The UK Expansion Worker visa is the Global Business Mobility route for overseas businesses opening their first UK branch or subsidiary — usable only while the UK entity is not yet trading. It replaced the Sole Representative route in April 2022. The salary floor is £52,500, the fee £340 from 8 April 2026, the stay capped at 2 years, and the sponsor licence capped at 5 workers. No English test; no settlement pathway.
Global Business Mobility
UK Expansion Worker Visa 2026: GBM Route for Pre-Trading UK Operations
What is the UK Expansion Worker Visa?
The UK Expansion Worker visa lets senior managers and specialist employees of an overseas business come to the UK to set up a branch or wholly-owned subsidiary that has not yet started trading. It requires 12 months' prior employment with the overseas business (waived for earners over £73,900, Japanese nationals under the UK-Japan CEPA, and Australian nationals or permanent residents under the UK-Australia FTA), a salary of at least £52,500 or the going rate, and a Certificate of Sponsorship. Maximum 5 workers per licence, maximum 2 years per worker.
Every other route in the Global Business Mobility framework assumes a functioning UK operation. This one exists for the moment before that — the narrow window between registering a UK entity at Companies House and the first day of actual trading. It is, by design, a visa for building the thing the other visas require.
From Sole Representative to Expansion Worker
Its predecessor, the Sole Representative of an Overseas Business route, closed to new applicants on 11 April 2022 — though workers already holding Sole Representative permission can still extend and reach ILR under the old rules. The replacement traded generosity for structure: where Sole Representative allowed one worker, no sponsor licence and a settlement pathway, Expansion Worker allows up to five workers under a full sponsor licence, caps the stay at 2 years, and leads nowhere permanent. The Home Office swapped a light-touch personal route for a supervised corporate one.
Expansion Worker vs Senior or Specialist Worker
The decisive test between this route and Senior or Specialist Worker is one fact: is the UK entity trading? Not yet trading — Expansion Worker. Already trading — Senior or Specialist Worker. Everything else follows from that answer:
The Two Routes Compared
| Feature | UK Expansion Worker | Senior or Specialist Worker |
|---|---|---|
| UK trading status | Not yet trading | Already trading |
| Application fee | £340 | £819–£1,865 by type |
| Sponsor licence | £611 flat | £611 small / £1,682 large |
| Certificate of Sponsorship | £55 | £525 |
| Immigration Skills Charge | Exempt | £1,320/year large sponsor |
| Salary threshold | £52,500 or going rate | £52,500 or going rate |
| Maximum stay | 2 years (12 + 12 months) | 5 years in 6 (9 in 10 over £73,900) |
| Workers per licence | 5 — hard cap | No fixed cap |
| Settlement | No | No |
The Cost Gap
The cost gap is the striking part: an Expansion Worker deployment costs the sponsor about £666 to launch (£611 licence + £55 CoS, no ISC), against several thousand pounds for an equivalent Senior or Specialist Worker transfer. The Home Office prices the pre-trading phase cheaply — then expects the business to graduate to the expensive frameworks once trading begins.
Eligibility Requirements
Five requirements do the work, and the unusual one comes first — proving what the UK entity is not doing:
- Pre-trading UK footprint: the UK entity must not have started trading, but must show a footprint — Companies House registration or premises — plus a qualifying corporate link (common ownership or control) to an overseas business that is actively trading.
- Senior manager or specialist: the applicant holds a senior management or specialist position, in a role on the eligible occupations list at RQF Level 6 or above under SOC 2020.
- Overseas employment: 12 months with the overseas linked business — with three exemptions covered below.
- Certificate of Sponsorship: assigned by the UK sponsor within 3 months of the application.
- Salary: at least £52,500 or the occupation's going rate, whichever is higher.
- Maintenance: £1,270 held for 28 consecutive days — waived if the sponsor certifies maintenance or you have been in the UK on a valid visa for 12 months or more.
- TB certificate if applying from a listed country; certified translations for documents not in English or Welsh. No English language test at any stage.
Salary Requirements
The threshold rose from £48,500 to £52,500 on 22 July 2025 — the same recalibration that took Skilled Worker to £41,700 and Graduate Trainee to £27,300 — and holds for 2026. The test is £52,500 or the SOC 2020 going rate, whichever is higher, with GBM routes using their own going-rate tables in Appendix Skilled Occupations. What counts is narrower than most employment packages:
What Counts Toward the Threshold
| Salary Component | Counts? | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Basic gross pay (guaranteed) | Yes | Capped at 48 hours/week |
| London weighting / mobility / cost-of-living allowances | Yes | Only if contractually guaranteed for the whole UK assignment |
| Performance bonuses | No | Discretionary payments excluded |
| One-off sign-on payments | No | Must be ongoing, not one-time |
| Benefits in kind | No | Accommodation, healthcare, equity all excluded |
Source: Appendix Global Business Mobility; Appendix Skilled Occupations going rates.
