How to Apply for a UK Creative Worker Visa

Blogs - Immigration

If you want to work within the UK’s bustling arts and culture industry, you may be interested in the Creative Worker Visa. In this article I will discuss the basics of this immigration route as well as briefly cover some alternatives.

What Is the Creative Worker Visa and Am I Eligible?

The Creative Worker Visa is a short-term visa which allows Creative Workers to come to the UK for up to 12 months and, if they wish to continue working for the same sponsor, to extend their stay for a maximum of 24 months. While this is a great short-term option, this is not a direct route for settlement. However, it may be possible to switch into another immigration route which can lead to indefinite leave to remain.

A Creative Worker is someone who works as an entertainer, creative artist, fashion model, or entourage. There is no exhaustive list of roles which fall under this category, though the guidance helps us by confirming that Creative Workers may work within the following industries:

  • Dance;
  • Music;
  • Film;
  • Theatre;
  • Television;
  • Circuses;
  • Opera; and
  • Fashion Modelling.

Creative Workers may also bring their entourage to the UK, which includes production crew and personal assistants to directors or producers.

Who Can Sponsor a Creative Worker?

To apply for a creative worker visa you must have a sponsor. Contrary to other sponsored work routes, including the Skilled Worker route, an applicant’s sponsor need not be their direct employer.  The sponsor can be:

  • Your direct employer;
  • A producer, co-producer, or general management company if you are employed through a Special Purpose Vehicle;
  • Your venue;
  • Your promoter; and
  • Your  agent, based in the UK.

It is important to check that your employer has a sponsor licence and understands the duties that come with being a sponsor.

How Do I Get a Creative Worker Certificate of Sponsorship?

Your sponsor will assign you a certificate of sponsorship (CoS). In order to be assigned a CoS you must fall within one of the following three categories:

  • You comply with the relevant Code of Practice under Appendix Creative Workers Codes of Practice, if one exists for your occupation. For example you may be internationally famous in your field, or perhaps you worked with the production before and they require you for continuity;
  • Your job is on the shortage occupation list under Appendix Shortage Occupation List; or
  • Your sponsor has conducted a resident labour market in that field and is satisfied that the work could not be carried out by a settled worker.

How Do I Apply for a Creative Worker Visa?

Once you have been assigned a CoS, most applicants will need to complete the Home Office’s online application form for a Creative Worker Visa.

In either case, you must “genuinely intend” and be capable of performing whatever engagement you are coming to the UK to do. You must not carry out any other employment during the period in which you are in the UK.  The Immigration Rules define the terms “employment” and “work” very broadly, so be careful not to breach the conditions of your stay.

If you are applying from outside the UK or have spent less than one year in the UK, you must show that you have enough money to maintain yourself and any dependents. Your sponsor can choose to certify your maintenance on your CoS.

In addition, your sponsor must pay you above the minimum wage, unless you are exempt, in which case they must add a sponsor note to the CoS.

Switching into the Creative Worker route from within the UK is not normally permitted.

What Alternatives Are There to the Creative Worker Visa?

There are several alternatives to the Creative Worker Visa, each with its own advantages and disadvantages.

  • Global Talent Visa
  • Permitted Paid Engagement Visa
  • Creative Visit Visa
  • Skilled Worker Visa

Contact our Immigration Solicitors

Our immigration solicitors will be able to advise you as to which option is right for you. For expert advice and assistance in relation to Creative Worker, Global Talent and Skilled Worker applications, please contact our immigration solicitors on 020 8240 9018 or via the enquiry form on our website.

Sponsor Licence Applications for Start-ups: Frequently Asked Questions

Blogs - Immigration

This article will provide guidance for Start-up businesses that wish to apply for a Skilled Worker Sponsor Licence from the Home Office. Full details of the eligibility and suitability criteria for a Skilled Worker Sponsor Licence are discussed in our previous post How To Apply For a Skilled Worker Sponsor Licence.

What type of organisation can be considered as a Start-up business?

In accordance with the Home Office’s Appendix A, an organisation can be considered as a start-up: ‘If you have been operating or trading in the UK for less than 18 months on the date you make your application, the checks we will make are different to those we carry out on more established businesses.’

