TEMPORARY WORK – SEASONAL WORKER VISA

The Temporary Work – Seasonal Worker Visa is designed for individuals who have received a job offer in the UK to engage in seasonal horticulture work or poultry production work with an approved scheme operator as their sponsor.

Under this visa category, individuals employed in seasonal horticulture work can stay in the UK for a maximum of six months within any 12-month period. For poultry production workers, the stay is limited to a period beginning no earlier than 2 October and ending no later than 31 December each year.

It’s important to note that the Seasonal Worker visa does not lead to settlement in the UK, and applicants cannot be accompanied by dependent partners or children.

Requirements for a Temporary Work – Seasonal Worker Visa

To qualify for a Temporary Work – Seasonal Worker Visa, you must meet the following criteria set by UK Visas and Immigration:

1. Age: You must be 18 years old or older.
2. Certificate of Sponsorship: You need a valid ‘Certificate of Sponsorship’ from your employer, detailing the role you’ve been offered.
3. Eligible Role: Your job must fall within the categories of ‘horticulture’ or ‘poultry production’.
4. Funds: You must have access to funds of at least £1,270, held for 28 days, or your employer must agree to cover your costs during your first month in the UK to an amount of at least £1,270.
5. Visa Application Requirements: You must have paid the visa application fee and Immigration Health Charge and provided any required biometric information.
6. General Grounds for Refusal: You must not fall under any of the general grounds for refusal.

The specific requirements can vary based on your individual circumstances. Consider seeking advice from an immigration lawyer for tailored guidance.

Before applying for a Temporary Work – Seasonal Worker Visa, you must secure a job offer from an employer approved by the Home Office. Please note that as legal representatives, we cannot arrange job offers in the UK or sponsor visa applicants ourselves.

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Temporary Work – Seasonal Worker Visa Eligible Roles

To qualify for a Temporary Work – Seasonal Worker Visa in the horticulture or poultry production sector, your proposed role must fall within specific eligible categories.

For the horticulture sector, eligible roles include the farming of produce such as:

• Protected Vegetables: grown in glasshouse systems
• Field Vegetables: grown outdoors, including vegetables, herbs, leafy salads, and potatoes
• Soft Fruit: grown both outdoors or under cover, including strawberries, raspberries, blackcurrants, blueberries, and other rabes and rubus species
• Top Fruit (Orchard Fruit): fruit-bearing trees such as apples, plums, cherries, and apricots
• Vine and Bines: twining or climbing flexible stems of certain plants, e.g., hops and grapes
• Mushrooms: typically includes Agaricus bisporus species but can also include more exotic species, typically grown indoors
• Bulbs and cut flowers: grown outdoors and indoors, such as daffodils
• Pot plants: seasonal bedding plants like pansies, violas, geraniums, and poinsettias
• Hardy ornamental nursery stock: includes Christmas trees, shrubs, roses, ornamental trees, and perennials
• Tree and forest nurseries

Your proposed role must align with these categories to meet the requirements for a Seasonal Worker visa in the horticulture sector

To qualify for a Seasonal Worker visa based on poultry production work, the work must involve undertaking one of the following roles:

• Butcher;
• Bird/game dresser;
• Killer and plucker;
• Plucker;
• Poulterer;
• Poultry processor;
• Poultry sticker;
• Trusser;
• Food operative;
• Poultry catcher/handler;
• Poultry vaccinator;
• Poultry meat packer.

Certificate of Sponsorship (CoS) Requirement

To obtain a Temporary Work – Seasonal Worker Visa, you must have a valid Certificate of Sponsorship (CoS) for the role you are planning to do. This CoS is recorded electronically.

Your CoS must have been issued by a sponsor who:

• Is listed as A-rated on the Home Office’s register of licensed sponsors;
• Has an endorsement from the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs in relation to the Seasonal Worker route;
• Is licensed by the Gangmasters and Labour Abuse Authority.

Your CoS must have been issued not more than 3 months before the date of your Seasonal Worker visa application. If the CoS confirms that the role is in the poultry production sector, the date of application must be on or before 15 November in each year.

Your Certificate of Sponsorship must include certain mandatory information, including:

• Details of your name, job, and salary;
• A start date which is no more than 3 months after the date of your Seasonal Worker visa application;
• Confirmation that the Certificate of Sponsorship has not been used in a previous application which was either granted or refused and has not been withdrawn by the sponsor or cancelled by the Home Office;
• Confirmation that the position complies with relevant legislation such as the relevant Agricultural Wages Order rate, where this applies, and the Working Time Regulations;
• Confirmation that you will be paid at least £10.42 for each hour worked.