The 12-Month Rule and Its Three Exemptions
The standard applicant must have worked for the overseas linked business for at least 12 months before applying — physically outside the UK; remote work performed from the UK does not count. Three exemptions apply: earners over £73,900; Japanese nationals working for a Japanese company expanding to the UK, under the UK-Japan Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement; and Australian nationals or permanent residents working for an Australian company expanding to the UK, under the UK-Australia FTA in force since 31 May 2023.
The 2026 Split: Secondment 6 Months, Expansion 12
One 2026 change is worth pinning down precisely, because it is widely misreported: Statement of Changes HC 1691 cut the prior-employment requirement on the Secondment Worker route from 12 months to 6 — and did not touch Expansion Worker. The current caseworker guidance confirms the split: Secondment Workers need 6 months, Expansion Workers still need 12. A business choosing between the two routes for a shorter-tenured specialist now has a real structural reason to look at Secondment Worker first.
Fees and Costs from 8 April 2026
The worker's side is the cheapest in the sponsored system: £340 to apply (up from £319), plus the Immigration Health Surcharge at £1,035 per adult per year (£776 per child) — £1,375 all-in for a 12-month grant, and the same £340 again to extend.
The Full Cost Schedule
| Fee Component | Amount from 8 April 2026 | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Application fee (initial or extension) | £340 per person | Same fee for dependants |
| Immigration Health Surcharge | £1,035/year adult · £776/year under-18 | Paid up front for the grant period |
| Personal maintenance | £1,270 | Plus £285 partner, £315 first child, £200 each further child; waived if sponsor certifies |
| Priority / super-priority service | +£500 / +£1,000 | Where available at the application location |
| Sponsor: licence | £611 flat | Same fee regardless of sponsor size |
| Sponsor: Certificate of Sponsorship | £55 per worker | Against £525 on Worker routes |
| Immigration Skills Charge | £0 | Route is exempt |
Source: GOV.UK UK Expansion Worker fee pages; Immigration and Nationality (Fees) Order uplift, 8 April 2026.
A complete two-year, single-worker expansion therefore costs roughly £2,041 in government charges across both sides — sponsor licence, CoS, both visa fees and IHS. How that compares across the sponsored system sits in the UK work visa fees comparison.
The Provisional Licence Framework
The route's cleverest mechanism solves its own paradox: a business needs a UK sponsor licence to send its first worker, but needs that first worker in the UK to run the sponsorship. The answer is the provisional licence.
How the Provisional Licence Works
Where the Authorising Officer — the senior person responsible for the licence — is still overseas at the point of application, the Home Office grants the licence provisionally with an allocation of exactly one Certificate of Sponsorship. The Authorising Officer assigns that single CoS to themselves, obtains entry clearance, travels to the UK, and then requests an upgrade to a full A-rating through the Sponsorship Management System. Only after the upgrade can the remaining CoS — up to the 5-worker cap — be assigned to the rest of the expansion team.
A Hard Cap, in Both Directions
The 5-worker cap is a hard ceiling for the licence's lifetime. Once the UK entity begins trading, no further Expansion Worker CoS can be assigned at all — growth beyond that point runs through the Worker licence frameworks described below. And the cap cuts both ways: if the expansion stalls and no UK trading presence materialises, the Home Office can reduce the CoS allocation to zero and ultimately revoke the licence.
How to Apply
Applications are made online on GOV.UK — from outside the UK in the standard case, or by switching in-country from most routes (not from a visit visa, short-term student visa, Parent of a Child Student visa, seasonal or domestic-worker visa, on immigration bail, or on leave outside the rules). The sequence:
- Step 1: the UK entity applies for the Expansion Worker sponsor licence — £611, with evidence of overseas trading, the UK footprint (Companies House registration or premises) and the corporate link between the two.
- Step 2: the Home Office grants the licence — provisional with 1 CoS if the Authorising Officer is overseas, A-rated with up to 5 otherwise.
- Step 3: the sponsor assigns the £55 Certificate of Sponsorship; the worker applies online within 3 months, paying £340 plus IHS.
