UK Seasonal Worker visa
Why would someone want to work in the UK?
With a vibrant urban environment, stunning rural scenery, over 7,000 miles of breathtaking coastline, and rich history and culture, it's no wonder this historic nation draws more foreign workers than any other nation. It remains a top destination for healthcare professionals looking for a luxurious lifestyle and fruitful professional advantages.
Why is Pulse?
By signing up with Pulse, you can access fantastic career opportunities with the UK's many cutting-edge private healthcare providers and the nation's renowned National Health Service (NHS). It's the best way to broaden your professional experience globally while relocating to one of the world's most exciting locations.
Regarding the UK
The United Kingdom (UK), a sovereign state of England, Wales, Scotland, and Northern Ireland, is off the northwestern coast of continental Europe. The UK, home to over 66.5 million people, is one of the world's top commercial, financial, and cultural hubs.
Major Cities in The UK
Before you shift to the UK on a work visa, know the most prominent cities in the country. They are as follows:
- London – It’s the capital of England and the UK, home to attractions like Big Ben, Tower Bridge, and Trafalgar Square.
- Birmingham – The second-largest city in England. It’s also one of the top destinations in the UK for shopping and conventions.
- Manchester –The third-biggest city in the UK. It’s renowned for football, music, and cultural activities.
- Leeds –A city renowned as the heart of higher education and business. It’s a city where you can witness classic Victorian architecture at its best.
- Oxford –The famed university town of England houses the celebrated University of Oxford.
Temporary Work – Seasonal Worker Visa
Workers who have a job offer in the UK and wish to work seasonally in horticulture or poultry production with a sponsor who is an authorised scheme operator may apply for a Temporary Work-Seasonal Worker Visa.
One who chooses the horticulture work route as a seasonal worker can only remain in the UK for six months during any 12 months. A person who works in poultry production can stay in the UK for up to a year, starting no earlier than 2 October and ending no later than 31 December.
The Seasonal Worker visa is not a path to permanent residency, and applicants cannot be joined by partners or children who are dependent on them.
Conditions for a Seasonal Worker Visa for Temporary Employment
You must demonstrate to UK Visas and Immigration that you are eligible for a Temporary Work - Seasonal Worker Visa by showing the following:
- You are over the age of 18;
- You possess a current "Certificate of Sponsorship" from your employer that contains details about the position that has been offered to you;
- You will be employed in a position that qualifies under "horticulture" or "poultry production";
- You have at least £1,270 in cash on hand that has been held for at least 28 days, or your employer has agreed to pay at least £1,270 towards your first month's expenses in the UK;
- You have submitted all necessary biometric data and paid the visa application fee and immigration health charge;
- Under the general grounds for refusal, you are not a victim of refusal.
Your particular situation will help you figure out what you need to do. For professional guidance, you might want to speak with an immigration attorney.
It would be best if you had a job offer from a sponsor approved by the Home Office before you can apply for a Temporary Work - Seasonal Worker Visa. We cannot independently set up job offers in the UK or sponsor visa applicants since we are only authorised to act as legal representatives.
Temporary Work – Seasonal Worker Visa Eligible Roles
Your proposed role must be eligible to qualify for a Temporary Work–Seasonal Worker Visa within the horticulture or poultry production sector.
This means that to meet the requirements for a Seasonal Worker visa based on work within the horticulture sector, the type of produce being farmed must be:
- Protected Vegetables – grown in glasshouse systems or
- Field Vegetables – grown outdoors, including vegetables, herbs, leafy salads and potatoes; or
- Soft Fruit – grown outdoors or under cover, e.g. in glasshouses or a polytunnel. This includes strawberries, raspberries, blackcurrants, blueberries and all rabes and rubus species or
- Top Fruit (Orchard Fruit) – trees that bear fruit, e.g. apples, plums, cherries, apricots, or
- Vine and Bines – both twining or climbing flexible stems of certain plants, e.g. hops, grapes, or
- Mushrooms – typically cover Agaricus bisporus species but can also include more exotic species (commonly grown indoors).
- Bulbs and cut flowers (such as daffodils) grown outdoors and indoors; or
- Pot plants, such as seasonal bedding plants like pansies, violas, germaniums and poinsettias;
- Hardy ornamental nursery stock – this includes Christmas trees and covers shrubs, roses, ornamental trees and perennials;
- Tree and forest nurseries.
To meet the requirements 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 Seasonal Worker Visa, you must have a valid Certificate of Sponsorship for the role you are planning to do. This is recorded electronically.
Your Certificate of Sponsorship must have been issued by a sponsor who:
- Is listed as A-rated on the Home Office’s register of licensed sponsors; and
- Has an endorsement from the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs about the Seasonal Worker route; and
- Is licensed by the Gangmasters and Labour Abuse Authority.
Your Certificate of Sponsorship must have been issued up to three months before your Seasonal Worker visa application date. 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 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 three months after the date 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 applicable 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 of paid employment each week and
- If 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.
Your Sponsor can grant you a multiple-entry Certificate of Sponsorship, allowing 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 more than 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.
Financial Requirement for Temporary Worker - Seasonal Worker Visas
You must have cash funds of at least £1,270 available to demonstrate that you can support yourself in the UK, subject to the exemptions below.
The funds must have been in your possession for at least 28 days in a row, ending 31 days before the date you applied for a temporary work visa for a seasonal worker.
If your employer can pay your expenses during your first month in the UK up to at least £1,270, you will be exempt if necessary. On your Certificate of Sponsorship, your sponsor must attest to this.
Process for Applying for a Seasonal Worker Visa for Temporary Work
Seasonal worker visa applications must be submitted from countries other than the UK.
Employees in the edible or ornamental horticulture industries may apply at any time.
The earliest you can apply for a Temporary Work - Seasonal Worker Visa is three months before the day you are expected to begin working. Your Certificate of Sponsorship contains information about this.
If the role is in the poultry production sector and the Certificate of Sponsorship attests to this, the application date must be on or before November 15 of each year.
Within three weeks, you ought to learn the outcome of your application for a seasonal worker visa for temporary employment.
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
Could you please apply for a Temporary Seasonal Worker Visa to work in the horticulture sector and your application is successful? In that case, 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 six months in any 12 months, whichever is shorter.
Suppose you apply for a Temporary Work – Seasonal Worker Visa to work in the poultry production sector, and your application is successful. In that case, 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
Whilst in the UK as a Seasonal Worker, you will be permitted to work in the job you have been sponsored for. You will be allowed to study (for some courses, you’ll need an Academic Technology Approval Scheme certificate).
You will not be allowed to accept a permanent job, work in a second job or work in a job not described in your Certificate of Sponsorship. You will also not be entitled to public funds.
Switching into the Temporary Work – Seasonal Worker Visa Route
Switching into the Temporary Work – Seasonal Worker Visa route or between other Temporary Work routes is impossible.
How AtoZ Serwis Plus Help You ?
Welcome to AtoZ Serwis Plus, your trusted partner for UK work visa solutions. If you’re considering working in the UK, our team of experienced immigration experts is here to help. Obtaining a work visa in the UK can be challenging, but we make it easy for you. Our personalised and tailored assistance will guide you every step of the way.
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