Your Certificate of Sponsorship must confirm that you will:

• Be paid at least £10.42 for each hour worked; and
• If you are being sponsored in the horticulture sector or as a food operative, poultry catcher/handler, poultry vaccinator, or poultry meat packer in the poultry production sector, receive at least 32 hours paid employment each week; and
• If you are being sponsored as a butcher, bird/game dresser, killer and plucker, plucker, poulterer, poultry processor, poultry sticker, or trusser in the poultry production sector, be paid at least £26,200 per year

It is possible for your Sponsor to grant you a multiple entry Certificate of Sponsorship, which will allow you to leave and return to the UK.

The hourly rate only includes guaranteed basic gross pay (before income tax and including employee pension and national insurance contributions) and does not include other pay and benefits.

If the applicant is being sponsored to work more than 48 hours a week, only the salary for the first 48 hours a week will be considered towards the salary threshold of £26,200.

If the applicant is being sponsored to work a pattern where the regular hours are not the same each week, resulting in uneven pay, work in excess of 48 hours in some weeks can be considered towards the salary threshold of £26,200, providing the average over a regular cycle (which can be less than, but not more than, 17 weeks) is not more than 48 hours a week. Any unpaid rest weeks will count towards the average when considering whether the salary thresholds are met.

Temporary Work – Seasonal Worker Visa Financial Requirement

You will need to have cash funds of at least £1,270 available to show that you can support yourself in the UK, subject to the exemption below.

You will need to have held the money for at least 28 consecutive days, ending not more than 31 days before the date of your Temporary Work – Seasonal Worker Visa application.

You will be exempt from this requirement if your employer can cover your costs during your first month in the UK to an amount of at least £1,270, if necessary. Your sponsor will need to confirm this on your Certificate of Sponsorship.

Temporary Work – Seasonal Worker Visa Application Process

Applications for Temporary Work- Seasonal Worker Visas must be submitted from outside of the UK.

There is no time limit on the application for workers in the edible or ornamental horticulture sector.

The earliest you can apply for a Temporary Work – Seasonal Worker Visa is 3 months before the date on which you are due to start work. This date can be found on your Certificate of Sponsorship.

If the Certificate of Sponsorship confirms that the role is in the poultry production sector, the date of application must be on or before 15 November in each year.

You should receive a decision on your Temporary Work – Seasonal Worker Visa application within 3 weeks.

Temporary Work – Seasonal Worker Visa Application Fees and Fee Reduction

The Home Office application fee for a Temporary Work – Seasonal Worker Visa application is currently £244.

This fee will be automatically reduced by £55 if you are a national of:

Austria, Belgium, Croatia, Republic of Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Luxembourg, Malta, Netherlands, North Macedonia, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Slovakia, Spain, Sweden, or Turkey.

Duration of a Temporary Work – Seasonal Worker Visa

If you apply for a Temporary Work – Seasonal Worker Visa to work in the horticulture sector and your application is successful, you will be granted permission to enter and remain in the UK for either the period of the job on your Certificate of Sponsorship plus 14 days before and 14 days after that period maximum period or 6 months in any 12 month period, whichever is shorter.

If you apply for a Temporary Work – Seasonal Worker Visa to work in the poultry production sector and your application is successful, you will be granted permission to enter and remain in the UK for either the period of the job on the Certificate of Sponsorship plus 14 days before and 14 days after that period or the period commencing on 2 October and ending on 31 December in the year on which the application is submitted (inclusive), whichever is shorter.

Conditions of stay as a Temporary Work – Seasonal Worker Visa holder

While in the UK as a Seasonal Worker, you will be permitted to work in the job you have been sponsored for. You will also be permitted to study, though for some courses, you’ll need an Academic Technology Approval Scheme certificate.

However, you will not be allowed to accept a permanent job, work in a second job, or work in a job that has not been described in your Certificate of Sponsorship. Additionally, you will not be entitled to public funds.

Switching into the Temporary Work – Seasonal Worker Visa Route

You cannot switch into the Temporary Work – Seasonal Worker Visa route or between other Temporary Work routes.

Temporary Work – Seasonal Worker Visa Refusals

If your application for a Temporary Work – Seasonal Worker Visa is refused, you may be able to make a fresh application or apply for Administrative Review.

How Our Immigration Barristers Can Help

Our team of business immigration barristers has extensive experience assisting employers and skilled workers in various industries and companies of all sizes. We can help you plan to ensure you meet your start date and align your career progression with your immigration goals.

We are known for being approachable and proactive in understanding and fulfilling our clients’ needs. Our highly driven team is dedicated to providing clear and reliable immigration advice to skilled workers, delivering a professional and friendly service.