- Step 4: identity via the UK Immigration: ID Check app or a biometric appointment; evidence upload — passport, overseas-employment proof (contract, payslips, employer letter), maintenance, TB certificate if applicable.
- Step 5: decision in around 3 weeks (outside the UK) or 8 weeks (inside); then travel, build, and upgrade the licence once the Authorising Officer is UK-based.
Bringing Your Partner and Children
Partners — spouse, civil partner, or unmarried partner in a 2-year durable relationship — and children under 18 apply as dependants through the standard UK dependant visa process, each paying £340 plus IHS at their rate. Maintenance stacks on the main applicant's £1,270: £285 for a partner, £315 for the first child, £200 for each further child, waived where the sponsor certifies. Dependants may work in any sector — they are not confined to the new UK branch — and their permission ends when the main applicant's does.
What Happens When the UK Business Starts Trading
Trading is the route's finish line, and crossing it retires the licence: no new Expansion Worker certificates can be assigned to a trading entity. The sponsor then has three onward paths.
- Add a Senior or Specialist Worker licence to keep bringing established group staff into the now-trading UK entity — existing Expansion Workers can still extend within their 2-year cap while new transfers come in on the senior route.
- Take a full Worker licence for Skilled Worker recruitment — the settlement-leading framework for permanent UK hiring, and the natural switch for the expansion team itself.
- The Innovator Founder route where the individual is really building their own venture — endorsement-based rather than sponsored, and free of the 2-year ceiling.
The Settlement Arithmetic
For the worker, settlement arithmetic is unforgiving: Expansion Worker time never counts towards Indefinite Leave to Remain, so the 5-year clock starts only on switching to Skilled Worker — at the £41,700 threshold and, from 8 January 2026, with the CEFR B2 English test this route never required. Time on the route also counts towards the cumulative 5-years-in-6 GBM cap.
If the expansion collapses — no trading presence, licence downgraded, sponsorship withdrawn — the worker's permission is curtailed, with normally 60 days to find a new sponsor, switch routes or leave the UK. Overstaying that window damages every future UK application, with re-entry bans of 1–10 years possible. The Home Office audits whether expansion plans are genuine and resourced; budget the 2-year cap with margin, not optimism.
The official entry point is the GOV.UK UK Expansion Worker overview; the legal framework sits in Appendix Global Business Mobility: UK Expansion Worker, with sponsor-side mechanics in the Sponsor a GBM Worker guidance and the wider sponsor licensing framework. Figures verified 22 August 2026.
Frequently Asked
Questions about the UK Expansion Worker visa
Yes — and it needs some. Companies House registration or premises are expected as evidence of a UK "footprint". What disqualifies the route is trading: once the entity does business in the UK, Expansion Worker is closed and Senior or Specialist Worker is the correct route.
It closed to new applicants on 11 April 2022 when Expansion Worker replaced it. Workers already on Sole Representative permission can still extend and qualify for ILR under the old rules — but there is no way in for new applicants, and unlike its predecessor, Expansion Worker carries no settlement pathway.
Usually — 12 months with the overseas linked business, worked outside the UK. Three groups are exempt: earners over £73,900, Japanese nationals expanding a Japanese company under the UK-Japan CEPA, and Australian nationals or permanent residents expanding an Australian company under the UK-Australia FTA. Note the 2026 trap: the reduction to 6 months applied only to Secondment Worker — Expansion Worker kept 12.
Up to 12 months initially (the CoS period plus 14 days if shorter), extendable in-country once by 12 months — 2 years absolute maximum, with no high-earner extension. The time also counts towards the cumulative 5-in-6-year cap shared across all GBM routes, which matters if you later return on Senior or Specialist Worker.
Five — a hard cap. And if the Authorising Officer is overseas when the licence is granted, the initial allocation is just one certificate, which the AO assigns to themselves; the remaining four unlock only after the AO reaches the UK and upgrades the licence to an A-rating through the Sponsorship Management System.
No — none at entry or extension, like every GBM route. English becomes relevant only on the later switch to Skilled Worker, which requires CEFR B2 from 8 January 2026, so expansion teams planning to stay long-term should factor the test into their transition timeline.
Yes — partner and children under 18, each paying £340 plus IHS (£1,035/year adult, £776 child), with maintenance of £285/£315/£200 on top of your £1,270 unless the sponsor certifies. Dependants can work in any sector without restriction.
No. Expansion Worker time never counts toward ILR. The standard play is to switch to Skilled Worker once the UK entity is trading — the 5-year settlement clock then starts from the switch date, and the B2 English requirement applies at that point.