Charity Worker visa (UK volunteer visa)

Overview

The Temporary Work — Charity Worker visa is for people who want to come to the UK to do unpaid voluntary work for a charity. You must hold a certificate of sponsorship from a licensed sponsor before you apply, and the work you do in the UK must relate to the work of your sponsor organisation. The route replaced the Temporary Worker — Charity Worker (T5) visa.

You can apply up to 3 months before the day you are due to start work, which is the date shown on your certificate of sponsorship. A grant lasts for up to 12 months or the time on your certificate plus 14 days, whichever is shorter, and you may be able to extend within that 12-month ceiling. The route does not lead to settlement.

Eligibility in detail

Every condition GOV.UK lists for the route. You must meet all of them.

• Certificate of sponsorship

  You need a certificate of sponsorship reference number from a UK sponsor that is licensed to issue them. It is a unique reference number, not a paper document, and is valid for 3 months from the date it is assigned to you.

• Unpaid voluntary work for a charity

  The purpose of your stay must be unpaid voluntary work, and the work must relate to the work of your sponsor organisation. You cannot receive any payment for work.

• Aged 18 or over

  You must be 18 or over on the date you apply.

• Money to support yourself

  You usually need at least £1,270 in your bank account, held for at least 28 days in a row, with day 28 falling within 31 days of your application. Exemptions apply — see below.

• No Charity or Religious Worker visa in the last year

  You cannot get this visa if you were given a Religious Worker or Charity Worker visa in the last year, unless you can prove you were outside the UK for the whole of that time.

• Job meets UK employment law

  Your sponsor must make sure your role complies with UK employment law. GOV.UK states that if it does not, your application will be refused.

• TB test, if applicable

  If you are from a country where you have to take a tuberculosis test, you must provide your test results with your application.

• No English language test

  The GOV.UK guide does not list an English language requirement for this route, and no English evidence appears in the documents you must provide.

You do not have to show proof of the £1,270 if you have been in the UK with a valid visa for at least 12 months, or if your sponsor can cover your costs during your first month in the UK, up to £1,270. Where your sponsor supports you, this must be confirmed on your certificate of sponsorship in the “sponsor certifies maintenance” section under “Additional data”. Your sponsor must also give you the information it used on the certificate about your job, such as your working hours.

How long you can stay

• You can stay for up to 12 months, or the time given on your certificate of sponsorship plus 14 days, whichever is shorter.
• You can enter the UK up to 14 days before the start date of your job.
• You can apply for the visa up to 3 months before the day you are due to start work.
• If your first grant is shorter than 12 months you can apply to extend from inside the UK, but your total stay cannot exceed 12 months.
• The route does not lead to settlement (indefinite leave to remain).

What you can and cannot do

On this visa you can:

• Work for your sponsor in the job described in your certificate of sponsorship
• Do a second job in the same sector and at the same level as your main job for up to 20 hours per week
• Study — for some courses you will need an Academic Technology Approval Scheme (ATAS) certificate
• Bring your partner and children with you as your dependants, if they are eligible

You cannot:

• Receive any payment for work
• Take a permanent job
• Get public funds

Fees and costs

Application fee, per person, inside or outside the UK

£340

Immigration Health Surcharge

Usually £1,035 per year

Fee plus surcharge for a 12-month grant

£1,375

Maintenance funds you must hold, unless exempt

£1,270

Additional funds for a dependant partner

£285

Additional funds for your first child

£315

Additional funds for each further child

£200

Priority service, where offered

£500 in addition to the fee

Super priority service, where offered

£1,000 in addition to the fee

Processing times

Times run from the point you have proved your identity and provided your documents.

Standard service, applying from outside the UK

3 weeks

Standard service, extending from inside the UK

8 weeks

Priority service (£500), where offered

Usually within 5 working days

Super priority service (£1,000), where offered

Usually by the end of the next working day

Dependants applying from outside the UK

3 weeks

Dependants extending inside the UK

8 weeks

UK Visas and Immigration starts the clock once you have either verified your identity through the UK Immigration: ID Check app or attended your biometrics appointment. Processing is measured in UK working days and includes UK public holidays. GOV.UK warns that an application may take longer where information is inaccurate or needs further consideration, further evidence such as proof of funds is needed, supporting documents must be verified, an interview is required, you have a criminal conviction, or demand is unusually high. You will be contacted within the current processing time if your case will take longer.

