The Purpose of This Visa Application
With the Creative and Sporting Visa, you can work temporarily in the UK in the sports and arts sectors. 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. In the first stage of this visa type, you are given the right to work in the UK for up to 1 year. You can apply for an extension when you meet certain conditions at the end of a year.
Temporary Worker – Creative and Sporting Visa
The Creative and Sporting Visa enables individuals to come and work in the UK in their field of profession. To do that, you need to require a sponsorship certificate from an employer with a sponsorship license to temporarily employ an immigrant worker in the UK.
This visa is evaluated in the fields of arts and sports, and there are criteria you must complete in order for your visa to be successful. For example, before applying for a visa, you must have received a job offer from an employer with a sponsorship license and a CoS (Certificate of Sponsorship) certificate.
Based on the information on the official website of the UK government, this 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
This visa is partially evaluated in separate criteria for people who will work in the fields of sports and arts, but basically, applications are made with similar documents. For both application types, you must have received a “sponsorship certificate”, Certificate of Sponsorship (CoS), approved by an employer licensed for sponsorship in the UK. At the stage of approval of the sponsorship documents, ,t is expected that the quality of the work to be done of both professions will be at an advanced level.
If you are applying for short-term work in the UK as an artist or athlete under the Temporary Worker – Creative and Sporting Visa, the sponsorship certificate application you need to get is made by the employer company prior to the application for a visa to the Home Office. This certificate will contain information such as the code of your profession in the UK and the time period you will work. Proof of the authenticity of this document can be requested at the stage of sponsorship certificate application. If you are an artist, having your profession on the “Rare Professions” list may give you an advantage at this stage.
If you are applying for this type of visa as an athlete, it is expected that your employment in the UK will make a significant contribution to the development and operation of the sport in question. Also, your employer, who will provide you with the sponsorship certificate, is expected to obtain approval from a “board of directors”, the governing body, associated with the relevant sport branch. You can find the list of board of directors at https://www.gov.uk/guidance/immigration-rules/immigration-rules-appendix-m-sports-governing-bodies.
Duration of the Creative and Sporting Visa & Rights
Length of Stay-Extension
Your length of stay in the UK may vary depending on circumstances. Initially, this period can be up to 12 months or the period as specified in your sponsorship certificate plus 28 days.
However, you can extend your visa depending on the conditions. The sponsor employer on your initial visa must remain the same when making your extension application. If you are an artist, your extension period can be one of the following;
- Up to 12 months
- The period on your sponsorship certificate plus 14 days
- Time required to extend your stay to a maximum of 24 months
If you are an athlete, you can extend your visa up to 12 months or the period on your sponsorship document plus 14 days.
Supplementary Job Rights
With the Creative and Sporting Visa, you are offered the right to work in an additional job, but there are certain conditions. You can work a maximum of 20 hours in additional work without interfering with the working hours of your main job. Your additional job must suit your current job; or an occupation code on the “Scarce Occupations” list.
Your family can live with you in the UK
Your spouse, unmarried partner, your same-sex partner and / or your children under the age of 18 can apply for “dependant visa” and join you to live in the UK for the duration of your visa.
Costs
There are 3 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
- Additional fee to be paid to the British Government for health services
This fee is determined as £624 for each year of stay.
- The third and the final issue 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. If your family members are also included in the application, in addition to £1270; £285 for your spouse / partner, £315 for your first child and £200 for each additional child must be present in the bank.
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
- If they are applying with you, documents for your spouse/partner/child
- Your education certificates and documents proving your experience