Can I Apply for A UK Charity Worker Visa?

The Charity Worker Visa lets you come to the UK to do unpaid voluntary work for a licensed UK charity for up to 12 months. The rules on what work you can do, and on pay, are strict.

Overview of The UK Charity Worker Visa

The Charity Worker visa is one of the Temporary Work routes (formerly Tier 5). The rules are in Appendix Temporary Work - Charity Worker of the Immigration Rules, and the Home Office publishes separate guidance for sponsors on this route.

What Is The Charity Worker Visa?

The visa covers unpaid voluntary fieldwork that contributes directly to the achievement or advancement of the sponsoring charity's charitable purpose. You cannot receive any payment for the work, including benefits in kind, apart from reasonable expenses and the provision of accommodation. The role must not be a permanent position.

You can stay for up to 12 months, or the period on your certificate of sponsorship plus 14 days, whichever is shorter. The route does not lead to settlement.

Under the Home Office sponsor guidance, you cannot use the route for roles that are mainly routine activities, such as back-office administration, retail or sales, fundraising, or maintaining the charity's offices and other assets.

Who Is It Designed For?

The route suits you if you want to spend a limited period doing hands-on voluntary work for a UK charity, for example on its projects in the community. It does not suit you if you want paid work, a permanent job or a path to settlement in the UK.

Key Differences from Other UK Visas

The Charity Worker visa has no salary requirement, because the work must be unpaid. It lasts up to 12 months and does not lead to settlement.

The Religious Worker visa (another Temporary Work route) covers work in a religious order or supporting religious activities. It can last up to 24 months and also does not lead to settlement.

The Skilled Worker visa is for paid, skilled employment with a licensed sponsor, generally in roles at RQF level 6 or above paying at least £41,700 or the going rate for the job, whichever is higher. It can be granted for up to five years at a time and can lead to settlement.

Basic Eligibility Criteria

To qualify you must be 18 or over, have a certificate of sponsorship from a licensed UK sponsor, and meet the financial requirement. You cannot get this visa if you were given a Religious Worker or Charity Worker visa in the last 12 months, unless you can show you were outside the UK for the whole of that time.

Requirement for A Licensed Sponsor

Your sponsor must hold a sponsor licence covering the Charity Worker route. You can check this on the register of licensed sponsors on GOV.UK.

Sponsors normally need an A-rating to assign new certificates of sponsorship. A B-rating means the sponsor is on an action plan to improve its compliance and can generally only assign certificates to workers it already sponsors.

Certificate of Sponsorship (CoS) Necessity

Your sponsor assigns a certificate of sponsorship through the sponsorship management system. It is an electronic record with a unique reference number that you enter on your visa application, and it sets out your role and its dates.

You must use the certificate within three months of it being assigned, and you can only use it once. The sponsor pays the certificate fee (currently £55 for Temporary Work routes). Your sponsor must also make sure the arrangement complies with UK employment law, including the National Minimum Wage rules on voluntary work. If it does not, the application will be refused.

Job Must Be with A Recognised Charity

The sponsor must be a registered, excepted or exempt charity under the relevant UK charity legislation (for example registered with the Charity Commission for England and Wales, the Office of the Scottish Charity Regulator or the Charity Commission for Northern Ireland), or an ecclesiastical corporation established for charitable purposes.

To check a charity, you can:

1. Search the relevant charity regulator's online register using the charity's name or registration number.
2. Look at the charity's stated charitable purposes.
3. Consider whether the proposed role is genuine fieldwork that directly advances those purposes, rather than administration, fundraising or sales.

Detailed Eligibility Checks

You will also need to show you can support yourself. Depending on your circumstances, you may need a tuberculosis test.

English Language Requirements

There is no English language requirement for the Charity Worker visa, though the charity will want to know you can carry out the role.

Financial Maintenance Requirements

You will usually need at least £1,270 in your bank account, held for at least 28 days in a row, with day 28 falling within 31 days of the date you apply.

You do not need to show these funds if you have been in the UK with valid permission for at least 12 months on the date you apply, or if your A-rated sponsor certifies on your certificate of sponsorship that it will maintain and accommodate you up to the end of your first month in the UK.

If your partner or children apply as your dependants, they must usually also show funds of £285 for a partner, £315 for one child and £200 for each additional child, unless an exemption applies.

