UK Expansion Worker visa

Overview

The visa lets you work for your sponsor in the job on your certificate of sponsorship, setting up the UK business. You can also study, travel in and out of the UK, do unpaid voluntary work and bring your partner and children. You cannot take a second job, change jobs without a new application, or claim most public funds.

The first grant is for up to 12 months. You can extend by up to a further 12 months, so the longest continuous stay on this route is 2 years. Time on the Global Business Mobility routes and the old intra-company routes together is also capped at 5 years in any 6-year period. The route does not lead to settlement.

The route changed in 2025. Since 22 July 2025 a business can sponsor up to 10 Expansion Workers at a time (it was 5), and the minimum salary is £52,500 a year. Since April 2025 sponsors may not pass their sponsorship costs on to the worker, and the rules on how the UK and overseas businesses must be linked have changed.

Who can apply

The route is for employees of an established overseas business, not for founders starting something new. A typical applicant is the finance director of a family-owned manufacturer in Germany who is asked to register a UK subsidiary, lease an office and hire the first UK staff.

• Senior managers and specialist employees of an overseas business that wants to expand to the UK.
• People who have worked for that business outside the UK for at least 12 months, unless they earn £73,900 a year or more, or are Japanese or Australian nationals (or Australian permanent residents) working for a Japanese or Australian business.
• Usually, the person who will be the authorising officer on the UK sponsor licence, followed by up to 9 colleagues.

It is not for a business that is already trading in the UK: that business should use the Senior or Specialist Worker route or the Skilled Worker visa. Investment-only businesses, such as private equity or venture capital firms, and joint ventures cannot use it. If you want to start your own innovative business, see the Innovator Founder visa; if you want to set up a UK company that will sponsor you, see self-sponsorship.

Requirements

There are two sets of requirements: one for the business and its sponsor licence, and one for each worker.

• The overseas business: it must be active and trading, and normally have traded for at least 3 years. Companies listed on the London Stock Exchange or an equivalent exchange usually do not have to prove their trading history. Japanese and Australian businesses with less than 3 years' trading may sponsor one worker at a time.
• A UK footprint: either UK premises (a lease or purchase documents) or registration at Companies House as a UK establishment or a new subsidiary. The UK business must not yet be trading.
• A qualifying link: the UK business must be a branch of the overseas business, wholly owned by it, or owned through a non-trading holding company or a sister company, and in the same line of business.
• A certificate of sponsorship for a genuine job, used within 3 months of being assigned.
• Skill level and salary: the job must be graduate level (RQF level 6) in an eligible occupation, and pay at least £52,500 a year or the full going rate for the occupation, whichever is higher.
• Savings: £1,270 held for 28 days in a row, unless you have already been in the UK with permission for 12 months. On this route the sponsor cannot certify maintenance instead.
• A tuberculosis test certificate if you live in a listed country. There is no English language requirement.

The provisional sponsor licence

Before anyone can apply for the visa, the business needs a UK Expansion Worker sponsor licence. If the authorising officer is still abroad, the licence is granted with a provisional rating and one certificate of sponsorship. The authorising officer assigns it to themselves, comes to the UK, reports their permission and asks for the licence to be upgraded to an A-rating. Only then can the business sponsor anyone else. If the authorising officer is already in the UK with permission, the licence starts with an A-rating.

The business plan and the two-year window

The Home Office must be satisfied that the business genuinely intends, and is able, to set up a trading presence in the UK within 2 years of the licence being granted. The business plan carries much of that weight. It should show what the UK business will do, who its first customers will be, how it is funded and when it expects to start trading, backed by accounts showing the overseas business's size and record.

When the 2 years end, the business's allocation of Expansion Worker certificates is reduced to zero, so it cannot sponsor new workers or extensions on this route. The licence itself lasts 4 years and cannot be renewed. The Home Office may visit to check progress.

How to apply

1. The business applies for a UK Expansion Worker sponsor licence, with evidence of the overseas business, the UK footprint and the business plan.
2. Once the licence is granted, the sponsor assigns a certificate of sponsorship to the worker.
3. The worker gathers documents: passport, evidence of savings, a tuberculosis certificate if needed, translations, and payslips or bank statements showing 12 months' work for the business abroad.
4. The worker applies online, no more than 3 months before the job start date.
5. The worker proves their identity, either through the UK Immigration: ID Check app or at a visa application centre.
6. If the visa is granted, permission is held as an eVisa in the worker's UKVI account. The authorising officer then reports their arrival and asks for the A-rating.

Costs

Each applicant pays the Home Office application fee and the Immigration Health Surcharge for each year of permission, and so does each family member. Priority and super priority services, where available, cost extra. The current figures are shown on this page, and you can work out a total with our visa cost calculator.

The business pays the sponsor licence fee and the fee for each certificate of sponsorship, and it must not recover them from the worker. Other costs include tuberculosis tests, translations and the cost of preparing the business evidence.

Processing times

The Home Office deals with most sponsor licence applications in under 8 weeks, and a faster licence decision is sometimes available for an extra fee. Visa decisions usually take 3 weeks from outside the UK and 8 weeks from inside. You may be able to pay for a faster visa decision. Build these stages into your launch timetable before you fix a start date.

Partners and children

Your partner and children under 18 can join you as dependants. Each must show savings (£285 for a partner, £315 for the first child and £200 for each other child), unless the family has been in the UK with permission for 12 months. Your partner can work, except as a professional sportsperson or sports coach, and your children can go to school. Their permission normally ends on the same date as yours.

Extending your stay and settlement

You can extend from inside the UK for up to 12 more months, as long as your total time on the route stays within 2 years and the business still has certificates available. This route does not lead to indefinite leave to remain, and time on it does not count towards the 5 years needed to settle as a Skilled Worker.

The usual next step is the Skilled Worker route. Once the UK business is trading, it can add the Skilled Worker route to its licence, and you can switch inside the UK if your job meets the Skilled Worker rules, including a general salary threshold of £41,700 and the going rate. Five years on the Skilled Worker route can lead to indefinite leave to remain. Plan this move well before your Expansion Worker permission ends.

How we can help

We start by checking whether the UK Expansion Worker route is right for the business at all, or whether the Skilled Worker, Senior or Specialist Worker or Innovator Founder route fits better. We then prepare the sponsor licence application: the evidence of overseas trading, the UK footprint, the ownership structure and a business plan that answers the Home Office's questions.

For each worker we check eligibility, give you a document list, review the evidence and prepare the visa application. After the licence is granted we advise on the A-rating request, your sponsor duties and the move to the Skilled Worker route. If the Home Office asks for more information or refuses, we deal with it.

Frequently asked questions

We have already rented a UK office. Can we still use this route?

Yes, as long as the UK business has not started trading. Renting premises, registering a company and employing the authorising officer are steps towards trading, not trading itself. Selling to UK customers through the UK entity would usually mean the route is no longer open.

How many people can we send?

Only as many as you genuinely need to set up the UK business, and no more than 10 at any one time. If one worker leaves, the business can sponsor a replacement within that limit.

Do I need to pass an English test?

No. There is no English language requirement on this route. You will need to meet one if you later switch to the Skilled Worker route, and again for settlement.

What happens if the UK business is not trading after 2 years?

The business can no longer sponsor workers or extensions on this route, and the Home Office may revoke the licence if it is not satisfied with progress. Workers would need another basis to stay. Speak to us early if the launch is slipping.

Does my time as an Expansion Worker count towards settlement?

No. Settlement on the Skilled Worker route needs 5 years on that route or another qualifying route, and the Global Business Mobility routes are not among them. Your 5 years start when you switch.