Global Business Mobility: Graduate Trainee

Eligibility

Employee of the overseas business for at least 3 months, on a graduate training programme leading to a senior or specialist role.

Key facts (checked 31 Oct 2026)

What you can and cannot do, how long you can stay (official)

How long you can stay

You can stay in the UK with a Graduate Trainee visa for whichever is shorter of:

• the time given on your certificate of sponsorship plus 14 days
• 12 months

You cannot extend your visa, but you can apply for another Graduate Trainee visa from outside the UK.

You can only stay in the UK for a maximum of 5 years in any 6 year period if you’ve spent time on any of these visas:

• Intra-company Graduate Trainee visa
• Intra-company Transfer visa
• Graduate Trainee visa (Global Business Mobility)
• Secondment Worker visa (Global Business Mobility)
• Senior or Specialist Worker visa (Global Business Mobility)
• Service Supplier visa (Global Business Mobility)
• UK Expansion Worker visa (Global Business Mobility)

You must have been working for your sponsor outside the UK for at least 3 months immediately before the date you apply.

Source: GOV.UK – Overview

How long it takes

You can apply for a visa up to 3 months before the day you are due to start work in the UK. This date is listed on your certificate of sponsorship.

As part of your application, you’ll need to prove your identity and provide your documents.

You may need to allow extra time if you need an appointment to do this. You’ll find out if you need one when you start your application.

Getting a decision

Once you’ve applied online, proved your identity and provided your documents, you’ll usually get a decision on your visa within 3 weeks.

You may be able to pay to get a faster decision.

If your application is successful, your decision email will tell you what you’ll get to prove your immigration status and what you need to do next.

Source: GOV.UK – Overview

What you can and cannot do

With a Graduate Trainee visa you can:

• work for your sponsor in the job described in your certificate of sponsorship
• study
• bring your partner and children with you as your ‘dependants’, if they’re eligible
• travel abroad and return to the UK
• do voluntary work

Any voluntary work you do must be unpaid and for one of the following:

• a registered charity
• a voluntary organisation
• an associated fundraising body (an organisation that raises money for a charity or voluntary organisation)
• a statutory body (a government-appointed body, for example Historic England)

You cannot:

• apply for most benefits (public funds), or the State Pension
• change jobs
• do a second job
• apply to settle permanently in the UK (also known as ‘indefinite leave to remain’)

If your application is successful, you’ll get a full list of what you can and cannot do with a Graduate Trainee visa.

Source: GOV.UK – Overview

Full eligibility criteria (official)

Eligibility

To be eligible for a Graduate Trainee visa you need to:

• have a valid certificate of sponsorship from your employer
• have worked for your employer outside the UK for 3 months immediately before you apply
• do a job that’s on the list of eligible occupations
• be paid the minimum eligible salary required for your job

Getting a certificate of sponsorship

Your employer - also known as your sponsor - will give you a ‘certificate of sponsorship’ with information about the work you will do in the UK. It’s an electronic record, not a paper document.

You’ll need the reference number from the certificate of sponsorship for your visa application. You must apply for your visa within 3 months of getting your certificate of sponsorship.

If your employer is not currently licensed to sponsor people to work in the UK, they can apply for a sponsor licence if they’re eligible.

How long you need to have worked for your employer outside the UK

You must have worked for your employer outside of the UK for 3 months immediately before the date you apply.

This means you cannot:

• extend your Graduate Trainee visa from inside the UK
• switch to a Graduate Trainee visa from inside the UK

Check if your job is eligible

Before you can find out if your job is eligible, you need to know its 4-digit occupation code. You can get this from your employer or your certificate of sponsorship.

When you know your occupation code, check the list of eligible occupations to see if it’s eligible for your visa type.

Salary requirements

You must be paid at least £27,300 or 70% of the ‘going rate’ for your job - whichever is higher.

Each occupation code has its own annual going rate. Check the going rate for your job in the going rates table.

If you work in healthcare or education

There are different salary rules if you work in some healthcare or education jobs. Your salary must be at least £27,300 or the full ‘going rate’ of your job, whichever is higher.

The going rates for these jobs are based on the national pay scales set by the relevant independent body, for example the NHS.

Check the list of eligible occupations to see if your job is eligible and what the going rate is.

