Switching Into Senior or Specialist Worker Visa

You can apply for switching into a Senior or Specialist Worker visa if you are already in the UK on a different type of visa and meet the eligibility requirements. An application for switching into Senior or Specialist Worker visa UK is made in accordance with requirements as set out in Appendix Global Business Mobility Routes of the Immigration Rules. You can apply for switching into Senior or Specialist worker visa from inside the UK throgh Super Priority Service so that you get a decision on your application within 24 hours.

Our specialist team of Immigration Solicitors in London can provide expert immigration advice and legal representations on fixed fee basis concerning your application for switching into Senior or Specialist Worker visa from inside the UK. 

Ask a question online to our specialist team of work visa solicitors for free immigration advice online or book an appointment online for a detailed immigration advice and consultation with one of our work visa solicitors concerning your application for switching into senior or specialist worker visa from inside the UK.

Requirements For Switching Into Senior or Specialist Worker Visa

A person applying for switching into Senior or Specialist worker visa from inside the UK must meet the following requirements of the Immigration Rules:

Valid Application

The applicant must submit a valid application for switching into Senior or Specialist worker visa from inside the UK in accordance with requirements as set out in Appendix Global Business Mobility Routes of the Immigration Rules. 

Valid Certificate of Sponsorship (CoS)

The applicant must have a Certificate of Sponsorship that was issued to them by their sponsor no more than 3 months before the date of application.

Age Requirement

The applicant must be aged 18 or over on the date of application.

Written Consent From The Government Or Agency

An applicant applying for entry clearance or permission to stay as a Senior or Specialist Worker who has received an award from a Government or international scholarship agency in the 12 months before the date of application which covers both fees and living costs for study in the UK, must have provided written consent to the application from that Government or agency.

Immigration Status Requirement

An applicant applying for permission to stay must be in the UK and must not have, or have last been granted, permission:

• as a Visitor; or
• as a Short-term Student; or
• as a Parent of a Child Student; or
• as a Seasonal Worker; or
• as a Domestic Worker in a Private Household; or
• outside the Immigration Rules.

Suitability Requirements

• The applicant must not fall for refusal under Part 9: grounds for refusal.
• If applying for permission to stay the applicant must not be:
  • in breach of immigration laws, except that where paragraph 39E applies, that period of overstaying will be disregarded; or
  • on immigration bail.

Points Requirement

The applicant must be awarded 60 points based on the table below:

Points For Sponsorship

The applicant must have a valid certificate of sponsorship for the job they are planning to do, which to be valid must:

• confirm the applicant’s name, that they are being sponsored as a Senior or Specialist Worker, details of the job, salary and any allowances the sponsor is offering them (if applicable) and PAYE details if HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) requires income tax and national insurance for the sponsored job to be paid via PAYE; and
• include a start date for the job, stated by the sponsor, which is no more than 3 months after the date of application; and
• not have been used in a previous application which was either granted or refused (but can have been used in a previous application which was rejected as invalid, made void or withdrawn); and
• not have been withdrawn by the sponsor or cancelled by the Home Office; and
• unless the applicant is applying as a high earner, confirm that the applicant has worked outside the UK for the sponsor group for the period required at SNR 5.7.(b); and
• confirm whether the Academic Technology Approval Scheme (ATAS) requirement in Appendix ATAS applies.

The sponsor must be authorised by the Home Office to sponsor a Senior or Specialist Worker. The sponsor must be listed as A-rated on the Home Office’s register of licensed sponsors, unless the applicant was last granted permission as a Senior or Specialist Worker and is applying to continue working for the same sponsor as in their last permission.

The sponsor must have paid in full any required Immigration Skills Charge.

The decision maker must not have reasonable grounds to believe the job the applicant is being sponsored to do:

• does not exist; or
• is a sham; or
• has been created mainly so the applicant can apply for entry clearance or permission to stay.

The decision maker must not have reasonable grounds to believe the job the applicant is being sponsored to do amounts to:

• the hire of the applicant to a third party who is not the sponsor to fill a position with that party, whether temporary or permanent; or
• contract work to undertake an ongoing routine role or to provide an ongoing routine service for a third party who is not the sponsor, regardless of the nature or length of any arrangement between the sponsor and the third party.

An applicant as a Senior or Specialist Worker must:

• be currently working for the sponsor group; and
• unless they are applying as a high earner must have worked outside the UK for the sponsor group for a cumulative period of at least 12 months.

In SNR 5.7.(b) the 12 months’ work outside the UK can have been accumulated over any period provided that:

• the applicant was continuously working for the sponsor group , whether in or out of the UK, from the start of the 12 months to the date of application; and
• any breaks in the continuous work in SNR 5.8.(a) were only for the following reasons:
  • statutory maternity, paternity, parental, or shared parental leave; or
  • statutory adoption leave; or
  • sick leave; or
  • assisting with a national or international humanitarian or environmental crisis, with the agreement of the sponsor group; or
  • taking part in legally organised industrial action.