What documents does a Start-up business need to provide?

Start-up businesses usually needs to provide at least 4 documents. If an organisation can provide more than 4 documents, it is encouraged to do so.

Mandatory documents 

As a start-up, it is essential that evidence is shown that the company has a bank account. The bank must be registered by the Financial Conduct Authority and the Prudential Regulation Authority in the UK. You can provide a letter from the bank setting out the dealings it has had with you. Alternatively, you can also provide the most recent bank statements showing transactions. If both documents are provided, it will only be counted as one document.

Other documents

The Home Office understands that as a start-up, there are various documents which may not be available.  The following are suggestions for documents that may be easier to provide:

  • VAT registration certificate from HM Revenue & Customs (‘HMRC’);
  • Letter from HMRC confirming your PAYE reference number and Accounts Office reference number;
  • Employer’s liability insurance cover for at least £5m from an authorised insurer registered with the Financial Conduct Authority;
  • Lease for the business premises;

Other documents which can be provided, if these are available, include:

  • Latest audited or unaudited annual accounts where the name of the accountant is stated. Do check that the accountant is a member of an accredited accounting body;
  • Latest completed Company Tax Return CT600 and the CT603 notice;

Any other mandatory documents?

Franchise: If you are a franchise, it is vital that you provide a copy of the franchise agreement. This must be signed by both parties.

Food business: If you are in the food business and you are required to register with a food authority, evidence must show that your business has obtained registration or approval. This can include evidence from Scores on the Doors or a letter from the relevant authority confirming registration or approval.

It is worth noting that if your business also serves alcohol, you should have a licence issued by the local authority or court granting your business permission to serve alcohol. This can be counted as one document towards your 4 documents.

Businesses which are required to register with a regulated body: The Home Office has set out in Appendix A what they expect to see for the following businesses:

  • “nursing/care homes and other businesses, which must be inspected by Ofsted or the Care Quality Commission or the equivalent bodies in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland
  • financial or insurance businesses carrying out regulated activities which must be registered with the Financial Conduct Authority or the Prudential Regulation Authority
  • healthcare and medical providers, who must be registered with the General Medical Council or General Dental Council

This is not an exhaustive list.”

Most of the checks can be carried out online unless you are applying for a licence under a different name, then the last inspection report can be submitted.

Charity: An online check can be conducted if the business is registered with the Charity Commission for England and Wales, the Charity Commission for Northern Ireland or the Scottish Charity Regulator.

How will the Home Office assess the sponsor licence application?

The Home Office will check the following when assessing your start-up sponsor licence application:

  • Whether there is a human resource system in place to meet your sponsor duties;
  • Whether they are able to conduct an immediate and unannounced compliance check to ensure sponsor duties are being complied with;
  • Whether there is any evidence of previous non-compliance by you;
  • Whether your organisation is able to offer the genuine employment;
  • That the job meets the correct skilled level and salary requirements as set out in the Immigration Rules;
  • Whether any of the key personnel within the business have an unspent criminal convictions for a relevant offence;

The standard processing time for skilled worker sponsor licence applications is up to 8 weeks. For the application to be processed within 10 working days, a priority service for a fee of £500.00 may be available.

Contact Our Immigration Solicitors

For expert advice and assistance in relation to a Sponsor Licence application or a Skilled Worker application, please contact our immigration solicitors on 020 8240 9018 or via the enquiry form below.

Sponsor Licence Holders – Latest Changes to Sponsor Duties

Blogs - Immigration

Sponsor licence holders have a number of duties and responsibilities that they must comply with to maintain their licence. It is very important that sponsor licence holders understand the duties that come with holding a licence, and have adequate systems in place to ensure compliance. A failure to comply can have serious consequences for the business and the migrant workers that it employs. If the Home Office finds that the licence holder has failed to comply, it can decide to suspend, downgrade, or revoke the licence. Please see our previous post on the potential implications of non-compliance here.

1. Immigration Skilled Charge (‘ISC’) Exemption

ISC is payable when a sponsor assigns a Certificate of Sponsorship (“CoS”) to a migrant. It applies to the Skilled Worker Route and the Global Business Mobility – Senior or Specialist Worker route. This charge cannot be passed on to the sponsored worker.

