Can I Apply for A UK Seasonal Work Visa?

The UK Seasonal Worker Visa lets you do temporary work in horticulture and poultry through a licensed scheme operator. This guide covers eligibility, sponsorship, pay, maintenance funds, costs and how to apply.

What Is The UK Seasonal Worker Visa?

The Seasonal Worker visa (formerly part of "Tier 5 (Temporary Worker)") is one of the Temporary Work routes and is governed by Appendix Temporary Work – Seasonal Worker of the Immigration Rules. It lets you come to the UK to work temporarily in horticulture or poultry production.

Key Features

• Horticulture (for example, picking and packing fruit, vegetables, mushrooms or flowers): up to 6 months in any 10-month period.
• Poultry: from 2 October to 31 December in the same year.
• You must be sponsored by a licensed scheme operator, not directly by a farm.
• There is no English language requirement.
• You cannot bring your partner or children as dependants, take permanent work or a second job, or claim public funds.
• You must apply from outside the UK. The visa cannot be extended beyond the 6-month (horticulture) or 31 December (poultry) limit, and it is not a route to settlement.

The government sets an annual limit on the number of Seasonal Worker visas available for horticulture and for poultry, so places depend on scheme operators' allocations.

How It Compares with Other Temporary Routes

Eligibility Criteria for Applicants

According to GOV.UK and the Immigration Rules, you must:

1. be 18 or over when you apply;
2. have a certificate of sponsorship reference number from a licensed Seasonal Worker scheme operator (valid for 3 months from the date it is assigned, and usable only once);
3. have at least £1,270 in your bank account for 28 days in a row, with day 28 falling within 31 days of your application, unless your sponsor certifies your maintenance on the certificate of sponsorship;
4. for a certificate of sponsorship assigned after 11 November 2025, not have been in the UK as a Seasonal Worker in the 4 months immediately before the start date of the new job;
5. meet the general suitability requirements (for example, no serious criminality or previous immigration breaches).

There is no nationality restriction: any non-UK national who meets the requirements and has a certificate of sponsorship can apply. There are no formal qualification or skill-level requirements.

Job Offer and Sponsorship Requirements

Licensed Scheme Operators

Only approved scheme operators can sponsor Seasonal Workers. They must be endorsed by the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra), hold a licence from the Gangmasters and Labour Abuse Authority, and hold an A-rated sponsor licence. Individual farms cannot sponsor workers directly; the operator places you with a grower. The current list of operators is published on GOV.UK.

You can ask to move to a different farm within your operator's scheme, and operators should not normally refuse a reasonable request.

Eligible Jobs

Eligible horticulture work includes crop maintenance, harvesting, work in polytunnels and glasshouses, irrigation, packing and grading on the farm, and ornamental nursery work, covering protected and field vegetables, soft and top fruit, mushrooms, bulbs and cut flowers. Eligible poultry roles include poultry butchers, food operatives, catchers, vaccinators and meat packers.

Pay Requirements

Under the current sponsor guidance (version 04/26), the minimum pay is:

• Horticulture and certain poultry roles: at least £12.71 per hour, with at least 32 hours' pay guaranteed each week;
• Poultry butchers and certain other skilled poultry roles: at least £15.88 per hour and £38,700 per year.

Only guaranteed basic gross pay counts; allowances and overtime do not. Your job must also follow UK rules on working hours.

Financial Requirements

Maintenance Funds Needed

You must show that you can support yourself: at least £1,270 held for 28 consecutive days, with day 28 within 31 days of your application. You do not need to show this if your scheme operator ticks "sponsor certifies maintenance" on your certificate of sponsorship, confirming it will cover your costs during your first month in the UK if necessary.

What Sponsors Cannot Charge You

Scheme operators must not pass on their sponsorship fees or administrative costs to workers. An operator that does this can have its sponsor licence revoked. If you are asked to pay recruitment fees, get advice before you pay anything.

Health and Character Checks

Because the Seasonal Worker visa is for 6 months or less, you do not normally need a tuberculosis (TB) test certificate, which is only required for applicants from listed countries coming to the UK for more than 6 months. You must meet the general suitability requirements in Part Suitability of the Immigration Rules, and declare any criminal convictions and immigration history honestly on your application.

Application Process Step-by-Step

1. Get your certificate of sponsorship from a licensed scheme operator.
2. Apply onlineon GOV.UK from outside the UK, up to 3 months before your start date, and pay the £340 application fee.
3. Prove your identity, either with the UK Immigration: ID Check app or at a visa application centre, depending on your nationality and passport.
4. Upload your documents: your passport, your certificate of sponsorship reference number, and bank statements unless your sponsor certifies maintenance. Documents not in English or Welsh need certified translations.

Processing Times and Decision Outcomes

You will usually get a decision within 3 weeks of proving your identity and providing your documents. You can enter the UK up to 14 days before the start date of your job. There is usually no right of appeal against a refusal, but you may be able to request an administrative review if you think a caseworking error was made.

Costs and Fees Involved

You may also have costs for travel to a visa application centre and for translating documents. Fees change often, so check the current amounts on GOV.UK before you apply.

Post-Approval: Arrival and Compliance

If your application is approved, you will be issued an eVisa, which you can view and share through your UKVI account. Biometric Residence Permits are no longer issued.

1. Travel to the UK on the passport linked to your eVisa, no more than 14 days before your job start date.
2. Sign in to your UKVI account to check that your eVisa details are correct and linked to your current passport.
3. Work only in the job described in your certificate of sponsorship and do not take any other employment.
4. Leave the UK before your permission ends. If you overstay, future UK visa applications can be refused.

Employers will check your right to work using the online share code service linked to your eVisa.