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UK Temporary Work – Religious Worker Visa

Short Term Work Visa

This visa type is suitable if you;
Are currently outside of the UK / Are intending to carry out non pastoral work for an approved UK institution / Have a Sponsor Licencing holding institution which is willing to sponsor you for the role.

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Temporary Work – Religious Worker Visa

The UK Temporary Work – Religious Worker Visa is for people who wish to conduct religious work for a UK religious institution by completing non-pastoral work for that institution for a maximum of two years.

Religious Workers are not eligible to settle in the UK, but their dependent partners and children can live with them.

Those Ministers of Religion who are required to lead congregations in rites, rituals, and preach the basics of the creed in the UK should apply under the Tier 2 framework instead.

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Immigration routes and rules are constantly changing in line with UK government guidelines. UK Immigration Solicitors strive to ensure that they are always well informed about any changes and how they may affect you and your next steps.

We Can Help You With Your
Temporary Work – Religious Worker Visa

  • Make a new application, apply for your dependents to join you, wish to extend your visa, become settled or challenge an unfair decision…
  • UK Immigration Solicitors can provide you with expert advice, guidance and legal representation to meet your needs.
  • Unsure about whether your plans would meet the requirements or whether you are likely to face any challenges?
  • We can assess your individual circumstances and confirm what your options are through a free case assessment.
  • UK Immigration Solicitors can ensure that your chances of success are maximised by handling your entire application remotely.
  • We provide a fully digital service, and you never have to visit our offices for 9/10 immigration cases.
  • We are an award-winning law firm that specialises in all types of UK immigration cases, and we offer a transparent, fixed fee service to handle your entire case.

Get Help From Our
Religious Worker Visa Lawyers Now

Who is eligible for the Temporary Work – Religious Worker Visa?

UK Visas & Immigration requires the following requirements in order to grant you a Temporary Work – Religious Worker Visa:

In order to qualify for a Temporary Work – Religious Worker Visa, you will need to satisfy UK Visas & Immigration that:

  • You are at least 18 years old;
  • The sponsoring organisation has offered you a job as a religious worker (which requires you to hold a Certificate of Sponsorship for the role you wish to take up);
  • Are you genuinely intending and capable of undertaking the role for which you are being sponsored, and are not planning to undertake other employment;
  • You meet a financial requirement;
  • In the previous 12 months, you did not possess permission to carry out religious work or charity work (unless you were overseas during this time);
  • The general grounds for refusal do not apply to your application;
  • the TB certificate, if required, has been submitted by you.

You can bring along your dependent partner and dependent children under the age of 18 if you are granted entry clearance or leave to remain as a Religious Worker.

If you want to enter the UK through the Temporary Work – Religious Worker Visa route, you must apply for a visa from outside the UK. In order to apply for this route or the Religious Worker route, you must not have been granted permission on these routes within the 12 months immediately prior to your application, unless you can prove that you were not in the UK during this time. 

You must provide a valid tuberculosis certificate if necessary.

You may have to meet different requirements depending on your situation. To ensure that any mistakes can be identified, and a solid strategy can be developed and implemented, you must seek professional advice and guidance as soon as possible.

What is the Certificate of Sponsor Requirement (CoS) for the Temporary Work – Religious Worker Visa?

If you wish to apply for a UK Temporary Work – Religious Worker Visa, you will need a valid Certificate of Sponsorship from a Home Office licensed sponsor with an ‘A-rated’ rating (unless you are applying to extend your previous period of leave to work for the same employer).  To sponsor the job under the Religious Worker route, your sponsor must be authorised by the Home Office.

If your sponsor is a religious order, the certificate of sponsorship must confirm that the role you intend to undertake meets the religious worker requirements (see further below).

The Certificate of Sponsorship must begin no more than three months before the application date and may not have been used in a previous, unsuccessful application. The certificate will be valid for three months after it has been assigned to you. After this date, you may not be eligible for a UK Temporary Work – Religious Worker Visa. After being assigned, the Certificate of Sponsorship cannot be withdrawn or revoked.

What is the permitted role of a Religious Worker Visa holder?

People who qualify for the role of a Religious Worker in the UK are eligible to apply.

Your role as a Religious Worker must involve supporting the activities of your sponsor’s organization through religious duties performed within the organisation or directed by your sponsor.

