The UK has updated two temporary work routes, reducing the overseas employment requirement for Secondment Workers and changing how the absence period is calculated for certain Seasonal Worker applicants.

The changes affect overseas employees entering the UK for major commercial assignments and workers returning for seasonal horticulture jobs.

UK Secondment Worker Visa Requirement Cut to Six Months

Since Wednesday, April 8, 2026, applicants entering the Global Business Mobility–Secondment Worker route must have worked for their overseas employer outside the UK for a cumulative period of at least six months.

The previous requirement was 12 months.

The route is designed for employees temporarily transferred to the UK as part of a high-value contract or investment involving their overseas employer and a licensed UK sponsor.

Another Global Business Mobility option is the UK Service Supplier route for Indian chefs, classical musicians and yoga instructors, which provides a combined annual allocation of 1,800 places under the UK–India trade agreement.

Applicants need a Certificate of Sponsorship connected to the registered contract. The route allows a qualifying worker to remain for up to one year at a time, subject to a maximum of two continuous years as a Secondment Worker.

Partners and dependent children may apply, but the route does not provide a direct path to permanent UK residence.

Highly qualified academics and researchers may instead qualify for the UK Global Talent fast track for PhD-level research roles, which does not tie successful applicants to one sponsoring employer.

Seasonal Worker Four-Month Rule Uses Job Start Date

Under the current rule for sponsored horticulture jobs, applicants must not have been in the UK as Seasonal Workers during the four months immediately before the work start date listed on their Certificate of Sponsorship.

The calculation is based on the sponsored job’s start date rather than the date on which the visa application is submitted.

For example, changing the application submission date will not shorten the required period outside the UK if the employment start date remains unchanged.

Current guidance allows horticulture workers to be sponsored for up to six months of employment in any 10-month period when the applicable Certificate of Sponsorship was assigned on or after November 11, 2025.

The changes make the Secondment Worker route accessible sooner to qualifying overseas employees while giving Seasonal Worker sponsors a clearer reference point for checking whether returning horticulture workers have completed the required time outside the UK.

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