Sponsor licences · IAA-regulated advice
Temporary Worker Sponsor Licence Advice in Birmingham & London
Bring people to the UK for a set period: performers and creative crews, charity volunteers, religious workers and other temporary roles. We check which route fits each role and whether your organisation qualifies, and prepare your licence application with you, for a fixed fee agreed in writing.
Last checked 11 October 2026 · Reviewed by Vishal Gautam, IAA-regulated adviser
Overview
What is a Temporary Worker sponsor licence?
A Temporary Worker licence lets your organisation sponsor people for specific kinds of temporary work, under the routes that replaced the old Tier 5. You choose the routes you need when you apply, and you’re only licensed for the ones you qualify for. The routes open to most organisations are Creative Worker (entertainers, artists, models and their crews), Charity Worker (unpaid voluntary work) and Religious Worker (religious work that isn’t as a minister).
Three more routes are tightly controlled. Government Authorised Exchange works only through approved schemes, International Agreement is for diplomatic missions and international organisations, and Seasonal Worker licences go only to approved scheme operators. The licence costs £611 whatever your size, and none of these routes leads to settlement.
✓This is the right licence if…
- You need someone for a temporary creative engagement, voluntary charity work or religious work
- The role isn’t a permanent position, even one you’d fill for a short time
- You’re a charity or religious organisation with charitable status, or you work in the creative sector
- You have UK-based people and systems to meet your sponsor duties
→Look at another route if…
- You want to fill an ongoing skilled job, or keep someone long termSkilled Worker licence →
- You’re bringing in staff from an overseas company in your groupGlobal Business Mobility licence →
- You need seasonal farm workersSeasonal Worker visa →
- You’re a worker looking at temporary work visasTemporary work visas →
Quick check
Can you sponsor? Six questions, one minute
Answer honestly. Nothing is saved or sent: this is a general guide, not advice on your case.
Is the role temporary, and not a permanent position you’d fill for a while?Creative and Charity Workers can’t fill a permanent position, even on a temporary basis.
Is it creative work, unpaid charity work or religious work that isn’t as a minister?Exchange schemes, international agreement work and seasonal farm work have their own, much narrower, rules.
For charity or religious work, are you a registered, excepted or exempt charity?Religious organisations must also show they’re an eligible religious organisation.
For creative work, will you follow the code of practice for the role, where there is one?Codes cover ballet, dance, opera, theatre, film and TV, and fashion modelling. Without a code, the worker must make a unique contribution to UK creative life.
Will the role meet minimum wage and working time rules, where they apply?Charity Workers must be genuine volunteers: they can only receive reasonable expenses and accommodation.
Do you have UK-based key people and systems to meet sponsor duties?You need an Authorising Officer, a Key Contact and a Level 1 User who is a settled employee, director or partner.
Eligibility
Temporary Worker sponsor licence requirements
Every Temporary Worker sponsor must meet the general licence rules, plus the rules for each route it applies for. You only get the routes you qualify for, so match each role to its route first.
Creative Worker
- For entertainers, artists, performers and fashion models, and the technical or support staff (‘entourage’) who work with them
- You must operate, or intend to operate, in the creative sector, but you don’t have to be the worker’s direct employer
- Follow the code of practice for the role where one exists; if not, the worker must make a unique contribution to UK creative life
- You can sponsor one engagement, several engagements with you, or consecutive engagements with different sponsors
Sponsoring a child under school-leaving age to perform? A child performance licence must be in place before the event.
Charity Worker
- For voluntary fieldwork that directly supports your charitable purpose, by someone aged 18 or over
- You must be a registered, excepted or exempt UK charity, or an ecclesiastical corporation set up for charitable purposes
- The worker can only receive reasonable expenses and accommodation, and can’t fill a permanent position
- Visitors can volunteer for a registered charity for up to 30 days without sponsorship, but can’t switch to this route in the UK
Someone who had Charity or Religious Worker permission in the last 12 months usually can’t get a new visa on these routes, unless they were outside the UK for that whole time.