If the above given requirements are met, the applicant will be awarded 20 points for sponsorship.

Points For Job At Appropriate Skill Level

The applicant must be sponsored for a job in an occupation code listed in Appendix Skilled Occupations that is identified as eligible for the Global Business Mobility routes, unless the conditions at SNR 6.7. are met.

The sponsor must have chosen an appropriate occupation code, and the decision maker must not have reasonable grounds to believe the sponsor has chosen a less appropriate occupation code for any of the following reasons:

• the most appropriate occupation code is not eligible under the Global Business Mobility routes; or
• the most appropriate occupation code has a higher going rate than the proposed salary.

To support the assessment in SNR 6.2., the decision maker may, in particular, consider:

• whether the sponsor has shown a genuine need for the job as described; and
• whether the applicant has the appropriate skills, qualifications and experience needed to do the job as described; and
• the sponsor’s history of compliance with the immigration system including, but not limited to, paying its sponsored workers appropriately; and
• any additional information from the sponsor.

If the ATAS requirement in Appendix ATAS applies, the applicant must provide a valid ATAS certificate.

If the above given requirements are met, the applicant will be awarded 20 points for a job at the appropriate skill level, subject to SNR 6.6. Also, no points will be awarded for a job at the appropriate skill level if the applicant is not also being awarded 20 points for sponsorship under SNR 5.9.

Points For Salary

The salary for the job for which the applicant is being sponsored must equal or exceed both:

• the general salary requirement in SNR 8.1. and SNR 8.2. unless the conditions at SNR 8.3. are met; and
• the going rate requirement in SNR 9.1. to SNR 9.3.

Salary under these requirements includes only:

• guaranteed basic gross pay (before income tax and including employee pension and national insurance contributions); and
• allowances which are guaranteed to be paid for the duration of the applicant’s employment in the UK (such as London weighting) or are paid as a mobility premium or to cover the additional cost of living in the UK.

Where allowances under SNR 7.2.(b) are solely for the purpose of accommodation they will only be taken into account up to a value of 30% of the total salary package

Salary does not include other pay and benefits, such as any of the following:

• flexible working where the nature of the job means that hours fluctuate and pay cannot be guaranteed; or
• additional pay such as shift, overtime or bonus pay, whether or not it is guaranteed; or
• employer pension and national insurance contributions; or
• any allowances, other than those specified in SNR 7.2.(b); or
• in-kind benefits, such as equity shares, health insurance, school or university fees, company cars or food; or
• one-off payments, such as ‘golden hellos’; or
• any payments relating to immigration costs, such as the fee or Immigration Health Charge; or
• payments to cover business expenses, including (but not limited to) travel to and from the applicant’s country of residence, equipment, clothing, travel or subsistence.

If the above given requirements are met, the applicant will be awarded 20 points for salary at the required level, subject to SNR 9.5. Also, no points will be awarded for salary if the applicant is not also being awarded 20 points for sponsorship under SNR 5.9.

General Salary Requirement

If the applicant is being sponsored for a job in one of the occupation codes listed in Table 1 of Appendix Skilled Occupations, the general salary requirement is £42,400 per year, unless the conditions at SNR 8.3. are met.

If the applicant is being sponsored to work more than 48 hours a week, only the salary for the first 48 hours a week will be considered towards the general salary requirement. For example, an applicant who works 60 hours a week for £15 per hour will be considered to have a salary of £37,440 (£15 x 48 x 52) per year and not £46,800 (£15 x 60 x 52). Transitional general salary requirement for a Senior or Specialist Worker.

Going Rate Requirement

If the applicant is being sponsored for a job in one of the occupation codes listed in Table 1 of Appendix Skilled Occupations, the going rate requirement is 100% of the pro-rated going rate, which will be calculated as follows:

• 1 x (the going rate for the occupation code stated in Table 1 of Appendix Skilled Occupations) x (the number of weekly working hours stated by the sponsor ÷ 39).

If the applicant is being sponsored for a job in one of the health or education occupation codes listed in Table 2 of Appendix Skilled Occupations, the going rate requirement is 100% of the pro-rated going rate (and the going rate will be pro-rated according to the number of weekly working hours stated by the sponsor, and the pro-rating set out in Appendix Skilled Occupations).

The applicant’s full weekly hours will be included when checking their salary against the going rate, even if they work more than 48 hours a week. For example, an applicant who works 60 hours a week in an occupation code with a going rate of £39,000 must be paid £60,000 (1 x £39,000 x 60 ÷ 39) per year, not £48,000 (1 x £39,000 x 48 ÷ 39).

