Breaking news: details about the highly anticipated Global Business Mobility, High Potential Individual and Scale-up visa routes are revealed.

The Government has issued a Statement of Changes to the Immigration Rules, part of which provides more detail on the highly anticipated new visa routes aimed at start-up businesses, scale-up businesses and entrepreneurs.

There will be five routes within the new Global Business Mobility category:

• Senior or Specialist Workers (which will replace the Intra-Company Transfer route);
• Graduate Trainees (which will replace the Intra-Company Graduate Trainee route);
• UK Expansion Workers (which will replace provisions for initial sole representative applicants currently in the Representative of an Overseas Business route);
• Service Suppliers (which will replace contractual service providers and independent professional persons in the Temporary Worker – International Agreement route); and
• Secondment Workers (which is a new route for 'workers being seconded to the UK as part of a high value contract or investment by their employer overseas)'.

All five are temporary routes (i.e. they do not lead to settlement in the UK). The Global Business Mobility route will come into force on 11 April 2022.

The Scale-Up visa route is due to open in August 2022 and will offer a fast-track visa route for businesses wanting to hire talent from overseas, subject to the employer meeting the test of being a scale-up. Scale-Up visas will be granted without the need for the UK employer to first apply for a Sponsor Licence from the Home Office (as is currently the case under the Skilled Worker route, which is the only option available at the moment for many overseas workers).

The changes are set out in an extensive 205-page document. Once we have digested the content of that document, we will provide further updates about the new routes, so please check back soon.

In the meantime, you can contact our Immigration team for advice on similar matters.