Work that falls within the scope of a Minister of Religion is not allowed as part of your religious duties. Thus, you must not be primarily responsible for leading a congregation in performing rites and rituals of the faith and for preaching the essentials of the creed.

Pay and working conditions must be at least as good as those for settled workers in the same role, and your wage must be in compliance with or exempt from the National Minimum Wage.

What is the financial Requirement for the Temporary Work – Religious Worker Visa?

You will need to have £1,270 in your bank account, held for at least 28 days, ending not more than 31 days before the date of your UK Religious Worker Visa application, unless you have resided in the UK on a valid visa for at least 12 months or your sponsor agrees to cover your expenses during your first month in the UK (which is confirmed on your Certificate of Sponsorship)

Is there an English language requirement for the Religious Worker Visa?

There is no English language requirement for the Temporary Work – Religious Worker Visa.

How Long Does the Religious Worker Visa Last For?

Upon the approval of your UK Temporary Work – Religious Worker Visa application, you will be permitted to enter the UK and stay for 24 months or the period of the role stated on your Certificate of Sponsorship plus 14 days prior to and following the role.

A successful application for a stay extension as a Religious Worker will result in an additional period of time, either equal to the difference between the time you have already spent in the UK since your last permission as a Religious Worker and 24 months or equal to the period stated on your Certificate of Sponsorship as well as 14 days after, whichever is shorter.

A Religious Worker can be sponsored for a maximum of 24 months.

What Conditions Apply to the Temporary Work – Religious Worker Visa?

You will be allowed to work in the role you are sponsored for if your UK Temporary Work – Religious Worker Visa application is approved. 

A second job, as well as study (for some courses an Academic Technology Approval Scheme certificate is required), will be permitted (up to 20 hours per week outside the hours of your main job, provided the second job is in the same sector and on the Skilled Worker shortage occupation list).

No public funds will be available to you.

Is it possible to settle in the UK using the Temporary Work – Religious Worker Visa?

It is not possible to settle on a Temporary Work – Religious Worker Visa.

However, another immigration route may be available, which can lead to indefinite leave to remain.

Within the UK, it is not possible to switch to the Religious Worker route. To apply for a Religious Worker visa, applicants must submit an application from abroad.

What are the application fees for the Temporary Work – Religious Worker Visa?

You must apply for a visa from outside of the UK if you are applying under the UK Temporary Work – Religious Worker Visa route. In order to apply for this route or the Charity Worker route, you must not have had permission within the 12 months immediately before your application, unless you can prove that you were not in the UK at any time during that period.

The tuberculosis certificate must be valid, if required.

Currently, the application fee for a Temporary Work – Religious Worker Visa is £244.

Applicants from the following countries will automatically have their application fee reduced by £55:

Austria, Belgium, Croatia, Republic of Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Luxembourg, Malta, Netherlands, North Macedonia, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Slovakia, Spain, Sweden or Turkey.

What are the application fees for the Temporary Work – Religious Worker Visa?

Applications for Temporary Work – Religious Worker Visas to the UK are typically decided within 3 weeks. If the visa application centre offers a priority service, you may be able to obtain a faster decision.

Religious Workers generally receive a decision within eight weeks of submitting their extension applications. By applying through the Priority Service or the Super Priority Service, you can also receive a decision within 5 days.

How can UK Immigration Solicitors help me with Temporary Work – Religious Worker Visa?

Our expert legal team are highly experienced in assisting with the below services (where the option has been made available by UKVI and is considered appropriate)

New Applications – We can help you assess the merits, challenges and solutions to any issues arising whilst making a new application for the Temporary Work – Religious Worker Visa.

Dependents – We can help you make a successful application for your partner or children to join you as your dependents on your Temporary Work – Religious Worker Visa.

Legal Representations – Where applicable, if you find yourself in an unusual or challenging situation and want the Home Office to take notice of your special circumstances to ensure that you are treated fairly and your rights are respected, our expert team can make both oral and written persuasive legal representations.

Challenge a Refusal – If your application has been refused, we can consider your refusal for free and advise on the best course of action.

Administrative Review – Home Office or Immigration Rules can be challenged if the decision-maker failed to follow them correctly.