Bank statements are the usual evidence. They should show your name, the account details and the balance throughout the 28-day period.

TB Test and Health Surcharge Obligations

If you are coming to the UK for more than six months and you live in a country listed in the Immigration Rules as requiring tuberculosis screening, you will need a TB certificate from a clinic approved by the Home Office. Check the GOV.UK list of countries and clinics.

You will usually also need to pay the Immigration Health Surcharge of £1,035 per year. You do not pay it if you apply from outside the UK for a visa of six months or less.

Criminal Record and Suitability Assessment

You must meet the suitability requirements in Part Suitability of the Immigration Rules. The Home Office can refuse your application for reasons such as certain criminal convictions, previous breaches of immigration law, or using false documents or information. Answer the criminal history questions fully and honestly: failing to disclose information can itself lead to refusal.

Application Preparation Steps

Before you apply, you need a sponsor, a certificate of sponsorship and your supporting documents. You can apply up to three months before the start date of your role.

Finding and Securing A Sponsor

Only charities that hold a Charity Worker sponsor licence can sponsor you. To find a placement:

1. Check the register of licensed sponsors on GOV.UK for charities licensed on the Charity Worker route.
2. Look for voluntary fieldwork placements advertised by those charities, and confirm with the charity that it is able and willing to sponsor you.
3. Once the charity agrees, it will assign you a certificate of sponsorship with the details of your placement.

Gathering Required Documents

Key documents include a current passport or other valid travel document, your certificate of sponsorship reference number, and evidence of your maintenance funds (unless you are exempt). You may also need a TB test certificate, and a certified translation of any document not in English or Welsh.

Check the GOV.UK document list for this route before you apply. The Home Office may ask you for more information depending on your circumstances.

Completing The Online Application Form

You apply online on GOV.UK. Your personal details and role information must match your certificate of sponsorship exactly.

1. Start the online application for the Temporary Work - Charity Worker visa on GOV.UK.
2. Enter your certificate of sponsorship reference number and answer the questions about yourself, your immigration history and any criminal history.
3. Pay the application fee and, if applicable, the Immigration Health Surcharge.
4. Prove your identity and provide your documents, as explained below.

Submitting The Application

After you apply online, you must prove your identity. Depending on your nationality and documents, you will either use the UK Immigration: ID Check app or attend an appointment at a visa application centre to have your fingerprints and photograph taken.

Biometrics Appointment Process

If you need to attend a visa application centre, you will get booking instructions after you apply. Take your passport and any documents you are asked to bring. Availability varies by location, so book early. Some centres charge for optional extra services, which you do not need.

Decision Timeline and Tracking

You will usually get a decision within three weeks if you apply from outside the UK, or eight weeks if you apply from inside the UK. Faster decision services may be available for an extra fee, depending on where you apply.

If your application succeeds, you will receive an eVisa, a digital record of your immigration status that you access through your UK Visas and Immigration (UKVI) account. The Home Office no longer issues Biometric Residence Permits.

Costs Involved

The main costs are the application fee and the Immigration Health Surcharge. Your sponsor pays for the certificate of sponsorship.

Visa Fee Structure

The application fee is £340 per person, whether you apply from outside or inside the UK. Each dependant pays the same fee.

You pay online when you apply. Home Office fees change periodically, so check the current fee on GOV.UK first.

Additional Fees and Surcharges

The Immigration Health Surcharge is usually £1,035 per year for each applicant, including dependants, charged pro rata for part years. For a 12-month stay, a single applicant would pay £340 plus £1,035 (£1,375 in total), before any optional services or TB test costs.

Use the GOV.UK tools to work out the exact surcharge for your visa length and the number of people applying.

Visa Duration and Extensions

The maximum total stay on this route is 12 months.

Standard Stay Length

You can stay for up to 12 months or the time given on your certificate of sponsorship plus 14 days, whichever is shorter. You can enter the UK up to 14 days before your role starts.

If you were given less than the maximum, you can apply to extend your stay, but only up to a total of 12 months (or the time on your certificate of sponsorship plus 14 days, if shorter).

While on this visa you can only do the voluntary work described on your certificate of sponsorship, and you can study (subject to any ATAS requirement). You cannot receive payment for your work, take a permanent job, or access public funds. You must leave the UK before your permission expires unless you have obtained further permission on another route.