Temporary workers | Work Visas to the UK

You will find useful pages surrounding temporary work visas that are available for you in the UK. The visa application under the temporary work categories can be applied from outside of the UK and in some instances, you may be able to witch in country, however this depends on the visa status you hold.

You will need to have a sponsor who intends to provide a valid certificate of sponsorship prior to the date of application. A sponsor cannot simply provide a cover letter to support this application as a temporary worker in the UK. You will need the full details of the assigned Certificate of Sponsorship (CoS) at the date of your visa application as a temporary worker.

Now let’s look at briefly some of the visa categories under the temporary work visas:

1. The creative and sporting category. This allows a person to come to the UK and be either work or perform as a sports person, entertainer or creative artists.

2. Charity workers can apply as a temporary worker in order to carry out voluntary work and not be paid by the sponsor.

3. Religious workers, who intends to carry out non-pastoral duties in the UK but cannot fill positions in the UK on a permanent basis as this is only a temporary visa.

4.  The Government Authorised Exchange program, which is a UK approved schemes, in order to share knowledge, experience and the best practice in the applied fields.

5. The International Agreement scheme, which is usually covered by international laws.

6. Seasonal Workers which is enabling employers in the edible horticulture sector to access seasonal workers, via an approved scheme operator.

Evidences required for a temporary work visa

Depending on the category of visa you intend to apply, there are some specified documents you will require to support the visa application as a temporary worker. When providing documents to the Home Office, this must include translated documents in English.

A key component to your application for a temporary work visa is the Certificate of Sponsorship also known as the CoS. This is a digital work permit required to lodge your application. At the time of applying for the temporary work visa, you must use documents for your application that are issued from an authorised organisation. The Home Office regularly updates it’s websites with details related to registered sponsors. If an organisation is not a registered sponsor, they cannot issue a CoS.

General grounds of refusal on a temporary work visa

Whilst a migrant will meet the requirements of a visa, they must also not fall for refusal under the general grounds of refusal. This includes but not limited to previous overstaying in the UK, false representation, wrongful information provide on previous visa applications, criminal offences to name some of those.

Termination of your employment under the temporary work visa

If your sponsor cancels their sponsorship, the Home Office are likely to curtail your visa and will expire within 60 days once you are notified. All decisions to curtail your visa do not come with a right to appeal. You may be able to extend your leave on another immigration category but you must take legal advice if you intend to do so.

Genuine test when applying for a temporary work visa in the UK

The Home Office as part of their compliance checks will need to be satisfied that you will be able to undertake the role. The Certificate of Sponsorship (CoS) sets out the job title and the duties that you will be undertaking. The Home Office will carry out an investigation including a possibly interview to make sure the role is genuine and you are capable of undertaking that role.

As the Home Office conducts their investigation, they will make an assessment and the burden of proof sits on the migrant to satisfy the immigration rules. At the time of their assessment for the temporary work visa, the Home Office will need to be satisfied that you understand the job role, have the relevant knowledge as well as experience to undertaking the position that you have been granted the sponsorship and have sound knowledge of your sponsor.

The Home Office will further ask questions related to the recruitment process, how you had applied for the role, the selection process, reasons you applied for the role and why your sponsor had found you suitable. Whilst the Home Office takes those as part of their consideration, the assessment can lead to other areas of concerns.

General point scoring under the temporary work visa

The key requirements on the point based system is that you must meet the 40 points which is combined with the CoS and financial maintenance as specified by the Immigration Rules namely Appendix A & C respectively.

Administrative review on a temporary work visa

If your application under the temporary work visa is refused, then you will be able to request a review of the decision. This is to identify any case working errors made by the Home Office at the date of application. You cannot provide new information or evidences at the date of application.

Taking legal advice on a temporary work visa in the UK

We at ICS Legal will provide guidance and correct advice on which route to apply under the temporary work visas and we find this is essential when considering working in the UK. You can speak to one of our UK Immigration Lawyers on 0207 237 3388 or you can email us at info@icslegal.com.