Religious Worker
- For religious work such as working in a religious order or non-pastoral work, but not as a minister of religion
- You must have charitable status and show you’re an eligible religious organisation: your faith, your structure and your places of worship
- If your faith has a set hierarchy, you need a letter of support from the head of your faith organisation
- Ministers of religion need a Worker licence and the Minister of Religion route instead
From 29 October 2026, you no longer need to advertise a Religious Worker role before sponsoring someone. Until then, most roles must be advertised first.
Exchange, international and seasonal work
- Government Authorised Exchange: only through a scheme listed in the Immigration Rules, usually run by an overarching body that places people with host organisations
- International Agreement: only diplomatic missions, consular posts and recognised international organisations can sponsor
- Seasonal Worker: only approved scheme operators endorsed by Defra; farms get workers through an operator, not their own licence
- Global Business Mobility and Scale-up routes also sit on the Temporary Worker licence, with their own rules
Seasonal Workers can do horticulture for up to 6 months in any 10-month period, or poultry work between 2 October and 31 December, and can’t bring family.
Your duties as a sponsor
- Report a worker who doesn’t start within 28 days, or is absent without permission for more than 10 working days in a row
- Keep records for each worker, including current contact details and evidence of their right to work
- Have suitable arrangements for any worker under 18: their travel, their reception and their care in the UK, with parental consent
- Pay the licence fee yourself, and never ask the worker to cover it
Only Creative Worker and Government Authorised Exchange have no minimum age. Charity, Religious, International Agreement and Seasonal Workers must be adults.
Documents
Temporary Worker sponsor licence documents: the easy part
Most organisations send 4 documents. Which ones depends on your organisation and your routes: a charity, a religious organisation and a production company each prove different things.
What everyone needs
- Your online application and the signed submission sheet
- Documents showing your organisation is genuine and operating in the UK
- Proof of charitable status, for the Charity or Religious Worker route
- Evidence you’re an eligible religious organisation, for Religious Workers
- Details of your Authorising Officer, Key Contact and Level 1 User
- Your scheme approval or endorsement, for exchange or seasonal routes
Plus certified translations of anything not in English or Welsh. Diplomatic missions and international organisations send a signed letter from their head of mission or organisation.
Costs & timeline
Temporary Worker sponsor licence cost and processing time
A Temporary Worker licence costs £611, whatever the size of your organisation, and each certificate of sponsorship costs £55. There’s no Immigration Skills Charge on these routes. Most licence applications are decided in under 8 weeks.
Paid by you, the sponsor
| Licence feethe same for small, medium and large sponsors | £611 |
| Certificate of sponsorship, per worker | £55 |
| Immigration Skills Chargenot charged on Temporary Worker routes | £0 |
| Home Office totallicence plus one certificate | £666 |
Home Office fees from the fees table in force from 8 October 2026, checked 11 October 2026. The licence fee isn’t refunded if you’re refused, and you must not ask the worker to pay it. A priority decision within 10 working days costs £750 more for Creative, Charity and Religious Worker applications, with limited places each day; it isn’t offered for Government Authorised Exchange, International Agreement or Seasonal Worker licences. If you’re medium or large and later add a Worker route, such as Skilled Worker, you pay £1,071. Each worker pays a £340 visa fee. Our consultation fees →
Choose your routes
Before you applyMatch each role to a route. Exchange schemes and seasonal work need scheme approval or an endorsement before you can apply.
Apply online and pay
Week 0You submit the form and pay £611, then send the signed submission sheet and documents within 5 working days.
Decision
Usually under 8 weeksUKVI may visit or interview you first. Creative, charity and religious applications can pay £750 for a decision within 10 working days.
Assign certificates
£55 eachOnce licensed, assign a certificate to each worker. They then have 3 months to apply for their visa.
During the stay
Up to 24 monthsReport changes on time and keep your records. Creative Workers can stay up to 24 months with the same sponsor, Charity Workers up to 12.
Avoid a refusal
Common Temporary Worker sponsor licence refusal reasons
Temporary Worker problems usually come from choosing the wrong route or missing route-specific evidence. These are the issues we check first.
