. Figures are confirmed against GOV.UK.

Note on short assignments: if you apply for entry clearance for a period of six months or less, you are exempt from the Immigration Health Surcharge, which can make short assignments considerably cheaper.

The sponsor cannot pass the Certificate of Sponsorship fee on. For any certificate assigned on or after 9 April 2025 on a Global Business Mobility route, including Service Supplier, the sponsor must not recover any part of the CoS fee or the associated administrative costs from the worker, and doing so is a ground on which the Home Office will normally revoke the licence. Our guide to the Certificate of Sponsorship sets out how certificates are assigned, what they cost and the time limits that apply.

Documents You Will Need to Apply

The exact documents depend on your circumstances, but most applicants should prepare the following. Consistency across your CoS, contract and supporting evidence is as important as the documents themselves.

How to Apply for a Service Supplier Visa

Applications are made online, and you can apply up to three months before your start date. You must apply within three months of receiving your Certificate of Sponsorship. The main steps are:

Priority (£500) and super priority (£1,000) services may be available depending on location and demand for a faster decision.

Bringing Your Partner and Children

Your partner and dependent children can apply to join or accompany you, subject to relationship and financial requirements. Each dependant pays a separate application fee and the Immigration Health Surcharge, and their visas end on the same date as yours. Dependants can usually work, except as a professional sportsperson or coach, and can study.

Unless exempt, each dependant must show additional savings as set out below. Proof is not required if you have been in the UK on a valid visa for 12 months or more, or if your sponsor certifies maintenance for the family on your CoS.

For example, a sponsor certifying maintenance for a family of four would confirm £2,070 in total, made up of £1,270 for the main applicant, £285 for a partner, £315 for a first child and £200 for a second child.

How Long You Can Stay, Extending and Settlement

Each assignment lasts up to 6 or 12 months, depending on the governing trade agreement. You can return for further assignments, but total time on Global Business Mobility routes, including predecessor Intra-Company Transfer routes, cannot exceed 5 years in any 6 year period. It is important to check any previous GBM permission, as this affects how long you can be granted.

Extending your visa

You can apply to extend if you are still contracted to work for the sponsor who assigned your current CoS, you continue to meet the requirements, and you have not reached the maximum stay. If your job changes to a different occupation code, you must update your visa but remain with the same sponsor. A change of sponsor requires a fresh application.

Switching and settlement

The Service Supplier route does not lead directly to settlement, and time spent on it does not count towards indefinite leave to remain. Many workers who wish to stay longer switch into the Skilled Worker route, which does lead to settlement, provided they secure sponsorship in a qualifying role and apply before their current permission expires. Because of this, longer-term plans should be considered early to avoid disruption when the assignment ends.

Common Mistakes to Avoid

• Assuming the service qualifies. Eligibility turns on the trade agreement. A highly skilled worker can still be refused if the sector, nationality or contract falls outside the agreement's scope.
• Not registering the contract. Assigning a Certificate of Sponsorship before the contract is approved on the Sponsor Management System is a common cause of licence action.
• Weak evidence of 12 months' overseas work. Missing payslips or an unexplained gap can lead to refusal, so gather this early.
• Inconsistent documents. The worker, provider, contract and trade agreement must line up across all paperwork. Generic or inconsistent documents are red flags to the Home Office.
• Leaving it late. Processing, biometrics and the genuineness assessment all take time, so start months before the assignment date, especially for capped UK-India roles.

How Can WorkPermitCloud Help?

WorkPermitCloud makes the Global Business Mobility Service Supplier route straightforward for both overseas providers and UK businesses. Our regulated immigration specialists confirm whether your service is covered by a qualifying trade agreement, help you secure or maintain the right sponsor licence, register the contract correctly on the Sponsor Management System, and prepare a compliant Certificate of Sponsorship and visa application, so your assignment stays on schedule and on the right side of the rules. For more detail, read our Global Business Mobility visa guide and the latest GBM visa changes.

Conclusion

The UK Service Supplier visa is a valuable route for delivering specialist overseas expertise to a UK business on a temporary, contracted basis. It offers real advantages, including no Immigration Skills Charge and no English language requirement, but it is also one of the more technical work routes. Success depends on the service being covered by a qualifying trade agreement, the contract being registered correctly, and the evidence lining up across the worker, the provider and the sponsor.

If you are planning an assignment, get the groundwork right early and take specialist advice before committing. For more on UK work and sponsorship routes, explore our latest immigration blogs, and when you are ready to move forward, the WorkPermitCloud team is here to help.

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