The Tier 5 Temporary Workers Visa provides individuals the opportunity to come to the UK with a job offer for a specific purpose or temporary short term employment. It consists of five sub categories to clarify the range of employment for different industries.
ELIGIBILITY
An individual must have the following:
- A certificate of sponsorship reference number from his UK sponsor
- Saving of £945 in his bank account for at least 90 days before applying, this is to prove that he can support himself during his stay in the UK. This is not required if the sponsor is a fully approved 'A-rated' and has stated on the certificate of sponsorship that they will certify your maintenance.
An individual must apply for visa within 3 months of receiving his certificate of sponsorship. One can apply for a visa up to 3 months before his date of travel to the UK and he can expect the decision on his visa within 3 weeks of applying. All applicants applying under this scheme will require prior entry clearance. All applicants will need to satisfy a points test and maintenance requirement under this scheme. A total of 40 points is required for the applicants to submit an application successfully for this scheme. The point distribution are as follows:
- Certificate of sponsorship- 30 points
- Maintenance- 10 points
The five subcategorise of Tier 5 Temporary Worker visa are as follows:
Tier 5 (Temporary workers)- Creative and Sporting
This category is for sports persons, entertainers and creative artists.
Requirements
Sportspeople : Applicants under this category will need to be internationally established at the highest level in their industry. Their employment in the UK must intend to make a 'significant' contribution to the development of that sport in the UK
Creative Worker: Applicants under this category are those involved in dance, film, theatre or television. They are required to demonstrate that they are attending specific engagements in the UK and donot wish to settle in the UK for any business.
Tier 5 (Temporary workers)- Charity Workers
This category is for individuals looking for opportunity to come to the UK temporarily and take up unpaid voluntary work in relation to the objectives of their sponsor.
Requirements
Applicants must intend to work temporarily and must undertake fieldwork directly in relation to the aims of the sponsoring organisation/ charity. They will be required to comply with the conditions of their visa and leave the UK upon expiry of the visa.
Tier 5 (Temporary workers)- Religious workers
This category provides individuals with the opportunity to come to the UK temporarily and work as religious workers in a non- pastoral role or visiting religious workers who are employed abroad in the same capacity. Activities under this scheme includes preaching, performing religious rights, reading congregations of faith and some pastoral and non - pastoral duties.
Requirements
The applicants must be qualified in their role or for the job they are willing to undertake in the UK. The applicant must work for the sponsor only as a visiting religious worker and will be required to work only at a specified location.
Tier 5 (Temporary workers)- Government authorised exchange
This provides individuals with the opportunity to temporarily come to the UK through approved schemes. These schemes are designed to share knowledge, experience and work practice through placements in the UK.
Requirements
The applicants will be required to enter the UK solely to work or train temporarily through an approved exchange scheme. They cannot establish a business in the UK and will be expected to meet the requirements of the individual exchange scheme they are attached to. All work that an individual undertakes under this scheme must be skilled work which is deemed to be the equivalent of N/SVQ Level 3 or higher.
Tier 5 (Temporary workers)-International Agreement
This scheme is for individuals coming to the UK to provide a service on a contractual agreement which is covered under International Law. This includes the General Agreement on Trade in Services (GATS) or other international agreements, employees of overseas governments and international organisations as well as private servants in diplomatic households.
Requirements
General Agreement on Trade in Services (GATS): The applicants will be required to work for a sponsor of a country that is a member of the World Trade Organisation and have signed up to the agreement; or has a bilateral agreement with the UK or the EU; or is a member of the European Union.
Employers of Overseas Governments and International Organisations: The applicants will be required to be under a contract of employment with the overseas Government or international organisation. The applicants cannot be employed in any other employment for its sponsor other than that specified in the certificate of sponsorship.
An individual can stay in the UK for up to 12 or 24 months (depending on the scheme he is applying for) or the time given on his certificate of sponsorship plus 28 days, whichever is shorter. The applicant can take his family members (dependants) to the UK, the dependants includes his spouse/ civil partner and children under 18 years.
