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CETA Opens the Door: How Indian Professionals Can Now Work in the UK for 12 Months Under the Service Supplier Route
By Sushil Gaikwad, Partner, Nexa Law • July 2026
On 15 July 2026, the UK–India Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (CETA) entered into force — the most significant bilateral trade agreement the United Kingdom has signed since leaving the European Union. While much of the commentary has focused on tariff reductions on whisky, automotive and textiles, one of the most practically important changes for businesses and professionals sits within the immigration system: the extension of the Global Business Mobility (GBM) Service Supplier route to Indian nationals.
The Home Office implemented the change through the Statement of Changes to the Immigration Rules (HC 1691) laid on 5 March 2026, with the new provisions taking effect from 26 March 2026 — ahead of the treaty itself entering into force. The result is a defined, sponsor-based pathway allowing qualifying Indian professionals to deliver contracted services in the UK for up to 12 months, together with a much-publicised — and much-misunderstood — annual quota of 1,800 places for Indian chefs de cuisine, classical musicians and yoga instructors.
This article explains what the route actually is, who qualifies, how the cap operates and where the commercial opportunities and pitfalls lie.
What is the Service Supplier route?
The Service Supplier route sits within the UK’s Global Business Mobility framework. It exists to give effect to the UK’s commitments under international trade agreements, and it covers two distinct categories of applicant:
• Contractual Service Suppliers (CSS) – an Indian national employed by an Indian service provider with a contract to supply services to a UK client; and
• Independent Professionals (IP) – self-employed Indian nationals based overseas who hold a contract to deliver services to a UK client in an eligible sector.
Under CETA, contractual service suppliers can access around 33 service sub-sectors — including IT and IT-enabled services, business and professional services, finance, hospitality and transport — while independent professionals have access to a narrower list of around 16 sub-sectors, including architecture, engineering, consultancy and computer services. Crucially, CETA also provides certainty for Indian professionals employed by companies with no physical presence in the UK: the service is supplied under a contract with the UK client, not through a UK entity.
This is an important structural point. The Service Supplier route is not a general work visa, and it is not a recruitment channel. It facilitates the temporary supply of services under a genuine business-to-business contract. An assignment that in substance amounts to filling an ordinary UK vacancy will not qualify.
Who qualifies?
Although the route is trade-agreement driven, applications are decided under the Immigration Rules and the sponsorship system. In broad terms, an applicant must show:
• An eligible service contract. There must be a genuine contract between the overseas service provider (or the self-employed professional) and the UK client for the supply of services in an eligible sector, and the contract must be registered with the Home Office.
• Sponsorship by the UK client. The UK client receiving the services must hold a sponsor licence authorised for the GBM Service Supplier route and must assign a valid Certificate of Sponsorship (CoS). Businesses that already hold a Skilled Worker licence are not automatically covered — the Service Supplier route may need to be added.
• Qualifications and experience. Applicants must meet the qualification and experience thresholds set out in the UK’s CETA commitments for the relevant sector — typically a university degree or equivalent technical qualification and relevant professional experience. For the three quota occupations, the specified skill and experience criteria must be met; a job title alone is not enough.
• A qualifying employment history. An employed contractual service supplier must ordinarily have worked for the overseas provider outside the UK for the qualifying period, and a self-employed independent professional must generally show continuous sectoral experience before applying. Notably, the March 2026 changes relaxed the position for Indian nationals compared with the standard route requirements — one of several India-specific concessions.
Each application therefore has to be checked against the live CETA commitment schedules, the Immigration Rules and Home Office guidance before the commercial contract is finalised. In our experience, the strongest position is achieved when the immigration structure is reviewed while the service contract is still being negotiated.
The 1,800-place cap: what it does — and does not — cover
The headline feature of the CETA mobility package is the annual quota of 1,800 places for Indian traditional chefs or chefs de cuisine, classical musicians and yoga instructors. Three points are consistently misunderstood:
• It is a combined cap. The 1,800 limit applies across all three occupations together, not 1,800 per occupation. It counts grants of both entry clearance and permission to stay within the calendar year.
