Secondment Worker Visa

Overseas employers who would like to send staff to the UK under the Secondment worker route will need to meet the following requirements:

• The non-British foreign employer has an eligible contract with a UK organization that will act as a UK sponsor
• The contract between the overseas employer and UK sponsor is worth at least £50 million
• The UK organization acting as the sponsor is a valid Temporary Worker Sponsor license holder

While in the UK under the Secondment Worker route, visa holders are permitted to engage in the following activities:

• Work in the designated job role described in their Certificate of Sponsorship
• Study
• Volunteer with charitable organizations
• Travel freely in and out of the UK

However, visa holders are not permitted to:

• Apply for or access public funds or the State Pension
• Change jobs without updating their visa
• Apply for Indefinite Leave to Remain
• Work in a second job

When applying for a UK Secondment Worker Visa, applicants will be responsible for the following costs:

• Application fee: £298
• Healthcare Surcharge fee: this is calculated as £624 per year

Dependent spouses and children who are accompanying the primary visa holder to the UK will need to pay an additional £298 application fee per person. Unless the overseas employer is funding the employee’s first month’s of expenses in the UK, all applicants must have at least £1,270 in their bank account. This amount must be present in the applicant’s bank account for at least 28 consecutive days in the 31-day period leading up to the visa application.

Primary visa holders who are traveling with dependent family members to the UK will need to have additional money saved in their personal savings. The additional amount of money needed is as follows:

• For spouse or partner: £285
• For a dependant child: £315
• For each additional dependant child: £200

Secondment workers can stay in the UK for either:

• Up to 12 months after the employment start date (start dates will be detailed in the CoS)
• A period of time given on the CoS plus a grace period of 14 days

Visa holders who would like to extend their stay may apply for an extension. This extension will allow the foreign worker to stay in the UK for another 12 months. The maximum amount of time a foreign national can stay in the UK under a Secondment Worker Visa is a cumulative amount of 2 years.

It should be noted that according to UK immigration rules, foreign nationals can only stay in the UK for a maximum amount of 5 years in any 6-year period if they have spent time in the United Kingdom under any one of the following temporary work visas:

• Intra-company Graduate Trainee visa (now expired)
• Intra-company Transfer visa (now expired)
• 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)

Overseas workers who would like to extend their Secondment Worker Visa may do so if they meet the following conditions:

• The foreign national is still working for the UK sponsor who gave them their current CoS
• The foreign worker is still working on the same high-value contract. This contract must be between the foreign employer and UK sponsor
• The foreign worker has not reached the maximum total stay

Applications for a Secondment Worker extension must be made within the UK. Family members who are in the UK on a dependant visa will also need to apply for an extension. Applicants who filed for an extension must not travel outside the UK, Ireland, Channel Islands, or the Isle of Man until their application has been processed otherwise their application will be withdrawn.