UK SEASONAL WORKER VISA

The UK Seasonal Worker Visa is for workers who have a job offer in the UK to do seasonal horticulture work or poultry production work with a sponsor who is an approved scheme operator.

A person on the Seasonal Worker horticulture work route can stay in the UK for a maximum period of six months in any 10-month period. A poultry production worker can stay in the UK for a period of time beginning no earlier than 2 October and ending no later than 31 December each year.

The Seasonal Worker visa is not a route to settlement and applicants cannot be joined by dependent partners and children.

1. Requirements for a UK Seasonal Worker Visa

In order to qualify for a Temporary Work – Seasonal Worker Visa, you will need to satisfy UK Visas and Immigration that:

• You are aged 18 or over;
• You have not been in the UK as a Seasonal Worker during the 4 months immediately before the start date stated by your sponsor on your Certificate of Sponsorship;
• You have a valid ‘Certificate of Sponsorship’ from your sponsor with information about the role you have been offered if you are applying for a role in the poultry production sector, you must apply on or before 15 November each year;
• You will be working in an eligible role, which falls within the list of ‘horticulture’ or ‘poultry production’;
• You have funds of at least £1,270 held for 28 days or your A-rated sponsor has agreed to cover your costs during your first month in the UK to an amount of at least £1,270;
• You have paid the visa application fee and provided any required biometric information; the Seasonal Worker route does not require payment of the Immigration Health Surcharge;
• You do not fall for refusal under Part Suitability.

The exact requirements you will need to satisfy will vary depending on your circumstances. You may want to speak to an immigration lawyer for expert advice.

2. Eligible Seasonal Worker Visa Roles

In order to qualify for a Temporary Work – Seasonal Worker Visa within the horticulture sector or poultry production sector, your proposed role must be an eligible role.

This means that, in order to meet the requirements for a Seasonal Worker visa on the basis of 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 both outdoors or under cover e.g. in glasshouses or a polytunnel. This includes strawberries, raspberries, blackcurrants, blueberries and all ribes 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 covers Agaricus bisporus species but can also include more exotic species typically grown indoors; or
• Bulbs and cut flowers such as daffodils grown outdoors and indoors; or
• Pot plants, such as seasonal bedding plants like pansies, violas, geraniums and poinsettias; or
• Hardy ornamental nursery stock – this includes Christmas trees and covers shrubs, roses, ornamental trees and perennials; or
• Tree and forest nurseries.

In order to meet the requirements for a Seasonal Worker visa on the basis of 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.

3. Certificate of Sponsorship Requirement for a Seasonal Worker Visa

In order to obtain a Temporary Work – 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 in relation to the Seasonal Worker route; and
• Is licensed by the Gangmasters and Labour Abuse Authority.

Your Certificate of Sponsorship must have been issued not more than 3 months before the date of your Seasonal Worker visa application. 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.

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.

Your Certificate of Sponsorship must confirm either:

• 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, you will be paid at least £12.71 for each hour worked and receive at least 32 hours pay each week; or
• If you are being sponsored a butcher, bird/game dresser, killer and plucker, plucker, poulterer, poultry processor, poultry sticker or trusser in the poultry production sector, you will be paid at least £15.88 for each hour worked and £38,700 per year.

If the sponsor anticipates that you will need to travel in and out of the UK regularly in connection with your job, the sponsor may tick the ‘Multiple entry’ box when assigning the Certificate of Sponsorship. This does not provide extra travel rights or impose extra restrictions; a Seasonal Worker who entered with entry clearance can leave and re-enter the UK while their permission remains valid provided they continue to meet the route requirements.

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 £38,700.

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 £38,700, 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.

4. How to Check Your Sponsor and Job Offer

Before applying for a UK Temporary Work – Seasonal Worker Visa, you should check that the sponsor named on your Certificate of Sponsorship is an approved Seasonal Worker scheme operator. The sponsor must be A-rated on the Home Office register of licensed sponsors and authorised to sponsor workers on the Seasonal Worker route.

You should also check that your Certificate of Sponsorship accurately records the job you have been offered, including the job title, duties, pay, weekly hours, sector, work location and start and end dates. These details must be consistent with the Seasonal Worker route and the work you will actually undertake in the UK.

Applicants should not rely on informal job offers, social media adverts or unverified intermediaries. As legal representatives, Richmond Chambers can advise on the requirements for a Seasonal Worker visa application and prepare Seasonal Worker visa applications, but we are not able to arrange job offers in the UK or sponsor visa applicants ourselves.

5. Pay, Hours and Employment Terms: What to Check Before Applying

Before submitting a Temporary Work – Seasonal Worker Visa application, applicants should check that the Certificate of Sponsorship accurately records the role, hourly rate, weekly hours, occupation code, sector and proposed dates of work.

Only guaranteed basic gross pay counts towards the relevant pay assessment. Allowances, overtime, bonuses, accommodation allowances, cost of living allowances, immigration cost payments and travel or subsistence payments should not be relied on to meet the pay requirement.

