UK Business & Investor Visas

Overview

The UK has no single business visa. GOV.UK spreads business immigration across founder, talent, scale-up and corporate-transfer routes, each with its own eligibility, fee, maximum stay and settlement position.

If you are founding a company, the Innovator Founder visa is the only current route built for that purpose. If you are a recognised leader in academia, the arts or digital technology, Global Talent lets you work for anyone or for yourself. If an overseas business is sending you to the UK, one of the five Global Business Mobility routes applies — but none of them leads to settlement. The summaries below reproduce what GOV.UK states for each route so you can compare them on the same terms.

Routes compared

Maximum stay and settlement position for each route, as GOV.UK states them.

Innovator Founder — time to settlement

3 years

Global Talent — time to settlement

3 or 5 years

Scale-up — time to settlement

5 years

Scale-up — minimum salary

£39,100 or the going rate

High Potential Individual — length of stay

2 years (3 with a doctorate)

Self-sponsorship (Skilled Worker) — time to settlement

5 years

Senior or Specialist Worker — minimum salary

£52,500 or the going rate

Senior or Specialist Worker — maximum stay

5 in 6 years; 9 in 10 if paid £73,900+

UK Expansion Worker — minimum salary

£52,500 or the going rate

UK Expansion Worker — maximum stay

2 years

Graduate Trainee — minimum salary

£27,300

Graduate Trainee — maximum stay

12 months

Secondment Worker — maximum stay

2 years

Service Supplier — maximum stay

6 or 12 months

All Global Business Mobility routes combined

5 years in any 6

Eligibility in detail

The conditions GOV.UK lists for the routes most often chosen by business clients.

• Innovator Founder

  A new business — you cannot join one already trading — assessed by an approved endorsing body as innovative, viable and scalable; endorsement letter; aged 18 or over; English at CEFR B2; £1,270 held for 28 consecutive days; TB test where required; progress meetings with the endorsing body at 12 and 24 months.

• Global Talent

  Aged 18 or over and a leader or potential leader in academia or research, arts and culture, or digital technology. Apply directly if you hold an eligible prestigious prize named on the list; otherwise obtain an endorsement first. Extensions require evidence you earned money in your field in the UK and that the endorsement or prize has not been withdrawn.

• Scale-up Worker

  A confirmed job offer of at least 6 months from an approved scale-up business, a certificate of sponsorship, an eligible occupation, pay of at least £39,100 a year or the going rate for the job (whichever is higher), and knowledge of English.

• High Potential Individual

  A qualification awarded by an eligible university in the last 5 years, confirmed by Ecctis. Applications are capped each year from 1 November to 31 October. You can work in most jobs, look for work and be self-employed; you can only study a course not eligible for a Student visa.

• Senior or Specialist Worker

  Existing employee of a Home Office-approved sponsor; certificate of sponsorship used within 3 months; eligible occupation code; at least £52,500 or the going rate; 12 months with the employer outside the UK unless paid £73,900 or more. Five occupation codes for artists, authors, actors, dancers and designers have been removed from the eligible list.

• UK Expansion Worker

  Senior manager or specialist of an overseas business not yet trading in the UK; certificate of sponsorship used within 3 months; eligible occupation; at least £52,500 or the going rate; 12 months with the employer unless earning over £73,900, or a Japanese national with a Japanese company or an Australian national or permanent resident with an Australian company. The job must meet minimum wage and working-hours rules.

• Graduate Trainee

  Existing employee of an approved sponsor on a graduate training programme for a managerial or specialist role; at least 3 months with the sponsor outside the UK immediately before applying; certificate of sponsorship; eligible occupation; at least £27,300 a year. Applications are made from outside the UK only.

• Secondment Worker and Service Supplier

  Secondment Worker: employee of an overseas organisation with an approved high-value contract with the UK sponsor, 6 months with the employer, eligible occupation. Service Supplier: employee of an overseas business or self-employed professional under a contract covered by a valid international trade agreement, 12 months with the employer or 12 months’ professional experience, eligible job or relevant qualifications and experience.

Fees and costs

Figures as published on GOV.UK, last updated 21 October 2024 (Innovator Founder, Scale-up, HPI) and 31 October 2024 (Global Talent and Global Business Mobility routes).

Innovator Founder — outside the UK / extend or switch

£1,357 / £1,693

Innovator Founder — endorsement / each contact meeting

£1,000 / £500

Global Talent — total (endorsement £561 + visa £205)

£766

Scale-up Worker

£937

High Potential Individual (plus £252 Ecctis check)

£880

Senior or Specialist Worker — outside the UK, up to / over 3 years

£819 / £1,618

Senior or Specialist Worker — inside the UK, up to / over 3 years

£943 / £1,865

UK Expansion, Graduate Trainee, Secondment, Service Supplier

£340

Healthcare surcharge (per person, per year)

Usually £1,035

Personal savings held for 28 days (unless exempt)

£1,270

Dependant savings — partner / first child / each further child

£285 / £315 / £200

Biometric enrolment

No fee

On the sponsored routes your employer can certify maintenance on the certificate of sponsorship instead of you showing £1,270, covering your first month in the UK. You usually do not need to show savings if you have held a valid UK visa for 12 months or more. GOV.UK says you may be able to pay for a faster decision on each route and are told when you apply; it does not publish the price on these pages.

