UK Expansion Worker Visa (Global Business Mobility)

What Is the UK Expansion Worker Visa?

The UK Expansion Worker Visa is a Global Business Mobility (GBM) route that enables overseas businesses to send a senior manager or specialist employee to the UK to set up a new UK branch or subsidiary. It is for companies that have a genuine, active business operation overseas but have not yet started trading in the United Kingdom.

This visa replaced the former Sole Representative of an Overseas Business route in April 2022. The key distinction from other GBM routes is its purpose: this is a business establishment visa, not a standard employee transfer. The person sent to the UK under this route is there to do the groundwork, registering the entity, building the infrastructure, and getting the UK operation trading.

Once the UK business is actively trading, the employer should move to adding standard worker routes such as the Skilled Worker Visa or Senior or Specialist Worker Visa to their sponsor licence, and long-term staff would be sponsored under those routes instead.

Who Is This Visa For?

This route is appropriate for overseas businesses that are genuinely planning to establish a UK presence and need to send a trusted senior manager or specialist employee to lead that process. The sponsored worker is typically someone with significant knowledge of the overseas business, the authority to make binding decisions for the UK entity, and the expertise needed to establish UK operations from scratch.

It is not appropriate for businesses that are already trading in the UK. If a UK trading presence already exists, the correct route is the Senior or Specialist Worker Visa. The Home Office will verify the trading status of the UK entity at the point of application.

For a business to use this route, the overseas company must meet the following requirements:

• Active overseas trading: The overseas company must be a genuine, lawfully operating business that has been actively trading overseas. There must be a real commercial operation to expand. This route is not available to dormant companies or newly formed entities.
• UK footprint: The overseas company must register a UK entity (branch or subsidiary) with Companies House before applying for a sponsor licence. The UK entity must not yet be trading.
• Sponsor licence: The UK entity must apply for and obtain a Home Office sponsor licence under the Global Business Mobility: UK Expansion Worker category before any Certificate of Sponsorship can be issued.
• Business plan: The application must be supported by a detailed, credible business plan for the UK expansion, including evidence of plans for premises, funding, and how the UK branch will operate.
• Financial capacity: The overseas company must demonstrate it has the financial resources to support the establishment of a UK branch for a sustained period.

An important feature of the sponsor licence under this route is that it is initially granted at a provisional rating (if the Authorising Officer is based overseas), limiting the number of Certificate of Sponsorship allocations to one. After the first Expansion Worker arrives in the UK and completes the necessary steps in the Sponsor Management System, the licence can be upgraded to an A-rating, allowing up to five Expansion Workers to be sponsored simultaneously. Once the UK business is trading, the employer may apply to add other GBM or Skilled Worker categories to the licence.

How Long Can You Stay?

The UK Expansion Worker Visa is initially granted for up to 12 months, or 14 days after the end date stated on the Certificate of Sponsorship, whichever is shorter. A single extension of up to 12 months is permitted, giving a maximum cumulative stay of two years on this route.

If the overseas business has not established a trading UK presence within the permitted period, the visa cannot be extended, and the Home Office may reduce the sponsor's Certificate of Sponsorship allocation to zero. Time on this route counts towards the five-years-in-any-six-year cumulative limit that applies across all Global Business Mobility routes.

This visa does not lead to settlement in the UK. If the worker wishes to remain in the UK long-term after the UK branch is established and trading, they would need to switch into an appropriate route, most commonly the Senior or Specialist Worker Visa or the Skilled Worker Visa, subject to meeting the requirements of those routes.

What Can You Do on This Visa?

Expansion Worker visa holders may:

• Work for their sponsor in the role specified on the Certificate of Sponsorship, focused on business establishment activities.
• Undertake study and voluntary work alongside their sponsored employment.
• Travel freely in and out of the UK during the visa validity period.
• Bring eligible dependent family members, including a spouse or civil partner and children under 18, provided relevant financial and relationship requirements are met.

Expansion Workers may not take on supplementary employment or switch to another visa category from within the UK under this route.

Learn more about the UK Expansion Worker Visa on GOV.UK.