Table Of Contents
- Who should apply for the Religious Worker visa
- Eligibility requirements for a Religious Worker visa
- Genuineness requirement
- Certificate of sponsorship requirement
- Financial requirements
- Salary requirement
- TB test requirement
- Summary
The UK Religious Worker is a Temporary Worker visa route. This has replaced the previous UK Tier 5 Religious Worker (Temporary Worker) visa. This visa is for you if you are a foreign worker wishing to come to the UK temporarily to help a religious organisation with its religious activities (conducting religious work, such as undertaking non-pastoral work or working in a religious order), but not as the main religious leader or minister. Your work must relate to the work of your sponsor’s organisation.
This is a sponsored route, which means you must have been issued a CoS (Certificate of Sponsorship) from your employer, who must be a Home Office licensed sponsor, before applying to come to live and work in the UK as a Religious Worker.
You can stay in the UK for up to 2 years on this route but it is important to note that this route does not lead to ILR or settlement in the UK.
Your partner and/or children can also apply as dependants on this route.
Importantly, if you are a Minister of Religion, you must apply on the T2 Minister of Religion route instead of a Religious Worker visa if your work involves leading a congregation (being responsible for the spiritual leadership of a group of worshippers, such as members of a church, mosque, temple, synagogue, or other religious community) in performing rites, rituals (example of rites and ritual may include conducting weddings, leading funerals, or performing baptisms), and preaching the essentials of the creed (creed refers to the core beliefs or teachings of a religion) as its core duties.
Who should apply for the Religious Worker visa?
You should apply for this route if you are coming to work for a temporary period in the UK as:
• a religious worker to undertake supporting activities of a religious institution by conducting religious work (such as undertaking non-pastoral work or working in a religious order), without leading a congregation (a congregation is a group of people who regularly gather to worship together as members of a particular religious community) in performing rites, rituals, and preaching the creed’s essentials (for such roles you should instead apply on the T2 Minister of Religion route)
• visiting a religious worker where you:
• are employed by a religious organisation overseas and are carrying out the same work as you would do in the UK (although your responsibilities overseas do not need to match perfectly with your duties in the UK)
• have an ongoing employment (it means your employment overseas continues throughout your visit to the UK), and the time spent in the UK is consistent with your employment
• are a member of religious orders, for example, a monk living in a monastery, a nun living in a convent, a member of Buddhist monastic communities, or a member of other recognised religious communities who have taken religious vows and live according to the rules of their order.
Eligibility requirements for a Religious Worker visa
To be able to apply for a Temporary Work – Religious Worker visa, you must be applying to do religious work in a non-pastoral role or religious order in the UK.
Other requirements you must meet include genuineness, CoS (Certificate of Sponsorship), financial, and salary requirements.
If you were given a Religious Worker or Charity Worker visa in the last year, you cannot obtain a Religious Worker visa unless you show you were outside the UK for the whole of that time.
1. Genuineness requirement
If you are applying for an entry clearance to the UK from outside the UK or permission to stay here (only when extending this visa) as a religious worker, the UKVI must be satisfied that you:
• genuinely intend to undertake the role described on the CoS (Certificate of Sponsorship) your sponsor has assigned to you, and you are capable of undertaking this role as described on the CoS
• do not intend to undertake any employment other than in the role your employer is sponsoring you for, or as otherwise permitted under the conditions of the grant
2. Certificate of sponsorship requirement
You must have been issued a CoS from your employer, who must be an approved A- rated sponsor, unless you got your last permission as a Religious Worker in the UK and you are applying to continue working for the same sponsor as in your last permission.
A CoS stays valid for 3 months from the date it has been assigned to you.
You need the CoS reference number, which contains information about the job you have been offered (for example, your job’s start and end date, working hours, and the salary) and your personal details.
CoS must also confirm:
• You would undertake the religious duties that do not include work, which falls under the role of a minister of religion
• whether you are a member of the sponsor’s order, if your sponsor is a religious order
• You will be given pay and conditions that are at least equal to the pay and conditions given to settled workers in the same role
You will need to have the CoS reference number from your employer. You need to add this reference number to your Religious Worker visa application form. You can only use it once.
3. Financial requirements
You must have £1,270 or more (held for a 28-day period) in your bank account on the date of your application, or if your sponsor is going to meet this requirement for you, they must confirm on the CoS that they will, if it is necessary, maintain and accommodate you for the first month of your employment for £1,270 or more.
You are not required to show proof of funds if, on the date of your application, you have been residing in the UK with a valid UK visa for at least 12 months.
4. Salary requirement
Your sponsor must ensure they are sponsoring you to do a job that, unless exempt, complies with the National Minimum Wage Regulations (these are the UK laws that set the minimum amount an employer must legally pay a worker for their work) and follows the UK rules for how many hours a week you work (as per the Working Time Regulations). If your employer is unable to satisfy that they meet this requirement, your application for a religious worker visa will be refused.
5. TB test requirement
If you are from certain specified countries and applying for entry clearance to the UK as a religious worker, you must provide a valid tuberculosis (TB) test certificate as part of your application (if Appendix Tuberculosis applies).
Summary
The Religious Worker visa is a Temporary Work visa that allows you to come to the UK to undertake religious work for a temporary period—for example, preaching, pastoral work, or working in a religious order. You must have received a CoS (Certificate of Sponsorship) from your employer, who is a Home Office- licensed sponsor for the religious worker route.
On this route, you can stay in the UK for up to 24 months, or the time mentioned on your CoS plus 14 days – whichever is shorter.
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