Seasonal Worker visa: UK seasonal farm work

Overview

The Seasonal Worker visa lets you come to the UK to work in horticulture for up to 6 months — for example picking fruit, vegetables or flowers — or in poultry from 2 October to 31 December in the same year. You need a sponsor and must meet the other eligibility requirements. The route replaced the Temporary Worker — Seasonal Worker (T5) visa.

You can apply for horticulture visas at any time of year, up to 3 months before the start date on your certificate of sponsorship. Poultry visas must be applied for by 15 November each year. The route does not lead to settlement.

What work the route covers

GOV.UK lists two sectors, each with its own window.

Eligibility in detail

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

• Aged 18 or over

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

• Certificate of sponsorship

  A reference number from your UK sponsor holding information about the job and your personal details. It is not a paper document, is valid for 3 months from the date it is assigned to you, and can be used only once.

• 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 your sponsor certifies maintenance.

• 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.

• No English language test

  The GOV.UK guide does not list an English language requirement for this route.

• Apply from outside the UK

  The GOV.UK guide has no section for extending or switching inside the UK, and the in-country processing-times table does not list Seasonal Worker.

The only exemption from showing the £1,270 that GOV.UK lists for this route is where your sponsor can cover your costs during your first month in the UK, up to £1,270. Your sponsor must confirm this by completing the “sponsor certifies maintenance” section of your certificate of sponsorship, under “Additional data”.

How long you can stay

Horticulture work

Up to 6 months

Poultry work

2 October to 31 December each year

Deadline for poultry applications

15 November each year

Earliest entry

As soon as your visa is valid — up to 14 days before your job starts

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 described in your certificate of sponsorship
• Study — for some courses you will need an Academic Technology Approval Scheme (ATAS) certificate

You cannot:

• Take a permanent job
• Work in a second job, or a job that is not described in your certificate of sponsorship
• Get public funds
• Bring family members with you

Fees and costs

Application fee

£340

Maintenance funds you must hold, unless your sponsor certifies maintenance

£1,270

Immigration Health Surcharge

Not listed for this route in the GOV.UK guide

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

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

Applications inside the UK

Not listed — no extension route

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
• A certified translation of any document that is not in English or Welsh, apart from your passport

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

Family members

GOV.UK states that you cannot bring family members with you on the Seasonal Worker visa. If you have a child while you are in the UK, they do not automatically become a British citizen. You can apply online for their visa as your dependant, and you must do this if you want to travel in and out of the UK with your child. You will need to provide a full UK birth certificate for each child, showing the names of both parents.

Extending or switching

• The GOV.UK guide for the Seasonal Worker visa contains no section on extending or switching from inside the UK, and the in-country processing-times table does not list the route.
• A certificate of sponsorship can be used only once, so any future application needs a new certificate from a licensed sponsor and must meet all the requirements again.
• The route does not lead to settlement, and 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 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 the sponsor has not certified maintenance.
• 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 job is not horticulture or poultry work within the windows the route allows, or a poultry application is made after 15 November.
• 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 sponsors and applicants with the Seasonal Worker route.

Source

Information sourced from GOV.UK (Seasonal Worker visa (Temporary Work)), last updated 1 April 2019 as dated by the GOV.UK content API, together with GOV.UK visa processing times guidance for applications outside the UK (26 June 2026) 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.