Temporary Work Visa UK

To qualify for a UK Temporary Work visa, you must be intending to work in a particular field.

You can apply for a UK work visa listed below one of the following visa categories which fall under this points-based route:

• Creative Workers – This is for those who work in the creative industries
• Charity Workers – If you will be covering an unpaid voluntary role for a UK registered charity, this is a suitable visa route
• Religious Workers – If you intend to preach or work in a UK monastery/convent by a religious order, this route is ideal for you
• Government Authorised Exchange – This is for those who are nationals of a country which has signed an approved exchange scheme with the UK. Young foreign nationals via this exchange can participate in training, work experience or academic research in the UK
• International Agreement – This is specifically for individuals who have received a job offer which is covered by international law, including diplomatic and embassy roles
• Seasonal Workers – For those looking to work in horticulture or in poultry farming and processing at certain times of year

To discuss which visa route is most suitable to you and your personal circumstances, contact one of our experienced immigration lawyers in Manchester on 0161 826 9783.

To apply for a Temporary Work Visa, you must ensure that you meet all necessary requirements first.

Some of the primary requirements include:

• You must hold a valid job offer from a UK-based institution (which has a valid UK Sponsor Licence)
• You must have received a Certificate of Sponsorship from your sponsor
• You must be able to demonstrate that you have at least £1,270 in savings, available within your bank account for 90 consecutive days prior to applying for this visa

Once you have established whether you are eligible, your application must contain the sufficient level of supporting documentation to demonstrate that you fulfil the criteria.

UKVI will consider the following:

• Knowledge of the role
• That you have relevant experience in relation to the skills required to perform the role
• Details of the UK Sponsor
• Information regarding how you were recruited

As with all visas under the points-based system, you must achieve the minimum required points in order to achieve a successful application and valid visa.

Points are available to you if you:

• Provide the Certificate of Sponsorship (this makes up 30 points)
• Fulfil the maintenance requirement (this is worth 10 points)

The Charity Worker visa is for individuals who want to come to the UK to conduct unpaid voluntary work with a registered charity. This visa requires you to have a certificate of sponsorship from the organisation you will be working with.

The Charity Worker visa allows you to stay for 12 months or the time specified on your Certificate of Sponsorship, plus 14 days, whichever is shorter. You are not allowed to enter the UK until 14 days before your visa’s start date.

Once in the UK on this visa, you can work, study, conduct a second job in the same sector or level for up to 20 hours a week, and bring your partner and children. However, you cannot receive payment for your work, begin a permanent job, or obtain public funds. Yet, your sponsor can agree to support your maintenance while you are in the UK.

The UK imports thousands of workers each year to help with seasonal work across two sectors. Firstly, you can work in horticulture, such as picking fruit, vegetables, or flowers, for up to six months. Secondly, you can work in the poultry industry between 2 October and 31 December.

Applications for poultry seasonal work must be submitted by 15 November each year. Horticulture seasonal workers can submit their application at any time.

Once in the UK, you can study and complete the work that you have been sponsored for. However, this visa is quite restrictive. You cannot take a permanent or a second job. You also won’t be able to bring family members with you.

The UK government defines a creative worker as someone who has been offered work as an actor, dancer, musician, film crew member, or other form of creative worker. The visa requires a certificate of sponsorship, meaning a licensed employer must have offered you work in your creative sector. The visa replaced the Temporary Worker – Creative and Sporting visa (T5). Therefore, sportspeople are not eligible to apply for this visa. They require an International Sportsperson visa.

Creative Worker visa holders can remain in the UK for up to 12 months or the time given by the certificate of sponsorship, whichever is shorter. While in the UK, you can study, work a second job in the same sector and level for up to 20 hours a week, or do a second job on the Skilled Worker immigration salary list for up to 20 hours per week. You can also bring your partner or children as dependents with you. However, you will not be able to start your own business or complete self-employed work.

This visa comes with some unique requirements. For example, you must prove that you can make a unique contribution to the UK labour market by being internationally renowned or providing creative continuity. You must also receive a minimum salary as defined by the appropriate creative labour union, such as Equity, PACT or BECTU. This does not apply to models, musicians, or circuses.

This visa pathway applies to individuals who wish to come to the UK as part of an approved government exchange scheme. You will be able to conduct work experience, training, an Overseas Government Language Programme, or research. The visa requires sponsorship from one of the following:

• An organisation operating the scheme.
• A higher education institution.
• A government department or agency.

The length of time you can be in the UK will vary depending on the scheme that you are on. It typically ranges from 12 to 24 months. The visa allows you to work a second job for up to 20 hours a week. However, this job cannot be a permanent position.

