Senior and Specialist Worker Visa
The Senior and Specialist Worker Visa, one of the 5 visas under the Global Business Mobility route, allows overseas companies that wants to operate in the UK to appoint senior managers and specialist employees. In this visa type, the company in the UK must have started its commercial activities and continue actively.
One of the core and most important aspects of Global Business Mobility visas is the requirement of the continuous sponsorship by the employers for the workers that they send to the UK to fulfill certain work purposes. In the Global Business Mobility visa, candidates must collect between 40 and 60 points depending on the sub-category applied.
According to the guidance on the official website of the UK government, the result of the visa can vary between 3 weeks and 8 weeks. However, this period can be extended if the control/compliance/reliability of the documents is questioned.
Thanks to the Senior and Specialist Worker Visa, which replaces the Intra-Company route, senior managers or specialist employees in a company that provides overseas employment can be assigned to the UK branch of the company they work for. In order to apply for this route, you must first meet the fixed requirements set by the Home Office (eg, the applicant must be over the age of 18). In addition to the relevant fixed requirements, the Senior and Specialist Worker Visa contains three essential criteria that must be met:
Company Licensing
In order for your company located in the UK to recruit someone from abroad, it must first have a sponsor license, that is, be licensed. In this way, the company can sponsor the employees and confirm the employment process by documenting them in the Home Office. After the company is licensed, your company needs to request a personalized “sponsorship document” to recruit workers. This document constitutes one of the three essential requirements of the Senior and Specialist Worker Visa.
Sponsorship Certificate – Certificate of Sponsorship (CoS)
The job you will do in the UK must be on the “Eligible Professions” list determined by the Home Office. For this reason, the company that will sponsor you must be licensed in line with the relevant route in order to provide the necessary document (CoS) for your visa application. Based on this list, you should choose the code of your profession or the profession code that you think is close to your profession, and use this code during the sponsorship document application stage.
The officer who will evaluate your visa will check that you have the skills, qualifications and experience to do the designated job as described. Senior and Specialist Worker Visa applications cannot be requested for occupations that are not on the list.
Eligible Professions: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/global-business-mobility-eligible-occupations-and-codes
When your company is applying for this sponsorship document, it may have to prove that you worked for this company before the UK during the evaluation stage. This depends on the route you are applying for and your salary scale. You can contact us for detailed information.
Company Management and Salary Level
In addition to the bond between the companies, the sponsoring company in the UK is required to provide a minimum salary of £42,400 per year to the overseas workers it will employ under the Senior and Specialist Worker Visa.
One of the most important conditions for Senior and Specialist Worker Visa is that you have been working in the company in Turkey for at least 12 months. However, if your sponsor offers a job where you can earn £73,900 or more per year, this period is not required.
Visa Duration & Rights
Length of Stay – Extension
Your stay in the UK with a Senior and Specialist Worker visa varies depending on your sponsorship certificate and the salary you earn. With your sponsorship, you can be in the UK for up to 5 years if your annual gross earnings are more than GBP 42,400, and up to 9 years if your annual gross earnings are more than GBP 73,900. Once your visa expires, you cannot apply for an extension to extend your stay.
The Senior and Specialist Worker visa does not allow you to apply for an Indefinite Leave to Remain. However, you can apply for permanent residence at the end of your 5 years in the UK by switching to another visa type, eg Skilled Worker. You can contact us for detailed information.
Your family can live with you in the UK
Your spouse, unmarried partner, civil partner and/or children under the age of 18 can apply for “dependant” and join you to live in the UK for the duration of your visa.
Application Process Cost
- Amount to be paid as visa application fee to the British Government
The application cost for the Senior and Specialist Worker Visa by the Home Office for 2022 is £259.
2. Additional fee for medical services payable to the British Government
This fee is set at GBP 624 for each year of stay. For example, if you are applying for a 3-year visa, you must pay 624 x 3 = £1872 in healthcare. To complete your visa application, you must complete the health payment stage.
- The third article is the amount that you have to declare in your bank account to show that you can support yourself in the UK.
The minimum amount decided by the Home Office is 1270 GBP. If your family members are also included in the application, in addition to 1270 GBP; £285 for your spouse/partner, £315 for your first child and £200 for each additional child must be shown in the bank statements.