Source: GOV.UK – Eligibility (checked 31 Oct 2026)

Documents checklist (official)

Documents you’ll need to apply

When you apply you’ll need to provide:

• your certificate of sponsorship reference number - your employer will give you this
• a valid passport or other document that shows your identity and nationality
• your job title and annual salary
• your job’s occupation code
• the name of your employer and their sponsor licence number - this will be on your certificate of sponsorship
• evidence that you have enough personal savings to support yourself in the UK, for example bank statements (unless your certificate of sponsorship shows your employer can support you)
• proof of your relationship with your partner or children if they’re applying with you
• your tuberculosis test results if you’re from a listed country

Ask your employer for a copy of your certificate of sponsorship if you do not have one.

Other documents you might need

Depending on your circumstances, you might be asked to provide:

• evidence you’ve worked for your employer outside the UK for 3 months immediately before you apply
• details of your training programme
• a valid ATAS certificate if your employer tells you that you need one because your job involves researching a sensitive subject at PhD level or higher

If your documents are not in English or Welsh you’ll also need to provide a certified translation.

Evidence you’ve worked for your employer outside the UK

After you apply you might be asked to show you’ve worked for your employer overseas for 3 months immediately before you apply.

If you’re asked, you’ll need to show you’ve been paid by your employer over this time period. You can provide:

• printed payslips
• online payslips supported by a letter from your sponsor signed by a senior staff member
• bank or building society statements
• a building society pass book

Source: GOV.UK – Documents you’ll need to apply (checked 31 Oct 2026)

How to apply, step by step (official)

Apply from outside the UK

You must apply online for a Graduate Trainee visa.

Check which documents you’ll need to apply.

You do not need to apply again if you have a Graduate Trainee visa and your job changes as part of your graduate training programme. Your employer will notify UK Visas and Immigration.

Proving your identity

As part of your application, you’ll need to prove your identity. How you do this depends on where you’re from and what type of passport you have.

You’ll either:

• use the ‘UK Immigration: ID Check’ app to scan your identity document - you’ll also create or sign into your UK Visas and Immigration (UKVI) account
• have your fingerprints and photo (biometric information) taken at a visa application centre

You’ll be told what you need to do when you apply.

If you do need an appointment:

• you’ll need to take your passport with you to the visa application centre (you’ll be able to collect it on the day)
• you may have to travel to get to your nearest centre (this could be in another country)

Apply for a Graduate Trainee visa

Once you’ve started your application, you can save your form and complete it later.

Apply now

How long it takes to get a decision

Once you’ve applied online, proved your identity and provided your documents, you’ll usually get a decision within 3 weeks.

You’ll be contacted if your application will take longer, for example because:

• your supporting documents need to be verified
• you need to attend an interview
• of your personal circumstances (for example if you have a criminal conviction)

You may be able to pay to get a faster decision.

After you apply

If you need to change something in your application after you’ve sent it contact UK Visas and Immigration (UKVI).

You can ask to cancel your application. You’ll only get your fee refunded if UKVI has not started processing your application.

You’ll get an email with the decision on your application. This will explain what you need to do next.

Source: GOV.UK – Apply from outside the UK (checked 31 Oct 2026)

Partner and children (official)

Your partner and children

Your partner and children can also apply to join you or stay in the UK as your ‘dependants’ if they’re eligible.

If your partner or child’s application is successful, their visa will usually end on the same date as yours. If a child’s parents have visas with different expiry dates, the child’s visa will end on the earlier date.

A dependant partner or child is any of the following:

• your husband, wife, civil partner or unmarried partner
• your child under 18 - including if they were born in the UK during your stay
• your child over 18 if they currently have permission (‘leave to enter’ or ‘leave to remain’) to be in the UK as your dependant

You’ll need to provide evidence of your relationship to your dependant when you apply.

Your partner

You must be able to prove one of the following:

• you’re in a civil partnership or marriage that’s recognised in the UK
• you’ve been living together in a relationship for at least 2 years when you apply
• you’ve been in a relationship for at least 2 years when you apply but you cannot live together, for example because you’re working or studying in different places, or it’s not accepted in your culture

If you’re not living together, you’ll need to prove that you have an ongoing commitment to each other, for example by providing evidence that you:

• communicate regularly with each other
• support each other financially
• care for any children you have together
• spend time together as a couple, for example on holiday or at events

Your child

They must:

• live with you, unless they’re living away from home in full-time education - for example, at boarding school or university
• not be married or in a civil partnership

You’ll need to provide evidence of their address, such as:

• a bank statement
• credit card bills
• driving licence
• NHS registration document
• an official letter from their university or college

Money they need to support themselves

Your partner or children must have a certain amount of money available to support themselves while they’re in the UK.

