In a sweeping Statement of Changes published on 5 March and summarised in an immigration update released on 6 April, the UK Home Office confirmed that Indian nationals are now eligible for the Global Business Mobility (GBM) ‘Service Supplier’ visa route created under the UK–India Comprehensive Economic & Trade Agreement. Starting 26 March 2026, up to 1,800 Indian professionals per year can deliver contracted services in the UK for up to 12 months without the previous 12-month overseas-employment look-back.
![UK Opens New ‘Service Supplier’ Route to Indians Under GBM, Cuts Secondment Requirement]()
For organisations that need hands-on assistance navigating these new GBM provisions, VisaHQ can streamline the process—everything from verifying eligibility and securing Certificates of Sponsorship to filing the visa itself and managing post-arrival compliance. Visit https://www.visahq.com/india/ to see how their end-to-end support can keep your mobility programme running smoothly.
At the same time, the overseas-employment requirement for GBM Secondment Workers has been halved from 12 months to six, significantly expanding the pool of staff multinationals can rotate into UK projects. Sectors expected to benefit most include IT consulting, engineering and creative services, where Indian talent has dominated intra-company transfers. For mobility managers, the headline advantage is speed: assignees with just half a year of home-country service can now be mobilised, allowing companies to meet UK client deadlines with less lead-time. However, the annual Service Supplier cap means early pipeline planning is essential; once the quota is hit, new applications will roll into the next quota year. Employers must still issue a sponsoring contract and meet National Minimum Wage thresholds. The UK has also announced higher visa and ETA fees from 8 April 2026, nudging assignment budgets upward. Immigration counsel recommend locking-in certificates of sponsorship before the fee hike and updating assignment cost-projection templates accordingly.
For organisations that need hands-on assistance navigating these new GBM provisions, VisaHQ can streamline the process—everything from verifying eligibility and securing Certificates of Sponsorship to filing the visa itself and managing post-arrival compliance. Visit https://www.visahq.com/india/ to see how their end-to-end support can keep your mobility programme running smoothly.
At the same time, the overseas-employment requirement for GBM Secondment Workers has been halved from 12 months to six, significantly expanding the pool of staff multinationals can rotate into UK projects. Sectors expected to benefit most include IT consulting, engineering and creative services, where Indian talent has dominated intra-company transfers. For mobility managers, the headline advantage is speed: assignees with just half a year of home-country service can now be mobilised, allowing companies to meet UK client deadlines with less lead-time. However, the annual Service Supplier cap means early pipeline planning is essential; once the quota is hit, new applications will roll into the next quota year. Employers must still issue a sponsoring contract and meet National Minimum Wage thresholds. The UK has also announced higher visa and ETA fees from 8 April 2026, nudging assignment budgets upward. Immigration counsel recommend locking-in certificates of sponsorship before the fee hike and updating assignment cost-projection templates accordingly.
