ICT visa vs skilled worker visa

ICT visa v Skilled Worker visa comparison: ICT visa is now called Global Business Mobility visa. Although the name changed the visa requirements remain broadly the same as the previous ICT (Intra Company Transfer) visa. The sponsor employers who held the ICT sponsor licence got automatically rebranded to Global Business Mobility (GBM) licence.

The updated immigration rules with the information on the Global Business Mobility (GBM) visa are available online.

ICT visa Intra Company Transfer

Comparison ICT (Global Business Mobility) and Skilled Worker

Below we provide a short summary of the key differences between the Skilled Worker and ICT (now Global Business Mobility) visa categories:

  • The sponsor employer must hold a sponsor licence in the ICT (now Global Business Mobility) category to be able to employ migrant workers on the ICT (now Global Business Mobility) visas and it must hold a Skilled Worker sponsor licence category to be able to employ migrant workers on Skilled Worker visas.
  • The skill level required for Skilled Worker visa is NQF Level 3 or above and for ICT visa must be at least NQF Level 6 or above (graduate level jobs).
  • The job categories (i.e. SOC CODES) and assigned to them minimum salaries are published by the Home Office).
  • For Skilled Worker visa the minimum salary is £26,200 or the SOC CODE minimum if higher, and for ICT visa (now Global Business Mobility) the minimum is £45,800 OR the SOC CODE minimum if higher.
  • Tier ICT (now Global Business Mobility) visa can be used for employees who are already employed by an overseas company and who are now being sent to work in the UK subsidiary/branch. The Skilled Worker visa category does not require previous employment with an overseas company and is available for both current overseas employees and to new hires.
  • You cannot apply under Skilled Worker or ICT categories if you are applying for permission to work as a Sportsperson or a Minister of Religion.

Intra Company Transfer (ICT) which is now called Global Business Mobility (GBM) is a special type of work visa for workers who already work for an overseas company which is part of the same corporate Group as the UK business. The ICT (now called GBM) visa, however, unlike the Skilled Worker visa, does not lead to a ILR. It may be, for many, considered as a serious drawback. In some circumstances, though, the ICT visa is useful. Those are the people who do not want to stay in the UK for a long time or to settle there. They do not need to take the English test either.

Key points to note for ict (gbm) visa