Charity Worker Visa
The UK Temporary Worker visa has multiple categories to facilitate foreigners coming to the UK to undertake employment or unpaid voluntary work. One subcategory under the Temporary Work route is the Charity Worker visa which enables migrants to work for registered UK charities.
Like other visa schemes, the applicant has to meet certain eligibility and financial requirements to score sufficient points under the new Point-Based System (PBS).
About Charity Worker Visa
UK Charity Worker visa allows overseas charity workers to undertake voluntary roles for a Home Office-approved charitable organisation. The volunteer would not be offered a salary or wages for their services. The applicant will participate in activities that contribute to the growth and advancement of the UK sponsoring charity.
Under this visa, there are certain limitations as it does not lead to permanent settlement after the visa expiry.
Eligibility Requirements
The applicant has to meet several requirements in order to qualify for the Charity Worker visa.
- The charity worker visa applicant is over the age of 18 years at the date of the application;
- They have a valid Certificate of Sponsorship (CoS) from the employer of the charity that holds a UK sponsor licence;
- The applicant genuinely intends to undertake the voluntary role for free related to the sponsor organisation;
- They have the minimum funds required to support their stay in the UK;
- The applicant did not have leave to remain as a Charity Worker or Religious Worker for the past 12 months;
- The volunteer satisfies the suitability requirements;
- Provision of TB certificate, if required.
Certificate of Sponsorship (CoS)
The applicant must receive a job offer from the licensed employer and is assigned a certificate of sponsorship (CoS) by the employer. CoS will contain all the information about the voluntary role, working hours, etc. The Charity Worker visa applicant must apply within 3 months of the issuance of a certificate of sponsorship.
Financial Requirements
The applicant needs to show that they have a minimum of £1,270 in their bank account to support themselves financially during their stay. If your partner and children aged under 18 are applying as dependents under this route, they need to have a certain amount of money in the bank account to maintain themselves, unless the maintenance is certified by the charity.
Besides the £1,270 for the Charity Worker visa application, the applicant will need to prove the availability of £285 for their partner, £315 for the first child, and £200 for each subsequent child.
The applicant must have held the required amount of money in their bank account for 28 consecutive days within 31 days of applying for this route.
Permitted Work Under Charity Worker Visa
The voluntary work you intend to undertake must meet the three key requirements to be eligible for the Charity Worker visa.
- It must be unpaid voluntary work that contributes directly to the achievements and goals of the sponsoring charitable organization;
- The applicant does not get a wage or salary for the work except for the payment of expenses incurred in performing duties;
- The volunteer is hired for a temporary work assignment.
In addition, the applicant is prohibited from undertaking certain roles in retail, fundraising, administration, and maintenance of the office and assets.
Length of Stay and Extension
If successful, the applicant will get permission to stay for a maximum of 1 year or the time period mentioned on the Certificate of Sponsorship and extra 14 days, whichever is shorter.
It may be possible to extend a Charity Worker for the maximum period of 12 months.
Applying for Charity Worker Visa
Visa applicants must apply online and prove their identity by providing biometric information or scanning the identity documents using the official UK Immigration: ID Check app.
The Home Office application fee is £259. Besides the application fee, the applicant is required to pay Immigration Health Surcharge, which is usually £624 per year.
The application may be submitted up to 3 months prior to start date recorded on the CoS. The applicant will generally receive the decision within three weeks of the date of application or provision of biometric information. Priority service may be availed to get a faster decision.