The amount payable depends on the size of the organisation sponsoring the workers, and the length of employment stated on the CoS. Large organisations must be £1,000 per year while small or charitable organisations must pay £364 per year of the sponsorship. When making sponsor licence applications, organisations are required to specify the size of the organisation. It should be noted that changes to an organisation’s size should be reported within 10 working days.

A new exemption has been added to the above list for Senior or specialist workers who:

  • Have been assigned a CoS on or after 01 January 2023;
  • Are a national of of an EU country or a Latvian non-citizen (does not apply to nationals of Iceland, Norway, Liechtenstein or Switzerland; and
  • Have been assigned to the UK by a business established in the EU and forms part of the same sponsor Group.

In order to meet the new above exemption, the end date of the assignment, as specified on the CoS, must not be more than 36 months (3 years) after the start date. If the UK company is not already linked as part of the sponsor group, this will need to take place before they can sponsor a migrant in this category to take advantage of the exemption. This can take up to 18 weeks.

It should be noted that the above new exemption is subject to Parliamentary approval. 

2. Salary payments

Salary payments can be paid to the worker into their UK or overseas bank account. The guidance has been updated to confirm that:

  • Salary payments must be paid into their own account;
  • Payments cannot be made in cash (doing this can result in the revocation of the licence);
  • If the worker is paid by cheque, it must be paid into the worker’s own bank account.

Salary payments from the sponsor’s bank account should be clearly identifiable. It is advisable that the sponsor keeps records of each payment it makes to the migrant worker during the course of their sponsored employment.

3. Changing start-dates 

Previously, the guidance stated that if a migrant’s start-date was delayed beyond 28 days from either the start date as stated on the CoS, the validity date of the vignette, entry as a Creative Worker, or the date the migrant was informed of their grant, whichever is later, they should cease sponsorship. This was widely regarded as an arbitrary rule which resulted in some workers’ permission being cancelled purely on this basis.

The guidance has been updated to soften this approach. Start dates can be changed through the SMS system either by adding a sponsor note on the CoS (where the migrant is yet to make their visa / immigration application) or by reporting migrant activity (where the migrant has made their application, but it remains pending).

Where the migrant would start work later than 28 days after the above, the Sponsor can now explain the reasons for this by reporting the new start date through the SMS system. It should be noted, however, that the Home Office does not have to accept the reasons for the delay and, if it does not, then a migrant’s permission may be cancelled.

4. Requesting Defined CoS allocations 

A Defined Certificate of Sponsorship is required by a Skilled Worker applying for entry clearance from outside the UK.

A Defined Certificate of Sponsorship is not assigned from the sponsor’s annual allocation – there are no limits to the number of Certificates available. Sponsors must make a request for a Defined CoS allocation. Contrary to the Undefined CoS allocation requests, specific details of the migrant must be provided. Once the allocation is received, the CoS can only be assigned to the migrant that the request was made for.

The guidance has been updated to stipulate that when requesting a Defined CoS allocation, the number of working hours must now be included as part of the job description summary submitted in the request. Where this is not provided, the allocation request is likely to be refused.

Level 1 users should take care to include this information as it is not explicitly requested when making the allocation request.

5. Unpaid leave

Previously, a migrant could take a maximum of four weeks’ (pro-rata for part-time staff) unpaid leave, unless an exception applied. Exceptions included statutory maternity/paternity/parental or shared parental leave, statutory adoption leave, sick leave, taking part in legally organised industrial action and assisting with a national/international humanitarian/environmental crisis.

Sponsors were required to cease sponsorship if unpaid leave exceeded four weeks and no exception applied. The guidance has now been updated to state:

“If you believe there are compelling or exceptional circumstances as to why you should not stop sponsoring a worker who has been absent from work without pay for more than 4 weeks (and an exception does not apply), you must report the absence and reasons via the ‘Report migrant activity’ function in the SMS for UKVI to consider.”

This is, of course, a welcome change, but there is no guarantee that the Home Office will accept the reasons, and they choose to cancel the migrant’s permission if they do not consider there to be a good reason for the extended absence.

