Intra-Company Transfer Visa

An Intra-Company Transfer (‘ICT’) visa is for multinational organisations wishing to transfer skilled employees from an overseas branch to the United Kingdom (‘UK’) to either fill a specific vacancy or for training purposes.

How do you qualify as an Intra-Company Transfer (‘ICT’) worker?

To qualify for an ICT visa, you will need to be employed by an organisation who hold a sponsor license granted to them by the Home Office.

Types of Tier 2 Intra-Company Transfer visas

There are currently two types of worker which fall within the ICT category:

Long-term staff

To qualify as long-term staff, you would be required to have worked for the company for at least 12 months or be paid an annual salary of £73,900 or more to work in the UK.

ICT Graduate Trainees

To qualify as a Graduate Trainee, you need to be a recent graduate with at least 3 months experience with your employer overseas.

The Graduate Trainee must also be part of a structured graduate training programme with a clearly defined progression towards a managerial or specialist role within the organisation.

Length of a Tier 2 Intra-Company Transfer visa

If you earn more than £73,900 a year, the maximum length of time you can remain in the UK is 9 years in any 10 year period.

If you earn less than £73,900 a year, the maximum length of time you can remain in the UK is 5 years in any 6 year period.

As a Graduate Trainee, the maximum length of time you can remain in the UK is 12 months.

It is worth noting that an ICT visa will not lead to settlement in the UK. However, you will be permitted to switch to the Skilled Worker visa route which can enable you to obtain settlement in the UK.

Meeting the Points Based System (‘PBS’) criteria

You would need to score 60 points under the new immigration Points Based System (‘PBS’) criteria.

Certificate of Sponsorship (‘CoS’) – 20 points

You must have received an offer of employment from a licensed sponsor.

Once you have been offered a position within the company, the employer will provide you with a CoS. You will be required to state the relevant CoS reference at the time of submitting your ICT visa application.

Job at an ‘appropriate level’ – 20 points

Unlike the skilled Worker route, the minimum skill level for the ICT visa route is to remain at RQF level 6.

Appropriate Salary – 20 points

The job which you are offered must pay you an ‘appropriate salary’ for the job role.

The minimum annual salary requirements for ICT workers is currently set at £41,500 and for ‘Graduate Trainees’ it is currently set at £23,000.

Maintenance requirement

Apart from satisfying the required 60 points, you must also show that you have personal savings of least £1,270.00 which must have been held for at least 28 days before the date of your application.

If your sponsor is an ‘A-rated sponsor’, they can ‘certify your maintenance’ up to the end of your first month of employment in the UK. If your sponsor certifies your maintenance on the CoS, you will not be required to provide any evidence of your finances.

Furthermore, if you have had permission to stay in the UK for more than 12 months, you will not be required to meet the maintenance requirement.

Family members of ICT visa holders

The ICT visa allows dependent family members to join you in the UK or remain with you if you’re already in the UK.

Our process

  1. Assess your suitability and eligibility for an Intra-Company Transfer visa;
  2. Provide you with an advice on how to meet the PBS requirements;
  3. Provide a comprehensive document checklist;
  4. Complete any application as necessary on your behalf;
  5. Draft any affidavit as necessary on your behalf;
  6. Book your biometrics appointment;
  7. Prepare a complete bundle to be sent to UKVI on your behalf including a detailed cover letter.

If you would like to apply for a Tier 2 Intra-Company visa, please contact us.

*Please note that all immigration matters are dealt with by Muldoon Britton Immigration Limited (SRA Number: 829759).