The Purpose of This Visa Application
The Seasonal Worker Visa allows you to live and work in the UK temporarily. This visa route is for people who are going to work with a sponsor in horticulture. The qualifications of your job, your employer, your qualifications, your salary and duration of stay are determined when applying for your visa, and presented for evaluation during the application process. You can apply for the visa by agreeing with an employer before the application. You can work in the UK up to 6 months with the Seasonal Worker Visa.
Seasonal Worker Visa
“Seasonal work” means employment that varies with the season or time of year. Therefore, you can come to the UK to work temporarily under an employer who has the required sponsor licence to hire migrant seasonal workers. Before applying for the visa, you must obtain a sponsorship certificate from the company that will employ you in the UK.
Each applicant must be over the age of 18. According to the relevant visa application guide, the “edible horticulture” sector includes growing the following foods:
- Sheltered vegetable cultivation – vegetables grown in greenhouse systems
- Field vegetables – those grown outdoors, including field-grown vegetables, herbs, leafy salad vegetables, and potatoes
- Soft fruit – grown outdoors or under cover (for example, in greenhouses or polytunnels), such as strawberries, raspberries, currants, blueberries and all types of ribs and rubus
- Orchards – fruit trees such as apples, plums, cherries and apricots
- Vines – such as hops or grapes
- Mushrooms
If you have expertise/experience/education in the cultivation of foods listed above, it is possible to apply for this visa by finding a job in the relevant sector.
Based on the information on the official website of the UK government, the Seasonal Worker Visa process takes approximately 3 weeks to be finalized. However, of course, this period may be elongated if the reassessment/compliance/reliability of the documents is put into question.
Eligibility and The Basic Criteria
The most important criterion of this visa application is that you have a “sponsorship certificate”, Certificate of Sponsorship (CoS), approved by an employer who has a sponsorship license to employ seasonal workers in the UK. Your employer will do this certificate for you. This document must be received within 3 months before your visa application date.
Duration of the Seasonal Worker Visa & Rights
Length of Stay
The maximum period you can spend in the UK within 12 months with a Temporary Seasonal Worker visa is 6 months. Your employer, who provided your sponsorship certificate, can apply for a “multiple entry certificate”. In this case, you can enter the UK more than once, with a maximum duration of 6 months within 1 year. It is not possible to apply for an extension or switch to another visa after your current visa expires.
Costs
There are 2 different main issues that you need to consider in terms of finance:
- The amount to be paid to the British Government as a Visa Application Fee
The application cost for the main applicant is determined as £224 per applicant. (Short-term visa holders cannot apply for this visa from within the UK.)
*There is a £55 discount for applicants from certain nationalities. Turkey is also among these countries. So, you can calculate by deducting £55 from the prices above
- The second is the amount you must declare in your bank account to show that you can support yourself in the UK.
This amount is a minimum of £1270 and must be in your bank account for 28 days prior to the visa application date. However, if your employer, who provided you with the sponsorship certificate, declares in the sponsorship certificate that it will cover your living expenses, you may be exempt from showing this money in your bank account.
Required Documents
The documents / information you must submit in your application form and as an addition to the form in general terms are as follows:
- Certificate of Sponsorship – your sponsorship certificate including your reference number, business name and sponsor license number
- Your bank accounts mentioned above to prove that you can support yourself
- Your education certificates and documents proving your experience