Financial Requirement

If the applicant is applying for permission to stay and has been living in the UK with permission for 12 months or longer on the date of application, they will meet the financial requirement and do not need to show funds.

If the applicant has been living in the UK for less than 12 months on the date of application either:

• the applicant must have funds of at least £1,270 and must show that they have held the required level of funds for a 28-day period and as set out in Appendix Finance; or
• the applicant’s A-rated sponsor must confirm on the Certificate of Sponsorship that they will, if it is necessary, maintain and accommodate the applicant up to the end of the first month of their employment to an amount of at least £1,270.

Maximum Length of Assignments Requirement

If the applicant is applying as a high earner, the grant of permission must not lead to the applicant being granted cumulative periods of permission on the Global Business Mobility routes and Intra-Company routes totalling more than 9 years in any 10-year period.

If the applicant is not applying as a high earner, the grant of permission must not lead to the applicant being granted cumulative periods of permission on the Global Business Mobility routes and Intra-Company routes totalling more than 5 years in any 6-year period.

When calculating the cumulative periods of permission referred to in SNR 11.1., SNR 11.2, and SNR 13.2. the following are included:

• all previous periods of permission granted on the Global Business Mobility routes; and
• all previous periods of permission granted on the Intra-Company routes; and
• if the applicant does not currently hold permission in the Global Business Mobility routes, any permission they could be granted under the current application, beginning on the start date of the job stated on the Certificate of Sponsorship; and
• if the applicant is applying for permission to stay and has, or last had, permission on the Global Business Mobility routes, any permission they could be granted under the current application, beginning on the date of decision; and
• any period of permission on the Global Business Mobility routes and the Intra-Company routes extended under section 3C of the Immigration Act 1971.

How Can We Help?

Our specialist team of immigration solicitors can provide expert immigration advice and legal representations on fixed fee basis in relation to your application. Our fixed fee for your immigration application will cover all the work of our immigration solicitors on your immigration application until a decision is made by the Home Office UKVI on your application. The casework to be carried out by our immigration solicitors in relation to your immigration application will entail the following:

• Advice on requirements: Our immigration solicitors will advise you on the relevant requirements you have to meet for your immigration application to succeed.
• Advised on documents: Our immigration lawyers will prepare and email you a comprehensive list of supporting documents to be submitted in support of your immigration application;
• Assessment of documents: Our immigration lawyers will assess your documents to make sure that all the documents you provide in support of your application are in accordance with the requirement of the immigration rules.
• Completing application form: Our immigration lawyers will complete the relevant application form your immigration application.
• Submitting application through Priority or Super Priority Service: Where possible, our immigration lawyers will submit your online immigration application through priority or super priority service to get faster decision on your immigration application.
• Booking an appointment with the application centre: After the online submission of your immigration application, our immigration lawyers will book your appointment with the application centre for you to enrol your biometrics.
• Preparing a detailed cover letter: Our specialist immigration solicitors will prepare a detailed cover letter in support of the immigration application to explain all the relevant legal requirements and how such requirements have been satisfied by the applicant with the documents being submitted with the application.
• Uploading documents online: Before the biometrics enrolment date, our immigration lawyers will upload online all the supporting documents to be considered in support of the immigration application.
• Follow up work: Our immigration lawyers will carry out all the follow up work until decision by the Home Office UKVI on the immigration application.

Our One-Off Services For Immigration Applications

Our immigration solicitors can also provide a wide range of one-off legal services for UK visa and immigration applications. Using our one-off services can help those who do not want to use our full service for the immigration application. You can use one of the following one-off legal services offered for UK visa and immigration applications:

• One-Off Immigration Advice and Consultation
• Immigration Documents Checking Service
• Application Form Completion Services
• Submitting Application Through Priority and Super Priority Service
• Preparing Cover Letter For Immigration Application
• Uploading Supporting Documents Online

Super Priority Service For Decision Within 24 Hours

Our specialist team of immigration solicitors can provide fast track visa service to get you decision on your application faster under the Priority Service or Super Priority service. This way you will get decision on your application faster and will not to wait for a decision on your application for months (some time years).

Our fast track immigration solicitors can prepare your application faster and submit your application under the Priority Service or Super Priority Service to get you faster decision on your application.

As specialist immigration solicitors in London, we are registered with the Home Office, UK Visas & Immigration (UKVI) and its commercial partners UKVCAS Sopra Steria to provide Priority Service or Super Priority Service for your application whereby decision on your application will be made by the Home Office UKVI faster. An application submitted through Priority Service is normally decided within 5 working days and an application submitted through Super Priority Service is normally decided within 24 hours (usually by end of next working day).

Our Fixed Fees For Switching Into Senior or Specialist Worker Visa