Processing times

GOV.UK gives the same standard for every route on this page.

Applying from outside the UK

Usually within 3 weeks

Extending or switching inside the UK

Usually within 8 weeks

Earliest application (sponsored routes)

3 months before the start date on your certificate

Indefinite leave to remain (Innovator Founder, Global Talent, Scale-up)

Usually within 6 months

The clock starts once you have applied online, proved your identity and provided your documents. The published processing-time tables (inside the UK, 21 July 2025; outside the UK, 26 June 2026) list Innovator Founder, Global Talent, Scale-up, HPI and every Global Business Mobility route at these standards.

Documents commonly needed

Exact requirements vary by route and you are told when you apply. These recur across the GOV.UK guides.

• A valid passport or other document showing your identity and nationality.
• Innovator Founder: your endorsement letter. Global Talent: your endorsement or evidence of the eligible prize.
• Sponsored routes: your certificate of sponsorship reference number, and the occupation code and salary shown on it.
• Bank statements showing £1,270 held for 28 consecutive days, ending within 31 days of your application, unless exempt or your sponsor certifies maintenance.
• Evidence of English where the route requires it — qualification, Ecctis confirmation or a Secure English Language Test.
• Tuberculosis test results if you are from a country where the test is required.
• Evidence of your relationship with each dependant, and of a child’s address.
• Certified translations of anything not in English or Welsh.

Partner, children and settlement

Every route allows dependants; only some lead to ILR.

• A dependant is your husband, wife, civil partner or unmarried partner of 2 years, a child under 18, or a child over 18 who already holds permission as your dependant. Each applies and pays separately.
• Dependants can work (except as a sportsperson or coach), study and travel, but cannot claim most public funds or the State Pension.
• Innovator Founder: you settle after 3 years; your dependants settle after 5 years in the UK.
• Global Talent: settle after 3 or 5 years depending on endorsement; Scale-up: after 5 years. Dependants on both routes settle after 5 years as your dependant.
• HPI and all five Global Business Mobility routes cannot lead to settlement, and HPI time does not count towards ILR. Switching to Skilled Worker or another qualifying route restarts the settlement clock on that route.
• On the Senior or Specialist Worker route, a change of job requires a visa update; a second job is allowed only if you previously held an Intra-company Transfer visa.

Find the right route for you

Not sure which visa is right for you? Browse routes by category to find the best fit for your situation.

• Entrepreneurs

  Starting a new business or running your own company. Routes: Innovator Founder, or Skilled Worker sponsorship through your own licensed company (self-sponsorship).

• Recognised leaders

  Leaders or potential leaders in academia, arts and culture or digital technology. Route: Global Talent.

• Recent graduates

  Graduates of eligible universities in the last 5 years looking to work or start a business. Route: High Potential Individual.

• Scaling companies

  Joining a fast-growing UK business with an approved scale-up sponsor. Route: Scale-up Worker.

• Multinational employees

  Transferring to a UK branch, opening one, training, secondment or supplying services under a trade agreement. Routes: the five Global Business Mobility visas.

Common reasons applications are refused

• Innovator Founder: no valid endorsement, or a business that is already trading rather than new.
• Sponsored routes: a certificate of sponsorship used more than 3 months after issue, an occupation code not on the eligible list, or pay below £52,500 (Senior or Specialist, UK Expansion), £39,100 (Scale-up) or £27,300 (Graduate Trainee) or the going rate.
• Not meeting the overseas service requirement — 12 months for Senior or Specialist and UK Expansion Workers under the £73,900 exemption, 6 months for Secondment Workers, 3 months for Graduate Trainees.
• Savings below £1,270, not held for 28 consecutive days, or the 28-day period ending more than 31 days before the application.
• English evidence below the required level on routes that require it.
• Applying to switch from inside the UK on a route that does not allow it — Graduate Trainee — or from a category such as visitor or Short-term student that cannot switch.
• Exceeding the combined Global Business Mobility limit of 5 years in any 6-year period.
• A UK Expansion Worker sponsor that is already trading in the UK, which GOV.UK says calls for a Senior or Specialist Worker visa instead.
• False or incomplete documents, or documents without certified translations.
• Personal circumstances that engage the general grounds for refusal, such as criminal convictions.

Source note

Information sourced from GOV.UK (Innovator Founder visa, last updated 21 October 2024; Apply for the Global Talent visa, 31 October 2024; Scale-up Worker visa, 21 October 2024; High Potential Individual (HPI) visa, 21 October 2024; Senior or Specialist Worker visa (Global Business Mobility), 31 October 2024; UK Expansion Worker visa (Global Business Mobility), 31 October 2024; Graduate Trainee visa (Global Business Mobility), 31 October 2024; Secondment Worker visa (Global Business Mobility), 31 October 2024; Service Supplier visa (Global Business Mobility), 31 October 2024; Visa processing times: applications inside the UK, 21 July 2025; Visa processing times: applications outside the UK, 26 June 2026) and reproduced under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Self-sponsorship is this firm’s description of a Skilled Worker sponsorship structure, not a GOV.UK route. Rules change; we verify requirements at the point of instruction.

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