08 Jun How to apply for a Seasonal Worker Visa?

The seasonal worker route is found in the category of Tier 5 temporary worker visa – it does not leads to settlement in the UK.

It caters to foreign workers who wish to come to the UK to undertake seasonal horticulture work or poultry production work. The visa allows applicants to stay in the UK for a maximum of 6 months in any 12-month period. For poultry production workers they can only stay for a period beginning no earlier than 2 October and ending no later than 31 December each year.

Unlike other Tier 5 visas, seasonal workers are not allowed to bring or be joined by partners or children as dependants.

The three main eligibility criteria are listed below.

1.Be granted a Certificate of Sponsorship (CoS)

The applicant needs to obtain a CoS from a UK employer confirming the job details. The scope of jobs is limited to the horticulture and poultry production sector, listed as follow:

Horticulture:

(i) Protected Vegetables – those grown in glasshouse systems; or

(ii) Field Vegetables – those grown outdoors, including vegetables, herbs, leafy salads and potatoes; or

(iii) Soft Fruit – those grown outdoors or under cover e.g. in glasshouses or polytunnels. Includes strawberries, raspberries, blackcurrants, blueberries, and all ribes and rubus species; or

(iv) Top Fruit (Orchard Fruit) – trees that bear fruit e.g. apples, plums, cherries, apricots; or

(v) Vine and Bines – both twining or climbing flexible stems of certain plants, e.g. hops is a bine, and grapes is a vine; or

(vi) Mushrooms – typically covers Agaricus bisporus species but can also include more exotic species (typically grown indoors); or

(vii) Bulbs and cut flowers, such as daffodils, grown outdoors and indoors; or

(viii) Pot plants, such as seasonal bedding plants like pansies, violas, geraniums and poinsettias; or

(ix) Hardy ornamental nursery stock such as Christmas trees, shrubs, roses, ornamental trees and perennials; or

(x) Tree and forest nurseries.

Poultry production:

(i) Butcher (occupation code 5431); or

(ii) Bird/game dresser (occupation code 5433); or

(iii) Killer and plucker (occupation code 5433); or

(iv) Plucker (occupation code 5433); or

(v) Poulterer (occupation code 5433); or

(vi) Poultry processor (occupation code 5433); or

(vii) Poultry sticker (occupation code 5433); or

(viii) Trusser (occupation code 5433); or

(ix) Food operative (occupation code 8111); or

(x) Poultry catcher/handler (occupation code 9111); or

(xi) Poultry vaccinator (occupation code 9119); or

(xii) Poultry meat packer (occupation code 9134);

2.Salary requirement

The applicant must receive a minimum pay rate of £10.42 per hour. If the applicant is being sponsored in the horticulture sector or falls under occupation codes 8111, 9111, 9119, or 9134 in the poultry production sector, they will have at least 32 hours of paid employment per week. In the case of occupation codes 5431 or 5433 in the poultry production sector, the applicant must be paid a minimum of £26,200 per year.

Regarding the salary calculation, the hourly rate considered only includes guaranteed basic gross pay, before income tax and including employee pension and national insurance contributions. Other pay and benefits listed in SW 14.2 (Appendix: Skilled Worker) are not included.

If the applicant is being sponsored to work more than 48 hours a week, only the salary for the first 48 hours per week will be counted towards the salary threshold of £26,200.

In such cases, if the applicant works in excess of 48 hours in some weeks, it can be considered towards the salary threshold as long as the average over a regular cycle (which can be less than, but not more than, 17 weeks) does not exceed 48 hours per week. Unpaid rest weeks will be taken into account in the average calculation but will not be considered as absences from employment.

For instance, if an applicant works 60 hours per week at a rate of £12 per hour for two weeks, followed by an unpaid rest week, they will be deemed to work an average of 40 hours per week, resulting in an annual salary of £24,960 (£12 x 40 x 52).

3.Maintenance funds

The applicant is required to demonstrate sufficient funds (£1270) to support themselves without relying on public funds.  There are two options:

• The sponsor can confirm on the CoS that they will provide maintenance and accommodation for the applicant until the end of the first month of their employment.
• The applicant can show that they have held the required level of funds specified in Appendix Finance for a continuous period of 28 days. The specific amount and details of the required funds can be found in Appendix Finance.

Contact Our Immigration Team

For expert advice regarding any aspect of the UK visa application, please contact our immigration team on 0203 384 3075