Government Authorised Exchange (GAE) visa

Overview

The Temporary Work — Government Authorised Exchange visa is for people who want to come to the UK for a short time for work experience, training, an Overseas Government Language Programme, research or a fellowship through an approved government authorised exchange scheme. You need a sponsor, and your work, training or research in the UK must relate to the work of your sponsor organisation. The route replaced the Temporary Worker — Government Authorised Exchange (T5) visa.

You can apply up to 3 months before the day you are due to start work. Depending on the scheme you will get a visa for a maximum of 12 months or 24 months. The route does not lead to settlement.

Wesbridge Associates supports UK overarching bodies and host organisations with sponsor licence applications and ongoing compliance. We do not operate exchange schemes or place participants with host organisations.

Who can sponsor you

GOV.UK lists three kinds of sponsor for this route.

Your sponsor will give you either the reference number on your certificate of sponsorship — an electronic document that confirms your job and personal details — or a sponsorship reference number. A certificate of sponsorship is valid for 3 months from the date it is assigned to you; a sponsorship reference number is valid for 90 days from the date it is issued to your sponsor.

Eligibility in detail

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

• Certificate of sponsorship or sponsorship reference number

  You must have one of these from your UK sponsor and add it to your application form.

• Work related to your sponsor

  Your work, training or research in the UK must relate to the work of your sponsor organisation.

• 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.

• 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.

• Information confirmed from your sponsor

  You will need to confirm the job you are being sponsored for, your start date, your working hours, whether your sponsor is financially supporting you, and how long you can stay.

• ATAS certificate, if required

  If your employer tells you your job involves researching a sensitive subject at PhD level or higher, you need a valid Academic Technology Approval Scheme certificate.

• 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. Your employer must confirm this when it assigns your certificate of sponsorship or makes a sponsorship submission for you.

How long you can stay

The ceiling depends on what the scheme is for, and on the dates on your visa.

Work experience schemes

Up to 12 months

Research, training or an Overseas Government Language Programme

Up to 24 months

Earliest entry

Up to 14 days before your job starts, but not before the start date on your visa

Latest departure

Up to 14 days after your job ends, but not past the end date on your visa

Earliest you can apply

3 months before your start date

What you can and cannot do

On this visa you can:

• Work in the job you have a certificate of sponsorship or sponsorship reference number for
• Do a second 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 as well as your main job
• 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:

• 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

Fee plus surcharge for a 24-month grant

£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

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 or switching 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

Super priority after a weekend UKVCAS appointment

2 working days after the appointment

Dependants applying from outside the UK

3 weeks

Dependants extending or switching 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 or 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 employer will 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 valid ATAS certificate, if your employer tells you that you need one because your job involves researching a sensitive subject at PhD level or higher
• A letter from a government or international scholarship agency giving you consent to remain in, or re-enter, the UK, where this applies to you
• 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 has confirmed 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 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

You might be able to extend your stay, within the ceiling for your type of scheme.

• You can apply to stay for up to a maximum of 12 months if you are doing work experience, or 24 months if you are doing research, training or an Overseas Government Language Programme.
• You can usually stay for 14 days after the end date given to you by your sponsor.
• You must apply online while you are still in the UK, before your current visa expires, and you must still meet the eligibility requirements.
• A standard decision is made within 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.
• If your application is successful you will get an eVisa — a digital record of your identity and immigration status — and will need a UKVI account to access it.
• If you want to change sponsor within the same organisation or move to a new organisation, you must apply again and meet all the eligibility rules.
• 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.
• The route does not lead to settlement, and time spent on it does not count towards indefinite leave to remain.

Switching to this visa from inside the UK

GOV.UK allows a defined group of students and trainees to switch into the route.

You can apply to switch if you are a:

• Student, whether studying, resitting an examination or writing a thesis
• Student union sabbatical officer
• Student nurse
• Postgraduate doctor or dentist
• Student visa holder, including Tier 4

You must have completed a UK bachelor’s or master’s degree during your last grant of leave, and the work, training or research you are being sponsored to do must relate to that degree. It can be postgraduate training or work experience that will give you a professional qualification or registration in the same field, or an internship of up to 12 months that is related to your degree. You must also meet the other eligibility requirements and apply before your current visa expires.

• You will be asked to book a UKVCAS appointment to give your fingerprints and a photo, and you can upload supporting documents online or have them scanned at the appointment.
• A standard decision is made within 8 weeks. With the super priority service a decision is made by the end of the next working day after a weekday appointment, or 2 working days after a weekend appointment.
• You must not travel outside the UK, Ireland, the Channel Islands or the Isle of Man until you get a decision.
• Your partner’s or child’s visa does not switch automatically. They can apply at the same time as you or at any time before their own visa expires.

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 sponsorship reference number, or it has expired — 3 months after assignment for a certificate, 90 days after issue for a sponsorship reference number.
• Applications are refused when the sponsor is not an organisation running an approved exchange scheme, a higher education institution sponsoring a researcher, visiting academic or examiner, or a government department or agency.
• Applications are refused when the work, training or research does not relate to the work of the sponsor organisation.
• 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 a required ATAS certificate for sensitive research at PhD level or higher is missing.
• Applications are refused when a required tuberculosis test certificate is missing.
• Applications are refused when a switching applicant has not completed a UK bachelor’s or master’s degree during their last grant of leave, or the sponsored work does not relate to that degree.
• 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 Government Authorised Exchange visa application.

Source

Information sourced from GOV.UK (Government Authorised Exchange visa (Temporary Work)), last updated 24 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.