The Religious Worker visa applies to individuals seeking to undertake a temporary non-pastoral role or a position within a religious order. The religious organisation you will be working for needs to sponsor you.

The visa allows you to remain in the UK for up to 24 months, or 28 days more than the time on your certificate of sponsorship, whichever is shorter. You will be able to study, work a second job up to 20 hours, and bring eligible dependents with you.

Individuals conducting work in the UK that is covered by international law or a treaty require an International Agreement visa. It allows you to work for an overseas government, recognised international organisation, or as a private servant in a diplomatic household. You will need whichever organisation or government you are working for to give you a certificate of sponsorship. The visa replaces the Temporary Worker – International Agreement Worker visa (T5).

The length of your stay in the UK will vary depending on who you will be working for. Overseas government or international organisation workers can stay in the UK for the shorter of two years or the time on your certificate of sponsorship plus 14 days.

Meanwhile, private servants in diplomatic households can remain up to five years. However, you will need to reapply for the visa every two years or 14 days more than the time specified on your certificate of sponsorship, whichever is shorter.

You will be able to conduct much more work than just your international agreement job under this visa. You can work a further 20 hours in a second job on the Skilled Worker immigration salary list. Your second job can also be in the same sector as your main job, unless you are a diplomatic private servant. The International Agreement visa also allows you to travel abroad and return to the UK, study in a course that won’t interfere with your work, and bring dependents. You may not start working until you have received your visa.

The exact documentation you will need when you apply for a UK Temporary Work visa will vary greatly depending on the visa you are applying for and the circumstances under which you apply for it. These documents serve as evidence that you fit the visa’s application requirements. However, there are some documents that are almost always required for UK visas. The general required documentation includes the following:

• A valid passport with a blank page for your visa.
• Proof that you can sustain yourself in the UK, usually through recent bank statements.
• Details on the work that you will be conducting, including your job title, occupation code, and annual salary.
• A receipt of payment of the application fee.
• Proof of good character, such as a clean criminal record.
• A negative tuberculosis (TB) test is required if you are entering the UK from a high-risk country.
• Proof that your English language proficiency is up to the standard specified by your visa.
• Proof of relationship with any dependents who will be joining you in the UK.

These documents must be in Welsh or English to be permissible. If not, you will need to arrange for a certified translation of them. The Home Office also reserves the right to request additional documentation if it believes further clarification is required to establish that you fit the visa requirements.

Most temporary work visas require you to have a certificate of sponsorship (CoS) from the business or organisation that will be hiring you. The CoS is a digital record that companies use to confirm their sponsorship of you. Contained within the CoS is the following information:

• A CoS number, which you must give during the application process.
• Information on the sponsored role, including the job title, salary, and start date.
• Employee’s personal and passport details.

Once a CoS has been assigned to you, it must be used to apply for a visa within three months and no more than three months before the specified start date. You must also ensure that you have been assigned a Temporary Worker CoS, and your employer is appropriately licenced to assign this type of CoS.

To assign a CoS, an employer must have a valid sponsor licence. To apply for this, businesses need to prove the following:

• They are a legitimate business.
• They comply with UK immigration law. This includes conducting Right to Work checks to ensure employees are eligible to work in the UK.
• They have adequate infrastructure to manage records of sponsored workers and inform the UKVI whenever the circumstances of sponsored workers change.
• They are financially stable.
• They have no record of past immigration law breaches.

Companies can us the Sponsorship Management System (SMS) to administer and manage their sponsored workers. This is an online portal operated by the Home Office that nominated individuals can use within an organisation. Failure to use this system appropriately can result in a company’s sponsor licence being downgraded, suspended, or revoked. If you are in the UK on a temporary work visa and this sanction hits your employer, it could impact your ability to remain in the UK.

All types of Temporary Worker visa must be applied for online via the gov.uk website.

You will not be able to apply for these visas by any other method.

When applying online, you will have to fill in the online form and give your personal details. You may also have to attend an appointment at a visa application centre to give your biometric information in the form of your fingerprints and photograph.

You will also have to provide your supporting documents to help prove your eligibility for your chosen visa.

All types of Temporary Worker visa cost £340 to apply for.

This fee is the same whether you are applying from inside or outside the UK.

Note that there may be additional fees to pay alongside your application fee, such as if you need to have any documents officially translated, or if you wish to pay to have a faster decision made on your application.

Applicants will also have to pay the immigration healthcare surcharge if they are applying from outside the UK to come to the UK for more than 6 months, or applying from inside the UK.

This fee costs the equivalent of £1035 a year.

You will normally get a decision on your application within 3 weeks if you’re applying from outside the UK, or 8 weeks if you’re applying from inside the UK.