Contact our Immigration Solicitors

For expert advice and assistance in relation to applying for or managing a sponsor licence, please contact our immigration barristers in London on 020 8240 9018 or via the enquiry form on our website.

UK Visa Decision Waiting Times: Frequently Asked Questions

Blogs - Immigration

UK Visas and Immigration (UKVI) has published service standards for waiting times for decisions on visa and immigration applications.  UKVI also publishes up-to-date information on current processing times for visa and immigration applications submitted both within the UK and outside the UK.

In this post we take an in-depth look at UK visa processing times, including the Home Office service standards for waiting times, current Home Office visa processing times, options for securing a faster decision on a visa or immigration application and how to challenge a delay in the processing of a UK visa or immigration application.  We also answer some frequently asked questions relating to UKVI visa processing times and look at some of the factors to consider when timing an immigration application.

When Does the UK Visa Application Processing Time Start and End?

For UK visa applications submitted outside the UK, visa processing time will start from either the date you provide your biometric information (fingerprints and a photograph) at a visa application centre or, if eligible, the date you verify your identity using the UK Immigration: ID Check app. The waiting time will end on the date when you receive an email with a decision on your application.

For a UK immigration application submitted from within the UK, the waiting time will generally start from the date when you submit your application online.  An exception is made for Graduate Immigration Route applications, where the waiting time starts from the date when the applicant attends an appointment at a visa service centre or submits their documents using the UK Immigration ID Check app.  In all in-country cases the waiting time will end on the date when you receive either a letter or email with a decision.

The service standard does not include the time taken to issue you with your Biometric Residence Permit (BRP). You will usually receive your BRP within 7 working days after a decision has been made on your application.  If you do not receive a BRP you can report it.

Will My Dependents’ Visas Be Processed Within the Same Time Frame?

Dependent visas should be processed within the same time frame as the main applicant’s visa and dependents should receive their decision at the same time. Dependent visas will not be issued before the main applicant has received their decision. Where a dependent applies after the main applicant has received a positive decision, this may shorten the time to receive an outcome.

Can I Get a Faster Decision on My UK Visa Application?

UK Visas & Immigration offers a ‘priority service’ and a ‘super priority service’ for applicants who, for an additional fee, wish to receive a faster decision on their UK visa application.  Selecting one of these premium services will ensure that an application is placed at the front of the queue at every stage of the decision-making process.

Eligible applicants who apply via the priority service should receive a decision within 5 working days of their appointment at the visa application centre (for overseas applicants) or within 5 working days of either the day of their appointment at a UKVCAS appointment centre or the working day after having finished uploading documents if using the UK Immigration: ID Check app (for in-country applicants).

Eligible applicants who apply via the super priority service should receive a decision by the end of the next working day after their appointment at the visa application centre (for overseas applicants) or their appointment at a UKVCAS appointment centre (for in-country applicants) or within 2 working days if the appointment is at the weekend.  In-country applicants cannot use the super-priority service if applying using the UK Immigration: ID Check App to confirm their identity.

However, the Home Office has announced that both priority and super priority visa services are currently temporarily suspended for new family visa applications submitted outside the UK whilst it prioritises Ukraine Visa Scheme applications.  This suspension has been in place since 14 March 2022. For work (except Innovator, Start-up and High Potential Individual), study and visitor visa applications, priority and super priority services are available in the majority of overseas locations on an appointment basis.  However, there is a reduction in the availability of the priority visa service for visit visa applications.

The priority and super priority services are currently both still available to applicants who are applying for leave to remain and settlement in eligible routes from within the UK.

Overseas applicants should check with their visa application centre to see if the priority visa service or super priority visa service is available in the country they are applying from for their application type.

Applicants applying from within the UK can check the eligible visa and settlement application tables to confirm whether the type of application they are making is eligible for either the priority 5 working day or super priority next working day service (note that there are separate tables for switching/extending applications and settlement applications).

Priority and super-priority services may not be appropriate for complex applications which cannot be processed expeditiously.  In these cases, your application will be put at the front of the queue at each decision-making stage, but a decision may exceed the priority and super-priority timescales.

These premium services should also be considered carefully when making extension applications or switching categories where there is a risk of refusal.  Specialist advice should be sought to ensure that complex applications are timed strategically and sensibly.

