Temporary Worker sponsor licence
A Temporary Worker sponsor licence lets an organisation bring people to the UK for a set, short period: performers and artists, charity volunteers, religious workers, exchange and research placements, and a handful of other routes. It costs £611 whatever your size of organisation.
- Licence fee£611whatever the size of your organisation
- Certificate, you pay£55for each worker you sponsor
- Immigration skills chargeNoneon any Temporary Worker route
- Worker's visa fee£340plus the healthcare surcharge, usually £1,035 a year
Figures from GOV.UK, Types of sponsor licence.
Which routes the Temporary Worker licence covers
GOV.UK splits sponsor licences into Worker and Temporary Worker licences (types of licence). Alongside the routes on this page, the Temporary Worker licence also holds Scale-up and four of the Global Business Mobility routes: Graduate Trainee, Service Supplier, UK Expansion Worker and Secondment Worker. Skilled Worker, Senior or Specialist Worker and Minister of Religion sit on the Worker licence instead.
- Creative Worker: entertainers, artists and crew, where the work relates to the sponsor's own creative work (GOV.UK).
- Charity Worker: unpaid voluntary work for a charity (GOV.UK).
- Religious Worker: non-pastoral roles or work in a religious order (GOV.UK).
- Government Authorised Exchange: work experience, training, research or fellowships through an approved exchange scheme; the organisation running the scheme holds the licence (GOV.UK).
- International Agreement: staff of overseas governments and recognised international organisations, and private servants in diplomatic households (GOV.UK).
| Creative Worker | 2 years, granted 12 months at a time |
|---|---|
| Charity Worker | 12 months |
| Religious Worker | 24 months |
| Government Authorised Exchange | 12 or 24 months, set by the scheme |
| International Agreement | 2 years; 5 years for a private servant in a diplomatic household |
| Seasonal Worker | 6 months in horticulture; poultry work from 18 October to 31 December |
Seasonal Worker: only scheme operators can sponsor
Farms do not hold a Seasonal Worker licence themselves. The route is run through scheme operators the Home Office has already approved for horticulture and poultry, and it issues no new operator licences without prior approval (Seasonal Worker sponsor guidance). A grower who needs seasonal pickers works with one of those operators.
Adding a Worker licence later
If you already hold a Temporary Worker licence and later need to hire on Skilled Worker, adding the Worker licence costs nothing for a small business or charity and £1,071 for a medium or large one (Home Office fees table). See the sponsor licence cost page for every fee side by side.
How many organisations hold each route
The register of licensed sponsors (22 October 2026 edition) lists 1,574 organisations on Creative Worker, 1,530 on Charity Worker, 1,436 on Religious Worker, 246 on Government Authorised Exchange, 134 on International Agreement and 6 Seasonal Worker scheme operators.
Questions about the Temporary Worker licence
Can a Temporary Worker visa lead to settlement?
Not on the creative, charity, religious, exchange, international agreement or seasonal routes, or on the Global Business Mobility routes. Scale-up is the exception on this licence. A worker who wants to settle usually needs to move to a route such as Skilled Worker, where the rules allow it.
Do we need a Temporary Worker licence for a performer coming for a few weeks?
Not always. For work of 3 months or less, the Creative Worker concession may let the performer come without applying for the visa first (GOV.UK concession).
Can a Charity Worker be paid?
No. A Charity Worker cannot receive any payment for work (GOV.UK). A paid role at a charity needs a Worker route such as Skilled Worker.
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