Table Of Contents
- Who does not need sponsorship
- What is a creative worker visa
- What is sponsoring a creative worker
- Sponsorship requirements for the creative worker visa
- The Certificate of Sponsorship for creative workers
- Types of Sponsoring Creative Workers
- What if you are a sponsor but not the employer
- Conclusion
Are you a UK-based organization in the creative industry? Are you looking to employ and/or sponsor a non-UK person who is in the creative industry? If the answer is ‘Yes,’ you can sponsor a creative foreign worker and bring him to the UK through a UK creative worker visa. A creative person can be an actor, dancer, musician, entertainer, performer, theater artist, fashion model, or film crew. The UK creative worker visa allows such foreign creative people to come and work in the UK for a short period of up to 12 months.
Sponsoring a worker requires a sponsor license first. You can apply for a UK sponsor license, and if you obtain it, you can employ foreign workers. You need to assign a certificate of sponsorship to the applicant looking to apply for a UK creative worker visa.
Who does not need sponsorship?
You don’t need to sponsor creative workers if they are Irish citizens, have pre-settled or settled status under the EU Settlement Scheme, or have indefinite leave to enter or remain.
What is a creative worker visa?
A UK creative worker visa route is a temporary visa route for creative people looking to work in the UK. A creative worker visa is a temporary visa that is valid for up to 12 months initially. The worker can apply for a visa extension for a maximum of up to 24 months in total, provided they continue to work for the same sponsor. The UK creative worker visa is not a route to settlement.
Members of a creative worker’s entourage (technical or support staff) may also join them under this route provided their employment is directly related to the work of the creative worker.
Creative workers can also bring their dependent partners and children to the UK if they meet the eligibility requirements for dependents.
What is sponsoring a creative worker?
You get the right to sponsor a foreign worker only if you have an A-rated sponsor license. You need to apply for the sponsor license first, and if you meet the eligibility conditions, you may receive a sponsor license from the Home Office. If you obtain it, you can assign a certificate of sponsorship (COS) to a foreign worker. COS is mandatory for any foreign worker looking to work in the UK.
Sponsoring a creative worker means looking to sponsor people from creative industries such as films, television, fashion, and theaters.
Sponsorship requirements for the creative worker visa
If you are sponsoring creative workers, you must meet the following requirements:
- You must have a valid sponsor license.
- You must ensure the job role is eligible for sponsorship on this visa route.
- You must comply with the relevant code of practice and comply with other requirements. If there is no code of practice, ensure the worker you are sponsoring will be working in creative industry and be in an occupation code listed in Appendix Skilled Occupations. You must explain on COS how the worker will make a unique contribution to creative life in the UK.
- You must satisfy the Home Office that the worker you are hiring meets the creative worker visa requirements.
- If you are sponsoring child workers below the age of 18, you must place appropriate safeguarding measures for their welfare. You should apply for a child performance license for children below school leaving age.
- You must assign a certificate of sponsorship to the worker you wish to sponsor.
- You must keep records for each worker you sponsor, including information on how you recruited them.
- You must have key personnel in your organization to manage your sponsor license and assign COS.
- You must comply with your sponsor’s duties and responsibilities.
The Certificate of Sponsorship for creative workers
You must assign a certificate of sponsorship for sponsoring a creative worker. You can assign a COS only if you are an A-rated sponsor.
When you assign a CoS to a creative worker, you are confirming to the Home Office, to the best of your knowledge, that they:
- Want to come to the UK to work or perform in the creative sector
- Have no intention to set up a business in the UK
- Sincerely intend to and are capable of performing the role for which they are being sponsored.
- Will comply with the conditions of their entry clearance or permission to stay
- Will leave the UK when their permission to stay is over unless they apply and qualify for an extension or another visa route.
Types of Sponsoring Creative Workers
A creative worker can be sponsored for 3 types:
1. Single Engagement
Single engagement refers to sponsoring creative workers for short-term or one-off projects, jobs, or performances. For example, an artist might come to the UK to perform in a concert, participate in an art show, or film a scene in a movie. The sponsor needs to assign a single COS to cover the whole period.
2. Multiple engagements
Multiple engagements refer to where a single sponsor is sponsoring a creative worker for more than one engagement in the UK. The multiple engagements also mean that the worker can engage in a project, job, or performance outside the UK as well between the engagements that would take place in the UK.
The worker must be sponsored by a single sponsor. There should not be more than 14 14-day gaps between the engagements in the UK. The time the worker spends outside the UK, including the dates of their departure and return, will not be included in this period.
The sponsor needs to assign a single COS to cover the whole period.
3. Consecutive Engagements
Consecutive engagements refer to where a creative worker can be sponsored for more than one engagement in the UK. The worker would participate in engagements outside the UK between the engagements in the UK. For consecutive engagements, the worker will be sponsored by more than one sponsor.
There should not be more than 14 14- day gaps between the engagements in the UK. The time the worker spends outside the UK, including the dates of their departure and return, will not be included in this period.
Each sponsor must issue a certificate of sponsorship to the worker to cover their own engagement or engagements.
What if you are a sponsor but not the employer?
You may be a sponsor but not the employer of a creative worker. The worker sponsored by you will work for some other organization. In such a scenario, the sponsor has to take responsibility for the worker even though they are not the direct employer. The sponsor also has to meet all of the duties associated with being their sponsor.
Conclusion
The UK creative worker visa route is for foreign nationals who are in the creative industry, such as films, television, fashion, and others. If you adhere to the guidelines mentioned here, you can navigate the process of employing creative workers through the creative worker visa route successfully.
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