• The cap applies only to those three occupations. These three occupations are additional access negotiated under CETA, over and above the standard sectors. Contractual service
suppliers and independent professionals in the ordinary listed sectors — IT, engineering, architecture, finance and others — are not subject to the 1,800 quota, and CETA expressly commits both parties to no economic needs tests in these categories.
• The cap is not a standalone visa. A chef, musician or yoga instructor still needs an eligible registered contract, a licensed UK sponsor, and must fit the specified occupational classification. Not every hospitality or wellness role will qualify, and once the annual quota is exhausted, further applications must wait for the next quota year.
For restaurant groups, cultural institutions, wellness businesses and event organisers, the quota is a genuine opportunity — but it rewards early, well-structured planning. Sponsors intending to use the route in a given year should secure their licence authorisation and register contracts early, before the quota tightens.
The new 12-month stay
Under CETA, qualifying Indian service suppliers can be granted permission for a single assignment of up to 12 months in any 24-month period — a materially longer period than the six months available under several of the UK’s other trade agreements. In practice, the period actually granted may be shorter, because permission is tied to the Certificate of Sponsorship dates, any time already spent on the assignment, and the wider Global Business Mobility rule that generally limits a worker to five years across GBM routes in any six-year period.
Two related changes are worth noting. First, the same Statement of Changes reduced the qualifying overseas employment period for the GBM Secondment Worker route from 12 months to six — significantly widening the pool of staff that multinationals can rotate onto UK projects. Second, the Double Contribution Convention agreed alongside CETA exempts Indian workers temporarily posted to the UK (and their employers) from UK National Insurance contributions for up to three years, reducing the overall cost of assignments.
Practical guidance for businesses and applicants
The CETA Service Supplier route is a valuable but technically narrow mobility option. It is not a substitute for the Skilled Worker route, and it does not create open-ended access to the UK labour market. Before committing to an assignment, we recommend that UK clients and Indian service providers:
• confirm the service falls within an eligible CETA sector and the correct classification is used;
• check the UK client’s sponsor licence covers the Service Supplier route, and add it if not;
• register the service contract with the Home Office before the Certificate of Sponsorship is assigned;
• verify the individual’s qualifications, experience and employment history against the route requirements;
• for the three quota occupations, plan around the 1,800-place annual limit and apply early in the quota year; and
• budget for the increased visa and immigration fees that took effect from 8 April 2026.
Structured correctly, the route allows Indian businesses to deliver contracts in the UK with certainty, and gives UK clients access to specialist talent without the sponsorship burden of long-term employment routes. Structured incorrectly — the wrong classification, an unregistered contract, or duties that amount to an ordinary UK role — an otherwise viable assignment can fail at the application stage or, worse, expose the sponsor to compliance action.
How Nexa Law can help
Nexa Law advises UK sponsors, Indian service providers and individual professionals across the full lifecycle of a CETA assignment — from structuring the service contract and securing sponsor licence authorisation, through contract registration and Certificates of Sponsorship, to the visa application itself and ongoing sponsor compliance. With dual-qualified expertise spanning UK immigration law and the UK–India commercial corridor, we help clients turn the opportunities of CETA into workable, compliant arrangements.
To discuss a CETA Service Supplier assignment, sponsor licence or any UK–India mobility matter, contact Sushil Gaikwad, Partner at Nexa Law.
This article is provided for general information only and does not constitute legal advice. Immigration Rules, quotas and fees are subject to change, and eligibility depends on individual circumstances. Specific advice should be sought before taking, or refraining from taking, any action.
© 2026 Nexa Law Ltd. Sushil Gaikwad is a dual-qualified solicitor (England & Wales; Bar Council of India) and Partner at Nexa Law