Can I Stay in the UK While Waiting for a Decision on My Immigration Application?

If you applied from within the UK before your last leave expired then you will be able to stay in the UK until you receive a decision from the Home Office, even if a decision is delayed.

Can I Travel Outside the UK While My In-Country Application Is Being Processed?

If you have submitted a visa application from within the UK, the general rule is that you must not travel outside the UK while waiting for an immigration decision.  If you leave the UK, your immigration application will be treated as withdrawn and you will not be able to request a refund of your application fee.

You may travel outside of the UK if you have submitted a naturalisation application or have applied for the EU Settlement Scheme.

What Can I Do if a Decision Is Not Made in Time or I Need an Urgent Decision?

If UKVI is not able to process your visa application in time, due to its complexity for example, you should receive a letter explaining the reasons and what will happen next. This letter should be received within the standard processing time.

If you do not receive an update from the Home Office, you can contact them directly (by phone, in writing or both) to request an update on your application status.

You may wish to consider providing evidence of how the delay is impacting you, for example if you do not have a right to work or study.  If there is an urgency or the standard processing time has passed it is possible to ask for the matter to be escalated as a priority.

If you paid for a priority or super-priority service and a decision has not been made within the standard processing time, then you may also be able to request a refund of the priority or super-priority service fee.

When making enquiries, always take care to make clear that you are not intending to withdraw your application.

Additionally, you may also consider making a formal written complaint to UKVI. The complaint process can take up to 20 working days.

You may also consider contacting your local MP.

Please note that UKVI has a discretion to treat incomplete applications, for example those that do not include all mandatory documents, outside of the standard service processing time.

How Can I Challenge Home Office Delay in Deciding My Application?

If there is still no response, then you may consider a further legal avenue of challenge.  There is no right of appeal when there is no decision, but you may consider judicial review proceedings as a way to ask a judge to review the failure of the Home Office to act and make a decision.

If this is a route you wish to consider then you will need to ensure that you have evidence of all stages of your attempts to obtain a decision.  Keeping a written record and details of any Home Office ‘ticket’ numbers you are provided is highly recommended.  The steps you have taken to obtain a decision and the reasons why one is required will be relevant considerations.

Before commencing proceedings you will need to follow a pre-action protocol process. This will give UKVI the opportunity to consider the position before you commence proceedings.

Judicial review proceedings can be legally complex, costly and time consuming.  You may wish to consider seeking legal advice before commencing any proceedings.

Contact our Immigration Solicitors

For expert advice and assistance regarding a UK visa application, contact our immigration solicitors on 020 8240 9018 or via the enquiry form on our website.

The Quickest Ways to Get ILR in the UK

Blogs - Immigration

In this post, we provide an overview of the quickest ways to obtain indefinite leave to remain (ILR) status in the UK. Other routes, such as the 5, 10, 20 year routes to settlement and how dependants on these routes can obtain ILR status will be looked at in posts to follow.

What Is Indefinite Leave (ILR) to Remain?

ILR status allows one to live and work in the UK without needing to apply for any further visas. It provides other benefits such as freedom of movement, in terms of leaving and entering the UK, and access to health care. It is, ultimately, a fundamental step in making the UK a permanent home, but how does one obtain ILR status and how long does it take for one to be settled in the UK? These questions all depend on the route(s) taken to be in the UK in the first place.

It is important to note that this post only provides a quick overview of the routes to settlement and detailed information can be found on our website. If you would like to explore your options in obtaining ILR status further, please get in touch with one of our expert immigration solicitors as detailed below.

What Are the Shortest Routes to Obtaining Indefinite Leave to Remain Status?

Global Talent Route

One of the routes which provides the quickest period to settlement and which is still open to initial main applications is the Global Talent route. This replaced the Tier 1 Exceptional Talent category and is for those individuals wishing to work in the UK who can demonstrate that they are leaders (those classed as talented) or potential leaders (those classed as promising) in any of the following fields: medicine, science, engineering, humanities, arts and culture and digital technology. This route for many is reliant on obtaining an endorsement from prescribed endorsing bodies.

