GBM Secondment Worker Visa: The £10 Million Contract Threshold & What HR Must Evidence

What Is the GBM Secondment Worker Visa and Who Is It For?

The Secondment Worker route under the Global Business Mobility framework enables an overseas employer to second one of its employees to work for a UK business that is not part of the same corporate group. This distinguishes it from the Senior or Specialist Worker route, which requires the overseas and UK entities to be connected through common ownership or control.

The commercial context is typically a high-value service or consultancy contract: an overseas firm has been engaged by a UK client for a major project and wishes to deploy specialist employees from its own workforce to work within the UK client's operations for the duration of the project. The UK client does not become the employer the overseas employer remains the legal employer throughout the secondment.

The Contract Thresholds: The Step Most HR Teams Miss

The Financial Thresholds

The contract must meet both of the following financial thresholds:

Annual value: The contract must be worth at least £10 million per year.

Total value: The contract must be worth at least £50 million in total over its full duration.

These thresholds exist to ensure the Secondment Worker route is used only for genuinely high-value commercial deployments and is not used as a workaround for the standard Skilled Worker route. Where a contract does not meet these thresholds, the Secondment Worker route is simply not available the sponsor must use an alternative route such as the Senior or Specialist Worker visa (if the entities are connected) or the Service Supplier route (if a trade agreement applies).

What Counts Towards the Contract Value

The contract value is the total value of the commercial services agreement between the overseas employer and the UK client. The contract must be a genuine, arm's-length commercial contract. Related party contracts or internal transfer pricing arrangements do not satisfy this requirement.

Contract Registration With the Home Office

Before issuing a Certificate of Sponsorship for a Secondment Worker, the sponsor (the UK client, who must hold a Sponsor Licence with an A rating) must register the contract with the Home Office through the Sponsor Management System (SMS). The registration process requires the sponsor to upload or reference the key terms of the contract, including the parties, the value, and the duration.

The Home Office will verify that the contract meets the financial thresholds before approving the contract registration. Only after the contract is registered can Certificates of Sponsorship be issued for employees to be seconded under that contract. This means the contract registration step must be built into the deployment timeline it cannot be done the day before a secondment worker's visa is needed.

Eligibility Requirements for the Secondment Worker

Employment With the Overseas Employer

The employee being seconded must be employed by the overseas employer (not by the UK client) and must have been so employed for at least 12 months before the secondment begins. The role in the overseas organisation must be substantive and ongoing not created for the purpose of the secondment.

Salary Threshold

Unlike the Skilled Worker visa, the employee must be paid a reasonable wage in line with industry standards for the specific role at least at the rate paid to existing employees performing the same or comparable role which must also be at or above the National Minimum Wage. This salary must be paid by the overseas employer, not by the UK client.

The Nature of the Work

The work performed in the UK must be directly related to the contract between the overseas employer and the UK client. The employee must not be performing general work for the UK client unrelated to the registered contract.

Secondment Worker vs Senior or Specialist Worker: Choosing the Right Route

Duration and the ILR Ineligibility Problem

The Secondment Worker visa is granted for a maximum of 2 years (extendable in certain circumstances). It does not lead to ILR. Time spent in the UK on a Secondment Worker visa does not count toward the five-year qualifying period for ILR under any route. Where a long-term presence or settlement is the strategic objective for a particular employee, the Secondment Worker route is not appropriate as a long-term pathway, and an alternative route must be planned from the outset.

Frequently Asked Questions

Who is the sponsor for a Secondment Worker application, the overseas employer or the UK client?

The UK client is the sponsor. The UK client must hold a valid Sponsor Licence with a A (Global Business Mobility) rating. The overseas employer is not the sponsor, but the employee must remain employed by the overseas employer throughout the secondment.

Can the same contract support multiple Secondment Worker visas?

Yes. Once a contract is registered with the Home Office and the financial thresholds are met, multiple Certificates of Sponsorship can be issued under that contract for different employees being seconded under the same commercial arrangement.

What happens if the contract ends early?

If the underlying contract between the overseas employer and the UK client terminates before the secondment worker's visa expires, the legal basis for the secondment ceases. The sponsor must report the change on the SMS and the employee's permission to work in the UK under the Secondment Worker visa is compromised. Legal advice should be sought immediately.