Charity Worker visa: In the UK, there are a number of temporary immigration pathways that allow foreign nationals to work legally. However, a UK charity worker visa is likely required for people who particularly want to serve in the nonprofit sector in a short-term voluntary capacity.
From what this visa is and what it permits to whether a charity worker can settle in the UK, the following vital information examines the various facets of this visa.
What is the visa for charitable workers?
For foreign volunteers who are at least eighteen years old and wish to go to the UK to perform temporary, unpaid charity work for a qualified charity organisation, they must have a charity worker visa. This is a sponsored work path, nevertheless, and the Home Office must authorise the UK charity to sponsor this type of employee.
Under the previous regulations, this visa—also known as the volunteer visa UK—replaced the Temporary Worker-Charity Worker visa (T5).
What is permitted by the UK charity worker visa?
The successful candidate will be able to enter the UK on a charity worker visa and work for a licensed sponsor for a duration of 12 months, or for the duration specified on the applicant’s Certificate of Sponsorship (CoS) plus an additional 14 days. All activities carried out in the UK, however, must be brief, voluntary, and unpaid.
A charity worker’s immediate family may seek to go with them to the UK via this method; any leave granted will be in accordance with the primary visa-holder’s or principle applicant’s. This includes the charity worker’s spouse or dependent children under the age of eighteen, as long as they fulfil the necessary conditions, such as a relationship requirement.
If they are not married, charity workers’ dependent partners must have been living together in a marriage-like relationship for at least two years. Additionally, the applicant and their charity worker partner must have a sincere and ongoing connection and plan to live together for the duration of the applicant’s stay in the UK. Unless already granted leave as the dependent child of their parent or parents, children must be under the age of eighteen. If the applicant is sixteen or older, they must not be living on their own.
Who can apply for a UK charity worker visa?
Foreign nationals who are 18 years of age or older who agree to perform voluntary work for a licensed UK sponsor for a maximum of 12 months are eligible for the charity worker visa. An organisation must be either a registered, excepted, or exempt UK charity in accordance with the applicable laws in effect in the relevant region of the UK, or an ecclesiastical corporation that was founded for charitable reasons, in order to be eligible for a license to sponsor charity workers.
Standard visitors to the UK are also permitted to volunteer while they are there, but only if they are working for a charity that is registered with the Scottish Charity Regulator, the Charity Commission for England and Wales, or both. Nonetheless, visitors visiting the UK are not permitted to change their status to charity worker while they are there. This implies that they will have to leave the UK and request for entry clearance from abroad via the charity worker route if they wish to operate in an unpaid voluntary capacity for longer than thirty days.
Visa requirements for charity workers
The UK’s Immigration Rules’ “Appendix Temporary Work – Charity Worker” contains the precise conditions for the charity worker visa. Therefore, those who wish to travel to the UK as charity workers need to:
- Be at least eighteen years old on the application date.
- Possess a current Certificate of Sponsorship (CoS) from an authorised UK sponsor to perform charitable work that is relevant to the sponsoring organization’s mission.
- Fulfil the rules’ financial requirements.
- Truly want to and be capable of performing the voluntary work for which they are receiving sponsorship in the United Kingdom.
- Not plan to work outside of their sponsored charitable endeavours and any other voluntary job that satisfies the necessary conditions.
- Not be rejected on the basis of the general grounds for rejection.
Additionally, the application must not be impacted by the “cooling-off period.” The cooling-off period is applicable if the applicant was in the UK with authorisation under the charity worker or religious worker routes during the 12 months before submitting an application for entry clearance. This implies that a charity worker who has previously been granted leave to work on this route in the UK for a 12-month term is not permitted to leave the country and then reapply on the same route right away.
The applicant will not be eligible for another grant of entry clearance if the cooling-off period is in effect until 12 months have elapsed since the date that their previous permission on the charity worker or religious worker route expired, or the date that they last left the UK, if that date was earlier.
Three requirements must be fulfilled for the work to qualify as “eligible charity work.” First and foremost, the fieldwork must be voluntary and closely tied to the sponsor’s humanitarian goals; this excludes regular tasks like back-office administrative work, retail, and fund-raising positions. Second, unless there are legitimate costs, the labour must be done without compensation. Lastly, the employee cannot be filling a position that is needed permanently, even if it is temporary.