You - or your partner or child - will need:

• £285 for your partner
• £315 for one child
• £200 for each additional child

Example

You - or your partner or child - would need to have £600 to bring your partner and one child with you to the UK (£285 for your partner and £315 for your child).

You would also need to have £1,270 to support yourself for your own application.

You - or your partner or child - will need to have had the money available for at least 28 days in a row. Day 28 must be within 31 days of the date you or they apply for this visa.

You’ll usually need to show proof of this when they apply, unless either:

• you have all been in the UK with a valid visa for at least 12 months
• your employer can cover your family’s costs during your first month in the UK - this must be confirmed on your certificate of sponsorship

If your partner or child is applying at a different time to you, they’ll only need to prove they have enough money to support themselves if they have been in the UK for less than one year.

Apply from outside the UK

Your partner and children must either:

• apply online as your partner
• apply online as your child

Each family member will need to complete a separate application and pay the visa fee. They must apply before they travel to the UK.

They’ll also need your application number - you’ll get this when you apply. This number is called a Global Web Form (GWF) or a Unique Application Number (UAN). You’ll find it on emails and letters from the Home Office about your application.

Proving their identity from outside the UK

As part of an application, your partner and children will need to prove their identity. They’ll either:

• use the ‘UK Immigration: ID Check’ app to scan their identity document - they’ll also create or sign into their UK Visas and Immigration (UKVI) account
• have their fingerprints and photo (biometric information) taken at a visa application centre

They’ll be told what they need to do when they apply.

If they need an appointment:

• they’ll need to take their passport with them to the visa application centre (they’ll be able to collect it on the day)
• they may have to travel to get to their nearest centre (this could be in another country)

Getting a decision

Once they’ve applied online, proved their identity and provided their documents, they’ll usually get a decision within 3 weeks.

They may be able to pay to get a faster decision.

If their application is successful, their decision email will tell them what they’ll get to prove their immigration status and what they need to do next.

Children born in the UK

If you have a child while you’re in the UK, they do not automatically become a British citizen.

You can apply online for their visa as your dependant. You must do this if you want to travel in and out of the UK with your child.

You’ll need to provide a full UK birth certificate for each child, showing the names of both parents.

You must apply to add them to your visa before they turn 18 if they want to stay in the UK.

What your partner or child can and cannot do

Your partner or child can:

• work, except as a sportsperson or coach
• study
• travel abroad and return to the UK

They cannot apply for most benefits (public funds), or the State Pension.

Source: GOV.UK – Your partner and children (checked 31 Oct 2026)

Extending, switching and changing job (official)

Switch to this visa

You cannot apply to change (‘switch’) to a Graduate Trainee visa from inside the UK because you need to have worked for your employer overseas for 3 months immediately before you apply.

You must leave the UK and apply for a Graduate Trainee visa from abroad.

Source: GOV.UK – Switch to this visa (checked 31 Oct 2026)

Processing times and faster decisions (official)

Standard: Usually 3 weeks (outside UK) (GOV.UK visa processing times).

• Priority service: +£500, usually a decision within 5 working days (settlement, citizenship and family-from-outside-UK: usually 30 working days).
• Super priority service: +£1,000, usually a decision by the end of the next working day after you prove your identity. Not available for citizenship.
• Availability depends on the route, the country and whether you use a UKVCAS centre or the ID Check app; there is a daily limit. You are told at the point of applying whether it is offered.

Source: GOV.UK – Get a faster decision on your visa or settlement application (checked 31 Oct 2026)

How the application works (official)

1. Check eligibility and gather documents (sections above). Sponsored routes: get your CoS/CAS reference first; endorsed routes: get your endorsement first.
2. Apply online on GOV.UK and pay the fee and Immigration Health Surcharge (if it applies) – IHS.
3. Prove your identity: either the UK Immigration: ID Check app (if offered) or an appointment at a visa application centre (outside the UK) or UKVCAS service point (inside the UK) for fingerprints and photo.
4. Upload documents and wait for the decision. Do not travel or leave the UK before a decision if applying from inside the UK – it can withdraw your application.
5. Your permission is issued as an eVisa in your UKVI account; physical BRPs are no longer issued. Link your passport to it and use share codes to prove your rights – GOV.UK eVisas.

Path to settlement (ILR) and citizenship

Does not lead to settlement.

Citizenship normally needs ILR (or settled status) held for 12 months – or immediately if married to a British citizen – plus the residence, absences, good character, Life in the UK test (£50) and English B1 requirements. See GOV.UK – Settle in the UK and GOV.UK – Citizenship if you have ILR.