The wrong route for the role
Creative Workers can’t fill permanent positions, Charity Workers can’t be paid, and Religious Workers can’t work as ministers. A role on the wrong route can’t be sponsored.
We check: which route each role belongs on.
No proof of charitable status
Charity and Religious Worker sponsors must prove charitable status, and religious organisations must show they’re eligible. Missing mandatory documents make the application invalid.
We check: your charity registration and supporting papers.
Codes of practice not followed
If you say on a certificate that you followed a creative code of practice and you didn’t, the Home Office will revoke your licence.
We check: the code for each role and the evidence you keep.
Ineligible key personnel
You need an eligible Authorising Officer and a Level 1 User who is a settled employee, director or partner. An application sent by a representative is refused.
We check: who can fill each role before you name them.
No safeguarding arrangements
If you’ll sponsor anyone under 18, the Home Office must be satisfied about their travel, reception and care in the UK, and parental consent.
We check: your arrangements for young performers or participants.
Past penalties or a recent refusal
An unspent conviction for a relevant offence, an unpaid civil penalty or a licence refusal in the last 6 months usually stops a new licence.
We check: your history, in confidence.
How we help
Our Temporary Worker sponsor licence services
Choose a one-off consultation, or let us prepare your licence application with you from start to finish, for a fixed fee.
Route consultation
We check which temporary route fits each role, or whether another visa would work better.
Evidence review
We check your charity, religious or creative evidence and your key personnel before you apply.
Licence application
We help you complete the online form and prepare your documents. The Home Office requires you to submit it yourself.
Certificates and duties
We help you assign certificates, report changes on time and keep the right records.
Our scope: we’re regulated by the Immigration Advice Authority at Level 1. There’s no right of appeal against a licence refusal. If you’re refused, we explain your options and help you reapply when you’re able to, and we refer you to a solicitor or higher-level adviser where your case needs a higher level of advice.
FAQs
Temporary Worker sponsor licence questions, answered
Is a Temporary Worker licence cheaper than a Worker licence?
For medium and large organisations, yes. A Temporary Worker licence costs £611 whatever your size, while a Worker licence costs £1,682 for medium and large sponsors. Certificates cost £55 instead of £525, and there’s no Immigration Skills Charge.
Can one licence cover Temporary Worker and Worker routes?
Yes. You can apply for both at once, or add routes later through a shortened application. A medium or large sponsor that adds a Worker route to a Temporary Worker-only licence pays £1,071; adding Temporary Worker routes to a Worker licence is free.
Can Temporary Workers bring their families?
On most routes, yes. Creative, Charity, Religious, Government Authorised Exchange and International Agreement workers can bring a partner and children if they meet the requirements. Seasonal Workers can’t bring family members.
Do these routes lead to settlement?
No. The Creative, Charity, Religious, exchange, international agreement and seasonal routes don’t lead to settlement. If you want someone to stay long term, the Skilled Worker route may fit better, as it can lead to settlement after 5 years.
Could a performer come as a visitor instead?
Sometimes. Artists, entertainers and musicians can do some engagements as visitors without sponsorship, but they mustn’t be paid by a UK source except where the visitor rules allow it. If the work doesn’t fit the visitor rules, they’ll need sponsorship.
Can our farm sponsor seasonal workers directly?
No. Only approved scheme operators, endorsed by Defra, hold Seasonal Worker licences, and they don’t employ the workers themselves: they place them with farms and monitor their welfare. There’s a yearly quota of 41,000 horticulture and 1,900 poultry places for 2026.
How long can a Creative Worker stay?
Up to 12 months at first. They can extend to a maximum of 24 months in total if they’re still working for the same sponsor. The route can’t be used to fill a permanent position.
What happens if our application is refused?
There’s no right of appeal. If the refusal came from a caseworker error, or evidence you sent wasn’t considered, you can send an error correction request within 14 calendar days. Otherwise, you can usually apply again after 6 months, once the problem is fixed.
Related routes
Other sponsor licence pages
Ready when you are
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Book a consultation, or start with the free quick check on this page.