As long as the second employment is in the same industry and at the same level as the primary job, it is acceptable to work up to 20 hours a week under this route. However, a person with a charity worker visa is not allowed to accept a permanent position, get paid for their work, or access public funds like state pensions or benefits.
Financial requirements for a charity worker visa
In order to demonstrate their ability to sustain oneself upon arrival, applicants seeking a charity worker visa in the UK typically need to have at least £1,270 in available cash.
Under the financial criteria for dependents, the following extra cash will be needed for any partner or children who wish to follow or join the charity worker:
- For a dependent partner, £285
- The first dependent kid costs £315
- For each additional dependent child, £200
Crucially, any funds needed for the charity worker to cover their own financial needs must be held in addition to the cash needed for a dependent application. Before the application or applications, these monies must have been retained for a minimum of 28 consecutive days, with day 28 falling within 31 days of submitting an application for a UK charity worker visa.
How a charity worker visa is applied for
From outside the UK, a charity worker visa application must be submitted online. This is due to the fact that it is not possible to move immigration categories to the charity worker route, where it is typically prohibited to switch between any of the temporary worker subcategories. This implies that a potential charity worker must depart and apply for entry clearance on this route from abroad if they are currently in the UK on another route.
A fee and the immigration health surcharge (IHS) must be paid by the applicant for a charity worker visa in order for them to have access to the UK’s National Health Service (NHS) while they are there. Along with any supporting papers, they must also present a passport or other legitimate travel document attesting to their identity and nationality. This could include, for instance, proof of sufficient personal savings and, if they are from a nation where the test is required, the results of their TB test. Depending on the situation, other documents can be required in some cases.
The type of passport an applicant holds and their place of origin will determine how they can demonstrate their identification. In order to receive a biometric residence permit, they might need to have their photo and fingerprints taken at an international visa application centre. They could also be able to utilise the UK Immigration: ID Check app as an alternative.
What is the cost of applying for a UK charity worker visa?
Applying for a charity worker visa in the UK costs £259. Each applicant, including the principal applicant and any dependents, must pay the same fee.
Each candidate will also be responsible for paying the IHS in addition to the application fee. For a 12-month stay, the surcharge fee for applicants over the age of 18 will be £624; for those under the age of 18, it would be £470. The applicant and any dependents must demonstrate that they have sufficient personal savings to sustain themselves upon arrival in the UK, and these expenses are on top of that. On the applicant’s sponsorship certificate, the UK sponsor may, instead, attest to the family’s maintenance.
How much time does it take to obtain a visa for a charity worker?
Up to three months before to the applicant’s scheduled start date of employment in the UK, they may apply for a charity worker visa. The CoS will display this date. They must give their documentation and confirm their identity as part of their application; if they require an appointment, they may need to provide additional time. When they begin the visa application process, they will learn whether they have to make an appointment.
Obtaining a charity worker visa in the UK usually takes up to three weeks, though you might be able to pay for a quicker decision. The successful applicant can enter the UK up to 14 days before to the start date of their job after receiving a visa.
Is it possible to prolong a UK charity worker visa?
The maximum duration allowed in the UK for temporary employment under the charity worker visa route is 12 months. This implies that a person with a charity worker visa is not eligible to request for a one-year extension. They might, however, be allowed to seek to stay longer if their first leave was granted for less than a year, but they will need to do so before their current visa expires. Additionally, they must continue to fulfil the necessary conditions of this route and be in the UK at the time of their application for an extension.
The applicant will be informed if they can use the ID app or if they must make an appointment at a UK Visa and Citizenship Application Services (UKVCAS) service point when submitting an application to renew permission using the charity worker route. An application for an extension will often take up to eight weeks after they have shown identification or attended any appointments, though they may once more be able to pay for a quicker decision. It will cost £259.
Importantly, a charity worker’s permit does not automatically extend for any partner or dependant children in the UK; they must separately ask for an extension. Their leave will remain in effect until the initial expiration date of their current visa if they do not extend their authorisation to continue on this path.
Can someone with a charity worker visa apply to live in the UK?
The charity worker visa route is not an option to settlement, which means that a charity worker visa-holder cannot seek for indefinite leave to remain. With the option to apply to settle later, individuals might be able to change to a different immigration pathway.