Judicial Review – If your application was denied illegally, unreasonable or procedurally improperly, our immigration lawyers can apply for Judicial Review and represent you at the Judicial Review hearing.

Appeal an Unfair Decision – The decision to refuse your application may provide you with a right of appeal to the First Tier Tribunal. Our expert lawyers can advise you on and handle Appeals before the Immigration & Asylum Chamber (First Tier & Upper Tribunal)

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How can UK Immigration Solicitors help me?

We provide global assistance to clients all around the world remotely which means in most cases, you never need to visit us in person for us to provide you with expert legal assistance.

We are a multi award winning, nationwide, fully regulated law firm and are widely recognised as being the UK’s #1 Immigration Specialist Law Firm.

We offer easy to understand, fixed fee services and comprehensive representation so you, the client knows exactly what to expect and have full peace of mind about how much our service costs without worrying about unexpected further fees.

We offer free initial assessments for all cases so if you have some questions, want to make sure you qualify or just want to understand the process and associated costs, get in touch with us now by phone or online enquiry and take the first proactive step in your immigration journey today.

Immigration is a constantly changing and complex area and government application fees are rising each year, so it is important you seek expert advice and assistance to ensure that you are fully clear on what to do, when and why.

We are the original and still the best! Proud to be the UK’s #1 Immigration Law Firm.

UK Temporary Work – Religious Worker Visa

At UK Immigration Solicitors, we are passionate about all thing’s immigration. As a multi award winning nationwide law firm, we are proud to offer a truly global service. We have assisted clients from more than 120 countries over the last 10 years. We are proud to innovate and lead the immigration law industry.

Back in 2012, after carefully listening to the frustrations of clients who could not find reliable immigration advice online, we pioneered the provision of legal representation for immigration cases online. This was a revolutionary transition and since our innovations, there have been a whole multitude of online immigration service providers.

UK Immigration Solicitors are immensely proud of our reputation and our ability to deliver a truly global, comprehensive service to our clients without the need for them to step foot outside of the comfort of their own home in most cases.

Our Tried & Tested Comprehensive Representation Process for Successful Outcomes

We provide everything for one fixed, transparent fee - no unpleasent surprises!

Free Initial Assessment

Revieve a free, no obligation assessment.

The free assessment is carried out by an expert member of our Assesments Team.

We’ll identify your needs and objectives and figure out what your options are and whether you meet the requirements.

We’ll also explain exactly how we can help and issue you with a no obligation detailed proposal to take your case on.

You decide if you want us to help you through the journey having now understood your options.

1-1 Legal Consultation

If we can help you and you have accepted our proposal of service, we’ll get you booked in for a one to one legal consultation with a lawyer.

This is normally done over the phone but can be facilitated in person too if necessary.

During the legal consultation with a fully regulated expert solicitor, we will explain of the detailed requirements of your chosen visa type and check and rectify any problems and create a legal strategy and documentaton list.

We’ll also give you a step by step guide of your tailored road map.

Documentation

During the legal consultation, our lawyers will discuss documentary requirements.

We’ll explain exactly which documents you’ll need to support your application.

We’ll work with you to ensure we have everything we need and address any issues your personal circumstances present.

Together, we’ll ensure we have all of the required documentation.

Strategic Assistance

It’s rarely the case that you will have the correct documents available in a format which is acceptable to UKVI without our help.

Too often, we see clients have followed poor internet guides, made assumptions or followed a strategy which worked for someone they know.

We ensure we have a winning strategy in place and provide proactive advice on how to overcome any challenges you face.

File Submission

We’ll work with you through every step of the way to ensure that we have everything we need are we are both happy with your application by sharing a draft with you.

Once you have confirmed you are happy with our prepared application, we will submit this for you via secure transmission.

We assist with all elements of booking necessary appointments and related processes.

Visa Granted

Having submitted your application, we’ll guide you on how long we can expect the process to take.

We will monitor the application decision and where possible, will proactively review and liaise with the Home Office.v

We’ll deal with any queries raised and make any required legal respresentations for you.

If Your Case Takes A Day Or A Year To Complete, Our Fixed Fee Has You Covered For Complete Peace Of Mind

Why Not Ask Us For A Free Assessment And No Obligation Quotation Today?
Get Your Free Quotation Now On 0203 384 4389 or Complete an Online Assessment And We'll Call You Back With A Quotation.

