Service Supplier Visa is for overseas workers who are either a contractual service supplier employed by an overseas service provider or a self-employed independent professional based overseas, who need to undertake a temporary assignment in the UK to provide services covered by one of the UK’s international trade commitments.  

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Requirements for a Service Supplier 

To qualify for a Secondment Worker Visa, you will need to satisfy UK Visas and Immigration that: 

• You are aged 18 or over; 

• You are currently working as or for an overseas service provider that will provide services to your UK sponsor; 

• You have worked as or for the overseas service provider outside the UK for a cumulative period of 12 months; 

• Your UK sponsor has a contract with an overseas service provider, where that contract has been registered with the Home Office, and on which you as a Service Supplier will work; 

• You have a valid Certificate of Sponsorship issued by your UK sponsor for the job you are planning to do; 

• The job you are planning to do is genuine; 

• The job you are planning to do is skilled to at least RQF Level 6 (graduate equivalent) or you have a degree and 3 to 6 years experience; 

• You satisfy a nationality requirement; 

• You have enough money to support yourself without relying on public funds; 

• You have provided a valid TB certificate, if required. 
   

Certificate of Sponsorship (CoS) Requirement 

The applicant must have a valid Certificate of Sponsorship (CoS) assigned by a UK licensed sponsor for the job which they are planning to do in the UK. They must also be being sponsored for employment which is genuine. 

Your sponsor must be listed as A-rated on the Home Office’s register of licensed sponsors, unless you were last granted permission as a Secondment Worker and are applying to continue working for the same sponsor as in your last permission. 
 

Overseas Contract Requirement 

Your UK sponsor must have a contract with an overseas service provider, where that contract has been registered with the Home Office, and on which you, as a Service Supplier, will work. 
 

Service Supplier Skill Requirement  

An applicant will be eligible for a UK Service Supplier visa if they have a contract to provide services to a UK company, either as an employee for an overseas company or as a self-employed professional based overseas, and that contract is covered by a valid international trade agreement.  

If the applicant doesn’t have an eligible occupation code, they may still be able to apply for a UK Service Supplier visa if they have relevant qualifications and experience. They’ll normally need either a bachelor’s degree or higher in any subject, or a technical qualification equivalent to a bachelor’s degree. They’ll also need 3 years’ professional experience relevant to the service they provide as an overseas employee and 6 years’ professional experience if self-employed. However, some services have different experience and qualifications requirements: 

• Fashion and modelling: no qualifications required 

• Chef de cuisine: an advanced technical qualification 

• Entertainment services: no qualifications required 

• Management consulting services: bachelor’s degree 

• Advertising or translation: relevant qualifications 

• Technical testing and analysis: bachelor’s degree or a relevant technical qualification. 
   

Salary Requirement 

Employers that are authorised by the Home Office to sponsor a Service Supplier under the UK Global Business Mobility Visa: Service Supplier route do not need to satisfy either a general salary requirement or the ‘going rate’ for the occupation. 
 

Service Supplier Nationality Requirement 

In order to qualify for a UK Global Business Mobility – Service Supplier Visa, you must be: 

• A national of the country or territory in which the overseas service provider is based; or 

• Where the service that you will provide is covered by a commitment in the General Agreement on Trade in Services and your employer is established in a country or territory that has made a notification under Article XXVIII(k)(ii)(2) of that agreement, a permanent resident of that country or territory; or 

• Where the service that you will provide is covered by a commitment in the Temporary Agreement between the Swiss Confederation and the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland on Services Mobility, a permanent resident of Switzerland; or 

• Where the service that you will provide is covered by a commitment in the United Kingdom-European Union Trade and Cooperation Agreement, a national of any Member State of the European Union or any other person included in the definition of “natural person of a Party” for the European Union in Article 512(k) of that agreement; or 

• Where the service that you will provide is covered by a contractual service supplier commitment in the CARIFORUM-United Kingdom Economic Partnership Agreement, a national of any CARIFORUM State that has provisionally applied or brought into force that agreement; or 

• Where the service that you will provide is covered by a commitment in the Free Trade Agreement between the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and Australia, a permanent resident of Australia; or 

• Where the service that you will provide is covered by a commitment in the Free Trade Agreement between the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and New Zealand, a permanent resident of New Zealand. 
   

Immigration Skills Charge Requirement 

Employers that are authorised by the Home Office to sponsor a Service Suppliers are not required to pay the Immigration Skills Charge. 
 

Financial Requirement 

You will need to have cash funds of at least £1,270 available. 

You will need to have held the money for at least 28 consecutive days ending not more than 31 days before the date of your visa application. 

You will be exempt from the financial requirement if your sponsor is willing to meet your maintenance costs up to the end of the first month of your employment, to an amount of at least £1,270, if necessary.  Your sponsor will need to confirm this on your Certificate of Sponsorship. 
 

English Language Requirement 

Visa applicants do not need to satisfy an English language requirement. 

Maximum time allowed in this category 

If you have already spent time in the UK on any of the Global Mobility Routes or the former Intra-company routes then you may not be able to stay in the UK on a Global Business Mobility – UK Expansion Worker Visa for the full time period set out above. 

This is because you can only stay in the UK for a maximum of 5 years in any 6 year period if you have previously spent time in any of the Global Business Mobility routes or the former Intra-company routes. 

Dependants of Global Business Mobility Visa: UK Expansion Worker Visa applicants 

Expansion Worker Visa holders can be joined or accompanied by a dependent partner over the age of 18 and dependent children under the age of 18. 
 

Settlement under Service Supplier Route 

Service Supplier Visa does not lead directly to settlement in the UK. However, once in the UK, you may be able to switch into another immigration route which does lead to settlement.