TL;DR
The UK Skilled Worker visa is the main route for new sponsored employees and leads to settlement after 5 years. The Senior or Specialist Worker visa (formerly Intra-Company Transfer, or ICT) is for senior employees being transferred from an overseas branch of the same group, and does not lead to settlement - holders must switch routes for ILR. The Skilled Worker route uses a lower general salary threshold of £38,700, while Senior or Specialist Worker requires £48,500 and 12 months of qualifying employment in the overseas group entity.
Last reviewed: 31 May 2026
The Skilled Worker route: sponsorship, salary, settlement
The Skilled Worker visa is the UK's principal sponsored work route. To qualify, an applicant needs a job offer at RQF Level 3 or above from a Home Office licensed sponsor, a Certificate of Sponsorship issued against that role, English language at CEFR B1, and a salary that meets both the route's general threshold (£38,700 for most occupations from April 2024) and the going rate for the specific occupation code. Lower thresholds apply to roles on the Immigration Salary List, new entrants under 26, and certain health and education roles. The Home Office application fee for an outside-UK grant of up to three years is £719 in the standard band, with the longer-than-three-year band at £1,420, and the Immigration Health Surcharge sits at £1,035 per adult per year of leave. Detailed cost mechanics are set out in the UK Skilled Worker visa cost guide. Critically, time spent on the Skilled Worker visa counts toward Indefinite Leave to Remain (ILR), which becomes available after 5 continuous years of qualifying residence on this route.
The Senior or Specialist Worker (ICT) route: group transfer, no settlement
The Senior or Specialist Worker visa replaced the Intra-Company Transfer route on 11 April 2022 when the Global Business Mobility framework went live. It is designed for senior managers and specialist employees being transferred from an overseas linked entity to a UK branch of the same corporate group. The applicant must have worked for the overseas group entity for at least 12 months before applying (waived for high earners above £73,900), and the UK sponsor must hold a Global Business Mobility sponsor licence rather than a Worker sponsor licence. The general salary threshold is £48,500 plus the going rate for the occupation, and the visa is granted for the duration of the Certificate of Sponsorship plus 14 days, up to a maximum of 5 years in any 6-year period (9 years for high earners). Crucially, the Senior or Specialist Worker route does not lead to settlement: time on this route does not count toward ILR, and a holder seeking permanent residence must switch into a settlement route such as Skilled Worker before the qualifying clock starts.
Side-by-side comparison: fees, thresholds, conditions
The two routes share the Home Office's general sponsorship architecture but differ on every measurable axis that matters to a long-term plan. The table below sets out the headline contrasts for an outside-UK applicant on a 3-year grant, standard occupation, April 2025 fee schedule.
- Sponsor licence type: Skilled Worker (Worker licence) vs Senior or Specialist Worker (Global Business Mobility licence).
- Prior service requirement: Skilled Worker none, ICT route 12 months in the overseas group entity (waived above £73,900).
- General salary threshold: Skilled Worker £38,700, Senior or Specialist Worker £48,500.
- Going-rate requirement: both routes require at least 100 percent of the published going rate for the occupation code.
- English language test: Skilled Worker yes (B1), Senior or Specialist Worker not required.
- Application fee, 3-year outside UK: Skilled Worker £719 standard, Senior or Specialist Worker £719.
- Application fee, 5-year outside UK: Skilled Worker £1,420 standard, Senior or Specialist Worker £1,420.
- Immigration Health Surcharge: £1,035 per adult per year on both routes.
- Maximum leave: Skilled Worker no overall cap, Senior or Specialist Worker 5 years in 6 (9 years in 10 for high earners).
- Switching in-country: Skilled Worker to ICT not permitted, ICT to Skilled Worker permitted from inside the UK if the role and sponsor qualify.
- Settlement: Skilled Worker yes (after 5 years), Senior or Specialist Worker no.
The structural point is that the two routes are not substitutes. The Skilled Worker visa is open-ended and leads to permanent residence; the Senior or Specialist Worker visa is a fixed-term posting tool that pauses the settlement clock.