Documents you will need

• Your certificate of sponsorship reference number — your sponsor will give you this
• A valid passport or other document that shows your identity and nationality
• Evidence that you have enough personal savings to support yourself, for example bank statements, unless your certificate of sponsorship shows your sponsor can support you
• Proof of your relationship with your partner or children, if they are applying with you
• Your tuberculosis (TB) test results, if you are from a country where you have to take the test
• A certified translation of any document that is not in English or Welsh

You may need to provide additional documents depending on your circumstances. You will prove your identity either by scanning your passport with the UK Immigration: ID Check app and creating or signing into your UKVI account, or by having your fingerprints and photograph taken at a visa application centre. If you need an appointment you must take your passport with you, and your nearest centre may be in another country.

Your partner and children

Dependants can apply to join you or stay in the UK if they are eligible.

A dependant is your husband, wife, civil partner or unmarried partner; your child under 18, including a child born in the UK during your stay; or your child over 18 who already has permission to be in the UK as your dependant. Their visa will usually end on the same date as yours. If a child’s parents hold visas with different expiry dates, the child’s visa ends on the earlier date.

Funds for your partner

£285

Funds for one child

£315

Funds for each additional child

£200

Example: partner and one child

£600, plus your own £1,270

• The money must have been held for at least 28 days in a row, with day 28 within 31 days of the application.
• Proof is not needed if you have all been in the UK with a valid visa for at least 12 months, or your sponsor confirms on your certificate of sponsorship that it will cover your family’s costs during your first month.
• Each family member completes a separate application, pays the £340 fee and the healthcare surcharge, and needs your application number (GWF or UAN). They must apply before they travel to the UK.
• Dependants can work (except as a sportsperson or coach), study, and travel abroad and return. They cannot apply for most benefits (public funds) or the State Pension.
• A child born in the UK does not automatically become a British citizen. Apply for their dependant visa, with a full UK birth certificate naming both parents, if you want to travel in and out of the UK with them — and before they turn 18 if they want to stay.
• If your partner or child is in the UK on a Student visa, they can only switch to be your dependant once they have completed the course they were sponsored to study or have studied for a PhD for at least 24 months.

Extending your visa

An extension is possible only within the 12-month ceiling for the route.

• You can apply to extend your Temporary Work — Charity Worker visa, but your total stay cannot exceed 12 months, or the time on your certificate of sponsorship plus 14 days, whichever is shorter.
• You must be in the UK to extend, apply online before your current visa expires, and continue to meet the eligibility rules.
• A decision is made within 8 weeks under the standard service. You may be able to pay for a faster decision.
• You must not travel outside the UK, Ireland, the Channel Islands or the Isle of Man until you get a decision — your application will be withdrawn if you do.
• Your partner’s or child’s visa does not extend automatically. They can apply at the same time as you or at any time before their own visa expires.
• GOV.UK states you can only extend your existing visa from inside the UK on this route; it does not list switching into the Charity Worker route from another visa.
• The route does not lead to settlement. Time spent on it does not count towards indefinite leave to remain.

Application process

Common refusal reasons

Each of these follows from a mandatory requirement of the route or from the general grounds for refusal.

• Applications are refused when there is no valid certificate of sponsorship reference number, or the certificate has expired 3 months after it was assigned or has already been used.
• Applications are refused when the role is not unpaid voluntary work, or it does not relate to the work of the sponsor organisation.
• Applications are refused when the applicant was under 18 on the date of application.
• Applications are refused when the £1,270 has not been held for 28 consecutive days, or day 28 falls outside the 31 days before the application, and no exemption applies.
• Applications are refused when the applicant held a Charity Worker or Religious Worker visa in the previous 12 months and cannot prove they were outside the UK for the whole of that time.
• Applications are refused when the sponsor has not ensured the role complies with UK employment law — GOV.UK states this explicitly.
• Applications are refused when a required tuberculosis test certificate is missing.
• Applications are refused when documents are false, incomplete, or not accompanied by a certified translation where one is required.
• Applications are refused when the applicant has breached previous immigration conditions or falls under the general grounds for refusal, for example because of a criminal record.

Need expert guidance?

Our immigration experts can help you with your Charity Worker visa application.

Source

Information sourced from GOV.UK (Charity Worker visa (Temporary Work)), last updated 31 October 2024, together with GOV.UK visa processing times guidance for applications outside the UK (26 June 2026) and inside the UK (21 July 2025) and the GOV.UK faster decision guidance (31 October 2024), and reproduced under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Rules change; we verify requirements at the point of instruction.