Creative Worker visa

Overview

The Temporary Work — Creative Worker visa is for people who have been offered work in the UK as a creative worker — someone who works in the creative industries, for example an actor, dancer, musician or film crew member. You need 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 — Creative and Sporting (T5) visa; sportspeople now apply for the International Sportsperson visa.

You can apply up to 3 months before the start date on your certificate of sponsorship. An initial grant is for up to 12 months, and you may be able to extend to 24 months in total if you stay with the same sponsor. The route does not lead to settlement.

Wesbridge Associates supports creative-sector businesses with sponsor licence applications and ongoing compliance. We do not act as a talent agency, casting service or job-placement provider.

Eligibility in detail

You need all of the following to be eligible for the creative category.

• A unique contribution to the UK labour market

  For example, you are internationally renowned or you are required for continuity.

• Certificate of sponsorship

  A reference number from a licensed sponsor holding information about the job and your personal details. It is not a paper document and is valid for 3 months from the date it is assigned to you. Your sponsor must also tell you how much you will be paid.

• Minimum salary set by the industry

  You must be paid at least the minimum salary set by Equity, PACT or BECTU, except if you are a model, a musician or part of a circus.

• Minimum wage and working hours

  Your employer must make sure your job pays at least the minimum wage and follows UK rules on weekly working hours. GOV.UK states that if it does not, your application will be refused.

• 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 within 31 days of applying — unless you are exempt.

• TB test, if applicable

  If you are from a country where you have to take a tuberculosis test, 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.

You do not need 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 employer can cover your costs during your first month in the UK, up to £1,270. Where your employer supports you, it must complete the “sponsor certifies maintenance” section of your certificate of sponsorship, under “Additional data”.

How long you can stay, and multiple engagements

The limits GOV.UK sets on the length of a grant and on how work is scheduled.

• You can come to the UK for a maximum of 12 months, or the time given in your certificate of sponsorship plus up to 28 days, whichever is shorter.
• Your stay must start no more than 14 days before the start date on your certificate of sponsorship.
• You can apply up to 3 months before the day you are due to start work.
• Your sponsor can give you a certificate covering the entire length of your stay, even if you perform at more than one engagement.
• If you work for more than one sponsor, you can get a certificate from each sponsor.
• There cannot be a gap of more than 14 days between each job. If you leave the UK and come back, your time away does not count towards those 14 days.
• If you want to change sponsor — within the same organisation or to a new one — you must apply again and meet all the eligibility rules. Changing sponsor does not change the maximum time you can stay.

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
• Do a job on the Skilled Worker immigration salary list 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:

• Get public funds
• Start your own business

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

Fee plus surcharge for a 24-month stay

£2,410

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

Biometric enrolment when extending

No 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 employer 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 employer can support you
• Proof of your relationship with your partner or children, if they are applying with you
• Your tuberculosis 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 employer 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).
• 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 partner or child already in the UK cannot switch to be your dependant if they hold a visit visa, a short-term student visa, a Parent of a Child Student visa, a Seasonal Worker visa or a domestic worker in a private household visa, are on immigration bail, or were given permission outside the immigration rules.
• A partner or child on a Student visa can only switch once they have completed the course they were sponsored to study or have studied for a PhD for at least 24 months.
• 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.

Extending your visa

How far you can extend depends on whether you stay with the same sponsor.

• You can apply to extend your Temporary Work — Creative Worker visa. You must be in the UK, apply online before your current visa expires, and continue to meet the eligibility rules.
• Staying with the same sponsor: you can extend for whichever is the shortest of 12 months, the time on your certificate of sponsorship plus 14 days, or the time needed to take your total stay to 24 months.
• Changing sponsor: you can extend for whichever is the shorter of the time on your certificate of sponsorship plus 14 days, or the time needed to take your total stay to 12 months.
• You cannot extend your stay if you used the Creative Worker visa concession to enter the UK.
• You will need to have your fingerprints and a photo taken — there is no fee for this. A standard decision takes 8 weeks; 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, or your application will be withdrawn.
• 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.

Switching and what comes next

• GOV.UK states that from inside the UK you can only extend an existing Creative Worker visa; the guide does not list switching into this route from another visa category.
• Whether you can move from this route into another category depends entirely on the rules of the route you want to join — take advice before your current permission expires.
• The Creative Worker route does not lead to settlement, and time spent on it does not count towards indefinite leave to remain.
• Creative professionals seeking a long-term route often consider Global Talent or Skilled Worker, each of which has its own eligibility requirements.

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.
• Applications are refused when the applicant cannot show a unique contribution to the UK labour market — for example that they are internationally renowned or required for continuity.
• Applications are refused when the pay is below the minimum salary set by Equity, PACT or BECTU for the role, unless the applicant is a model, a musician or part of a circus.
• Applications are refused when the employer has not ensured the job pays at least the minimum wage and follows UK working-hours rules — GOV.UK states this explicitly.
• 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 work does not relate to the work of the sponsor organisation.
• 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 Creative Worker visa application.

Source

Information sourced from GOV.UK (Creative Worker visa (Temporary Work)), last updated 17 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.