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A Senior or Specialist Worker visa allows you to come to or stay in the UK to do an eligible job at your employer’s UK branch.
This visa has replaced the Intra-company Transfer visa, previously the Tier 2 (Intra-company Transfer) Long-term Staff visa.
If you’re from the EU, Switzerland, Norway, Iceland or Liechtenstein
If you or your family member started living in the UK by 31 December 2020, you may be able to apply to the free EU Settlement Scheme.
The deadline to apply was 30 June 2021 for most people. You can still apply if either:
- you have a later deadline – for example, you’re joining a family member in the UK who was living in the UK by 31 December 2020
- you have ‘reasonable grounds’ for being unable to apply by 30 June 2021 – for example, you had an illness or were the victim of domestic abuse
Check if you can still apply to the EU Settlement Scheme.
Otherwise you need a visa to work in the UK.
Irish citizens do not need to apply for a visa or to the EU Settlement Scheme.
Eligibility
To qualify for a Senior or Specialist Worker visa, you must:
- be an existing employee of an organisation that’s been approved by the Home Office as a sponsor
- have a ‘certificate of sponsorship’ from your employer with information about the work you will do in the UK
- do a job that’s on the list of eligible occupations
- be paid at least £45,800 per year
Check if you’re eligible.
How long you can stay
You can stay in the UK with a Senior or Specialist Worker visa for whichever is shorter of:
- the time given on your certificate of sponsorship plus 14 days
- 5 years
You can apply to extend your visa or apply for another one as many times as you like up to the maximum total stay.
The maximum total stay allowed for a Senior and Specialist Worker visa is:
- 5 years in any 6 year period if you’re paid less than £73,900 a year
- 9 years in any 10 year period if you’re paid £73,900 a year or more
Any time you spend in the UK on one of the following visas will be included in your maximum total stay:
- 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)
Example
You worked in the UK on a Senior or Specialist Worker visa for 3 years, but for the last 6 months have been working in Sweden. You are paid less than £73,900 a year.
The maximum time you could now stay in the UK on a Global Business Mobility visa is 2 years. At the end of that time you would need to spend another 6 months outside the UK before you would be eligible for a Global Business Mobility visa.
If you had a Tier 2 (Intra-company Transfer) Long-term Staff visa before 6 April 2011
You can stay in the UK for as long as your employer is sponsoring you if you’ve been in the UK since 6 April 2011 on any of the following visas:
- Tier 2 (Intra-company Transfer) Long-term Staff visa
- Intra-company Transfer visa
- Senior or Specialist Worker visa (Global Business Mobility)
There is no maximum stay.
How to apply
You must apply online.
How you apply depends on whether you’re:
Your partner and children can apply to join you or stay in the UK as your ‘dependants’ if they’re eligible.
How much it costs
You, your partner or children will each need to:
- pay the application fee
- pay the healthcare surcharge for each year of your stay
- prove you have enough personal savings
Check how much it costs.
How long it takes
You can apply for a visa up to 3 months before the day you are due to start work in the UK. This date is listed on your certificate of sponsorship.
As part of your application, you’ll need to prove your identity and provide your documents.
You may need to allow extra time if you need an appointment to do this. You’ll find out if you need one when you start your application.
Getting a decision
Once you’ve applied online, proved your identity and provided your documents, you’ll usually get a decision on your visa within:
- 3 weeks, if you’re outside the UK
- 8 weeks, if you’re inside the UK
If you need to go to an appointment, you may be able to pay for a faster decision. How you do this depends on whether you’re outside the UK or inside the UK.
What you can and cannot do
With a Senior or Specialist Worker visa you can:
- work for your sponsor in the job described in your certificate of sponsorship
- study
- bring your partner and children with you as your ‘dependants’, if they’re eligible
- do voluntary work
- travel abroad and return to the UK
You cannot:
- apply for most benefits, public funds, or the State Pension
- change jobs unless you are eligible and you update your visa
- have a second job – unless you’ve previously had an Intra-company Transfer visa or a Tier 2 (Intra-company Transfer) Long term Staff visa
- apply to settle permanently in the UK (also known as ‘indefinite leave to remain’)
If your application is successful, you’ll get a full list of what you can and cannot do with a Senior or Specialist Worker visa.
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