See how we compare against 2096 other nationwide UK Immigration Law Firms

Independent results by trust platform Review Selectors

Taken from reviewsolicitor.co.uk (11.04.2023)

Value for Money

  • This Firm 91% 91%
  • National Average 55% 55%

Would Recommend to Friend

  • This Firm 94% 94%
  • National Average 66% 66%

Satisfied with outcome

  • This Firm 92% 92%
  • National Average 69% 69%

Client Reviews

4.7/5

Overall Experience

Value For Money
Communication
Initial Impressions
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Documentation Accuracy
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Call us now on 0203 384 4389 to get free help with understanding what your options are with a free assessment.

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This section will show you all the options and visa types available to you under the EEA & Family Members category

It Covers options for the following

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We have helped people from more than 100 countries get a UK visa without them leaving their homes!

We can help you get a visa from the comfort of your own home wherever you are in the world.

Speak to our friendly expert team now to see how we can help you live, work or study in the UK. Call now 0203 484 4389

Testimonials

What Clients Say About Us and Our Services

Michael

27/02/23

Great service all round. They were very helpful with my family's entry visa and gave solid advice towards securing my kids UK citizenship. Faheem Hasam always made himself available to respond to queries and offered advise whenever asked for.

(Trustpilot Review)

Mohammad Amro

21/02/23

I really appreciate the service and the response and the friendly team who deal with my case and specially Mr Talal talha . He is such a great person and professional. I highly recommend this great solicitor's.

(Trustpilot Review)

Yorshini Ramsamy

10/01/23

Alanta has been very helpful since day one. The application process went smoothly. It was easy communicating with her and she answered all our questions. We can't thank her enough for the amazing job she did.

(Trustpilot Review)

On Average, 98% Of Our Clients Would Recommend UK Immigration Solicitors To Their Friends & Family
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How we work in 3 simple steps

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Call us or submit your details online

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Receive a FREE no obligation assessment

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Instruct us over the phone to take your case

Why Choose
UK Immigration Solicitors?

We are professional Solicitors here to help you with your immigration needs

What is the benefit of using UK Immigration Solicitors?

Immigration rules are complex and subject to regular changes and revisions. This itself presents problems as it is the applicant’s responsibility to ensure they are aware of and have complied with any changes to the routes, processes and evidence requirements.

Failure to meet strict rules is likely to result in the application being refused which, in turn, is likely have an emotional and financial strain on you and your family.

It is our job to ensure we are fully aware of the latest immigration rules, policies and procedures. We don’t leave matters to chance. Once you become a client of ours, we explain our strategy and tell you exactly how we propose to get you the right result. We will pinpoint the positives and negatives of your circumstances and explain where issues may arise and what would need to be done to fix them. We provide step by step guidance and advice throughout the entire process professionally. Our vast experience allows us to foresee problems before they arise and pro-actively adopt a strategic action plan.

Our legal fees are always agreed and fixed with you right at the beginning of your case, so you have complete peace of mind and control over the costs to ensure there are no restrictions or unpleasant surprises.

There are many online agencies, advisors and marketing companies who claim to be immigration experts but, provide very little expertise.

Let us be very clear here, if you are paying for someone just to fill in the forms for you, you should think about how you can put that money to better use and avoid gambling with your future by using inexperienced and ineffective companies.

We are a fully regulated nationwide, multi award winning law firm that specialises in immigration. Having more than 60 years of combined expertise and having handled more than 8,000 cases we have unrivalled experience and expertise to ensure you get the right result first time around – Don’t take our word for it though, check out our reviews to see why our clients trust us with their futures. We are rated 5* across the board and 98% of our clients have confirmed that they would recommend us to others.