Which fits which applicant
For an applicant whose long-term plan is to settle permanently in the UK, the Skilled Worker route is the only sensible choice of the two: time on the Senior or Specialist Worker visa does not count toward ILR, so a holder choosing the ICT route delays permanent residence by however long the posting lasts. For an applicant being moved temporarily by a global employer (a 3-year assignment, a project posting, a leadership rotation) the Senior or Specialist Worker route is structurally easier: the English language test is waived, the going rate is generally satisfied by the existing overseas salary, and the corporate group sponsorship paperwork is what a multinational HR function does routinely. The crossover case is the senior employee whose plans evolve mid-posting: switching from Senior or Specialist Worker to Skilled Worker inside the UK is permitted and a sensible step if the holder decides to settle, because it starts the 5-year ILR clock from the switch date rather than from the original UK entry.
Cost comparison and the calculator
On a 3-year outside-UK grant for a single applicant, the headline upfront cost is similar between the two routes: £719 application fee plus £3,105 IHS plus the £19.20 biometric enrolment, totalling £3,843 in Home Office charges before any priority service add-on. A family of four on the same grant pushes the total to roughly £13,800 in either case. The financial divergence appears at year five: a Skilled Worker holder pays a single ILR application fee of £2,885 and is then free of IHS and visa fees for life; a Senior or Specialist Worker holder seeking permanent residence must first switch to Skilled Worker (a fresh application fee plus IHS for the remaining qualifying period) and then apply for ILR, adding several thousand pounds to the lifetime cost. The UK visa fee calculator models both routes with dependant counts and grant duration. For an applicant whose employer is paying, the route choice is often driven by what the sponsor's licence permits rather than by personal cost: a UK entity holding only a Global Business Mobility licence cannot issue a Skilled Worker Certificate of Sponsorship, and vice versa, so an internal mobility decision often hinges on which licence the receiving UK office holds.
Frequently asked questions
Can a Senior or Specialist Worker visa lead to UK settlement?
No. Time spent on the Senior or Specialist Worker route does not count toward Indefinite Leave to Remain. A holder seeking permanent residence must switch into a settlement route, most commonly the Skilled Worker visa, and accrue 5 continuous years on that route before applying for ILR. The switch can be made from inside the UK if the role and the receiving sponsor qualify.
Does the Senior or Specialist Worker route have the same salary threshold as Skilled Worker?
No. The Senior or Specialist Worker route requires a salary of at least £48,500 plus the going rate for the occupation. The Skilled Worker general threshold is £38,700 (with lower thresholds for the Immigration Salary List, new entrants and certain health and education roles). The Senior or Specialist Worker threshold sits closer to the going rate for genuinely senior posts, which is the route's design intent.
Can a Senior or Specialist Worker switch to Skilled Worker without leaving the UK?
Yes. Switching from Senior or Specialist Worker to Skilled Worker is permitted from inside the UK provided the receiving sponsor holds a Worker sponsor licence, the role meets RQF Level 3, the salary clears the Skilled Worker thresholds, and the applicant satisfies the English language requirement. The inside-UK application fee is £827 for a grant of up to 3 years, and the 5-year ILR clock starts from the date of the switch.
What replaced the Intra-Company Transfer route?
The Senior or Specialist Worker visa replaced the Intra-Company Transfer route on 11 April 2022 as part of the Global Business Mobility framework. The framework also introduced the Graduate Trainee, Service Supplier, UK Expansion Worker and Secondment Worker categories. Senior or Specialist Worker is the closest direct successor to the old ICT route and carries forward the no-settlement design feature.
Are dependants allowed on the Senior or Specialist Worker visa?
Yes. Partners and children under 18 can apply as dependants on the Senior or Specialist Worker visa at the same Home Office application fee as the main applicant, with the standard adult IHS of £1,035 per year and the child rate of £776 per year. Dependant time on the route does not count toward ILR either, which is a planning point for families considering a longer UK stay after the posting ends.
Sources
- Skilled Worker visa route guidance (gov.uk)
- Senior or Specialist Worker visa guidance (gov.uk)
- Global Business Mobility caseworker guidance (gov.uk)
- UK Visas and Immigration fee schedule (gov.uk)
- Immigration and Nationality (Fees) Regulations 2018 (legislation.gov.uk)
- Immigration Rules collection (gov.uk)
Disclaimer: The figures and guidance on this page are informational. Kael Tripton Ltd is not authorised by the Solicitors Regulation Authority, the Office of the Immigration Services Commissioner, or the Financial Conduct Authority and does not provide immigration advice. For application-specific advice consult a regulated immigration adviser. Verify current fees and rules on gov.uk before applying.
