VisaIsle of Man Global Business Mobility starts 2 November: check ICT transition
The new temporary assignment framework closes the existing ICT route to new applicants while preserving the position described for existing holders. Employers need the correct sponsor permission before individual applications.
Official source date: 2026-05-11 · Change takes effect: 2026-11-02
Edited and checked by the VisaWand editorial team
The change starts tomorrow, with protection for existing ICT holders
The Isle of Man will introduce its Global Business Mobility immigration framework on 2 November 2026. The government’s Immigration Rules and Associated Policy page says the existing Intra-Company Transfer route within Worker Migrant closes to new applicants at the same time. Employers planning new transfers must therefore distinguish a new application from the position of someone already holding valid ICT permission.
The published transition states that existing holders remain on their present route and retain any settlement rights available under paragraph 3.4 of Appendix W. This is not a statement that every new mobility category leads to settlement. An employer should first identify the worker’s current permission, whether the proposed application is a new transfer or an extension, and the intended assignment date. Keep the existing decision and expiry date available before selecting a form.
Five categories do not mean every category is open
The government’s Global Business Mobility overview separates senior or specialist transfers, graduate training, expansion workers, service suppliers and secondments. These cover different business arrangements rather than providing a general jobseeker visa. A senior manager moving to an existing linked branch and an employee joining a structured graduate programme need different assessments.
Importantly, the overview says the Isle of Man Expansion Worker category is currently not open because no relevant free-trade agreements have been extended to the island. Its appearance in the framework is therefore not permission to submit an application. Service-supplier access also depends on applicable international trade arrangements. Check the actual category page and sponsor policy before treating a nationality, contract or planned new office as eligible. The reviewed material does not establish a nationality exemption from every sponsorship or immigration requirement.
The sponsoring business must prepare its own application
The Immigration Sponsor Licensing Policy, Government Circular 2026/0015, applies to new and renewal applications made from 2 November. It requires an organisation intending to sponsor relevant migrants to hold the appropriate licence. Its appendices identify supporting evidence for licence applications and records sponsors must retain. A commercial employment agreement is not itself that licence.
Use this policy to identify the qualifying overseas business link and the evidence appropriate to the selected category. The policy distinguishes the graduate programme from other business relationships and sets out sponsor responsibilities. In practical terms, the employer should prepare the business evidence and confirm its licensing position before promising that the employee can travel. Sponsorship supports the individual application; it does not guarantee the applicant’s admission or permission to remain.
Graduate assignments have specific employment and stay limits
The island’s Graduate Trainee guidance requires the applicant already to work for the sponsor and to have worked outside the Isle of Man for that sponsor continuously for at least three months before applying. The job must be appropriately skilled and appear in the relevant occupation list. The sponsor must receive the relevant licence and assign a Certificate of Sponsorship before the individual application.
The published route allows a twelve-month stay and a maximum cumulative five years within six years across Global Business Mobility categories. It does not permit settlement, public funds or a second job. A training assignment should therefore have a realistic end date and duties matching the sponsored position. Confirm the occupation and salary assessment in the governing rules before agreeing pay; a job title alone cannot establish that the skill and remuneration tests are met.
Separate entry charges from sponsorship and extension paperwork
The 2026 fee amendment lists £819 for Isle of Man entry clearance as a Senior or Specialist Worker and £340 for the other four specified mobility categories. A fee entry does not establish that a category is open: the Expansion Worker restriction still matters. These are entry-clearance charges, not a complete budget for every employer and dependant.
The Graduate Trainee page separately lists £611 for a sponsor-licence application and £55 for a Certificate of Sponsorship. The island’s Visa Application Forms and Fees page provides the GBM licence, certificate and further-leave forms, alongside continuing ICT extension paperwork. Use that resource for the correct document and current charge. The immediate action is to complete category and sponsor checks before applying under the new framework; existing holders should plan against their own expiry dates rather than assume tomorrow’s commencement cancels their current permission.