We have illustrated our typical scope of service below so you can understand what we do for you as paid of our service:

  • Our immigration specialists carry out a free detailed assessment with you to understand your circumstances and needs.
  • The collated information is then reviewed by a senior immigration solicitor who will have no less than 8 years’ immigration experience.
  • Based on the information collected, the senior solicitor will then confirm what your options are and will also confirm if we are able to help you.
  • We will offer you an Agreed Fixed Fee quotation for us to handle your entire case until initial conclusion without obligation.
  • If we have officially taken your instructions, we will create a client file for you and collect detailed initial information.
  • We will then ensure you receive a personalised one-to-one legal consultation with a senior immigration solicitor who will take your full instructions by exploring your circumstances in detail and advise you on the best way to meet your objectives. The solicitor will explain the relevant legislations and provide you with advice on the steps that we would need to take to get a successful result.
  • The senior solicitor who carried out your legal consultation will then send you detailed written legal advice explaining everything that needs to be done and which documents will be required as part of the process. We will tell you about any problem areas and formulate a strategy to overcome/mitigate these.
  • We will carefully review any documents that you have provided in support of the application. These documents are then validated and formatted to ensure that they meet the UKVI specified evidence requirements. Where they do not, we will explain what needs to be done to address the issues.
  • Where required, we will prepare any necessary written legal arguments or representations that are required to support your application and gain an approval. Often, we may be required to make discretionary submissions.
  • We will complete a draft application and share this with you to ensure that all parties are happy with the representations that will be submitted to the Home Office.
  • We advise you on what application processing routes are available. In some cases, there are fast track or premium processing routes available. We may be required to book a Home Office appointment on your behalf.  Will also be able to confirm typical processing times for any processing centre in the world. We explain all options, routes and fees comprehensively allowing you to make the best choice.
  • We lodge the application on your behalf using our secure authenticated processes. Whilst your application is pending, we continue to ensure you receive maximum legal protection and ensure that your rights and allowances are upheld throughout the processing stage. We ensure that you are aware of and remain compliant with the immigration rules and regulations during this period. We will also keep you updated on the progress of your matter.
  • If any follow up work is required in response to any queries raised by the UKVI, we will also deal with these as part of the comprehensive service.
  • We secure a decision on your matter and further advise you on the relevant implications of that decision. If required, we will also confirm if any secondary applications are required and brief you on the necessary process and procedure for those also.

Why should you use Immigration Solicitors to help me?

Here are just some of the reasons to choose us:

  • We are the UK’s #1 Immigration Specialist Law Firm
  • We are a fully SRA regulated law firm so you are working directly with our in house legal team
  • No agencies, middlemen or outsourcing
  • We have achieved 99% success rate across all application types
  • We have a 24 hour helpline that operates 7 days a week – 365 days a year
  • We have multiple offices across the UK but 90% of our clients are not required to visit in person
  • We have more than 60 years combined immigration expertise
  • Our team have handled more than 8,000 cases
  • We offer a free initial assessment which will explain your options and check your eligibility for your chosen route
  • We operate a 100% Agreed Fixed Fee model with all fees fixed and agreed before work is started
  • 98% of our clients would recommend us to family & friends
  • Our average rating is 4.6/5 across major review platforms (based on over 2000 reviews).

What is Free Needs Assessment?

If you have an immigration related problem or question, you can have a free assessment with a member of our assessments team.

The assessor will establish why you are calling and what you are looking for assistance with. The assessor will ask you a series of questions to determine your circumstances in relation to your objectives.

The assessment is 100% private and confidential. As we are a private law firm, we work with our clients to overturn Government decisions daily. We do not share any information with any third party.

Although the assessor will be a trained immigration specialist, they are not solicitors and therefore will not give you detailed legal advice or guidance.

If you want to establish what your options are and the best way forward for you, your assessor will collate the necessary information and then speak with one of the resident senior solicitors at the firm to determine what your options are, if and how we could assist and confirm whether we would be prepared to take your case. If we can assist, you will be provided with an Agreed Fixed Fee quotation which is a single legal fee to cover the firms cost of representation agreed from the outset and binding for all parties.

The free assessment is no obligation and you are merely given clarity on your position and options to move forward.

If you have a complex matter or require legal advice regarding a specific issue, you will most likely require a legal consultation.

This is a separate service and is chargeable at the prevailing rates.

Please note, UK Immigration Solicitors are a private law firm and are not part of the Government. We do not accept legal aid instructions. Although we are happy to assist genuine callers, we are not a directory service and sadly are unable to provide you with Government telephone numbers.

To get started you can either call us on 0203 384 4389 or complete the assessment form and one of the team will call you

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