Applicants should also check any proposed deductions, accommodation arrangements and travel costs carefully against current employment law and Home Office guidance. The role must comply with relevant employment legislation, including the National Minimum Wage, Working Time Regulations and any applicable Agricultural Wages Order.

If the Certificate of Sponsorship does not accurately reflect the job being offered, or the pay, hours or role do not meet the requirements of the Seasonal Worker route, the application may be refused. Where the terms offered are not supported by the sponsor’s records or payroll arrangements, this may also indicate a sponsor compliance issue.

6. Seasonal Worker Visa Financial Requirement

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

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 if your A-rated sponsor confirms on your Certificate of Sponsorship that they will, if necessary, maintain and accommodate you up to the end of the first month of your employment, to an amount of at least £1,270. Your sponsor will need to confirm this on your Certificate of Sponsorship.

7. Seasonal Worker Visa Documents Checklist

When applying for a UK Temporary Work – Seasonal Worker Visa, you should normally prepare the following documents and information:

• A valid passport or other travel document showing your identity and nationality;
• Your Certificate of Sponsorship reference number;
• Financial evidence showing that you meet the maintenance requirement, unless your sponsor has certified maintenance on your Certificate of Sponsorship;
• Any biometric information required as part of the application process;
• Any additional documents requested by the online application form or by the Home Office after submission; and
• Certified translations of any documents that are not in English or Welsh, except for your passport.

At the time of drafting, the Home Office states that the tuberculosis certificate requirement does not apply to Seasonal Worker applications. Applicants should still check the current Home Office requirements at the time of applying, particularly where the online application process requests additional documents.

8. Seasonal Worker Visa Timeline and Key Deadlines

The earliest date on which you can apply for a UK Temporary Work – Seasonal Worker Visa is 3 months before the start date stated on your Certificate of Sponsorship. The start date on the Certificate of Sponsorship is therefore important and should be checked carefully before the application is submitted.

If you are applying to work in poultry production, your Seasonal Worker visa application must be submitted on or before 15 November each year. Horticulture workers are limited to a maximum period of 6 months in the UK in any 10-month period.

The 4-month period before the start date on the Certificate of Sponsorship is also relevant where an applicant has previously been in the UK as a Seasonal Worker. If the start date is too soon after a previous period in the UK on this route, the application may be refused.

Applicants and sponsors should ensure that the Certificate of Sponsorship start date, sector and proposed period of work are correct before applying. Applying too early, applying after the poultry deadline, or relying on a Certificate of Sponsorship with an incorrect start date may lead to refusal or delay.

9. Seasonal Worker Visa Application Process

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

You can apply for a horticulture Seasonal Worker visa at any time of year.

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 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.

10. Seasonal Worker Visa Application Fee

The Home Office application fee for a Temporary Work – Seasonal Worker Visa application is currently £340.

11. Duration of a 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 or a maximum period of 6 months in any 10-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.

12. Seasonal Worker Visa: What You Can and Cannot Do

If your UK Temporary Work – Seasonal Worker Visa application is successful, you will be permitted to work in the job described in your Certificate of Sponsorship. You should not undertake any other work, including a second job or a role which is not covered by your Certificate of Sponsorship.

You will be permitted to study while you are in the UK, although for some courses you will need an Academic Technology Approval Scheme certificate before you can start your studies.

You may leave and re-enter the UK while your permission remains valid, provided that you continue to meet the requirements of the route and travel within the period of your permission. You will not be permitted to take permanent employment, access public funds, or be joined in the UK by dependent partners or children under this route.

13. Switching into the Seasonal Worker Visa Route

It is not possible to switch into the Temporary Work – Seasonal Worker route from within the UK.

14. Common Reasons for Seasonal Worker Visa Refusal

Seasonal Worker visa applications may be refused where the Certificate of Sponsorship is defective. The Certificate of Sponsorship must be valid, must have been assigned no more than 3 months before the date of application, and must not have been withdrawn by the sponsor or cancelled by the Home Office. A Certificate of Sponsorship which has already been used in a previous application which was granted or refused cannot be relied upon again.

Applicants should also ensure that they apply from outside the UK. It is not possible to switch into the Seasonal Worker route from another immigration category, or to extend Seasonal Worker permission from within the UK. Where the role is in the poultry production sector, the application must be made on or before 15 November in the relevant year.

Other common issues include failing to meet the financial requirement where maintenance has not been certified by the sponsor, applying for a role outside the eligible horticulture or poultry production sectors, or relying on a role where the pay, hours, occupation code or duties do not meet the route requirements. Applicants may also be refused on suitability grounds, including where there are relevant previous immigration breaches, false or inconsistent information, or wider concerns about conduct or credibility.

In some cases the issue may arise from the sponsor or scheme operator rather than the applicant. This can include problems with the sponsor licence, the operator’s approval to sponsor Seasonal Workers, the sector or role covered by the scheme, or wider compliance issues affecting the validity of the Certificate of Sponsorship.

15. Seasonal Worker Visa Frequently Asked Questions