Indefinite leave to remain status can be obtained after having spent 3 or 5 continuous years in the UK via this route. The 3 year continuous ILR route is open to those:

  • Endorsed by either the British Academy, Royal Academy of Engineering, the Royal Society or UK Research and Innovation; or
  • Endorsed by Arts Council England and Tech Nation as a recognised leader in their field, that is recognised as an individual demonstrating exceptional talent; or
  • Able to demonstrate that they were granted their initial application based on having an eligible prize, listed in Appendix Global Talent: Prestigious Prizes.

The 5 year continuous route to settlement is for those last endorsed by Arts Council England or Tech Nation within their exceptional promise criteria.

Innovator Route

The Innovator route is for those creatives who would like to establish a business in the UK based on an innovative, viable and scalable business idea. Individuals in this route must have either significantly contributed to the business idea or generated it themselves. To enter this category currently, innovators are generally expected to have at least £50,000 to invest in their business and are required to have a key day to day management and development role. They will also require an endorsement from an approved UK endorsing body. A key restriction is that those within this route are only allowed to work for their own business. There are potential immigration rule changes and those interested in this route should keep an eye on future posts which will detail any new implementation of rules.

ILR status can be obtained after having spent 3 years in this category. Although a slightly less complicated route to make an initial application into, provided you have the investment funds and endorsement, settlement via this route needs to be carefully navigated with reliance on expert immigration advice to ensure that the detailed and stringent requirements are successfully met in a manner that best suits your circumstances. Requirements include, ensuring you still have an endorsement and demonstrating that you have achieved significant milestones measured against the business plan provided for your previous endorsement, such as showing you have created at least 10 or 5 full time jobs for those residents in the UK.

Tier 1 Investor Route

The Tier 1 Investor category is now closed to new initial applications and to those wishing to switch into the routes. Those currently on the routes, however, do have the option of obtaining ILR status although this is time limited (17 February 2028 for those on the Tier 1 Investor route and 05 April 2025 for those on the Tier 1 Entrepreneur route).

Settlement as a Tier 1 Investor can occur after 2, 3 or 5 continuous years. This ILR route is for high-net-worth individuals who make a substantial financial investment into the UK. The accelerated route to settlement is therefore, unsurprisingly, linked to how much money one has invested in the UK. With those investing and maintaining an investment of £10 million acquiring ILR after 2 years, with a £5 million investment and maintenance of such an amount leading to settlement at an accelerated period of 3 years. The 5 year ILR route generally requires £1 million or £2 million to have been invested (the amounts differ based on the rules that were in place when one obtained their Tier 1 Investor entry clearance status as detailed here).

Tier 1 Entrepreneur Route

The Tier 1 Entrepreneur category is now also closed to new initial applications and to those wishing to switch into the route. If you are currently in the UK as a Tier 1 Entrepreneur, you are able to apply for settlement before 05 April 2025.

ILR status as a Tier 1 Entrepreneur can be acquired at an accelerated rate after 3 years where one has either created at least 10 full-time new jobs or has a business with a turnover of at least £5 million. Those who are unable to meet these requirements can obtain indefinite leave to remain status after 5 continuous years in the UK by meeting requirements which demonstrate that they have, for example, invested £200,000 or £50,000 in business(es) in the UK, have created at least 2 full time jobs for those settled in the UK and these jobs have existed for at least 12 months and the individual is still registered as a business director. For full requirements pertaining to obtaining ILR status after 5 years, this post proves particularly useful.

Contact our Immigration Solicitor

For expert advice and assistance in relation to ILR requirements and applications and/or to discuss your options please contact our immigration solicitor on 020 8240 9018 or via the enquiry form on our website.

Can A Skilled Worker Delay Their Work Start Date?

Blogs - Immigration

Moving to a different country for a new job is very exciting but also requires a lot of planning and organisation. No matter how organised a person can be, experience shows things may not always go according to plan! In this post, we discuss when a Skilled Worker can delay their work start date, the 28 day rule and the responsibilities of a Skilled Worker Sponsor.

Where can I find my work start date?

You can find your work start date on your Certificate of Sponsorship (CoS), which you can request from your Sponsor. This is a mandatory document that you will need before you can apply for entry clearance (if you are outside the UK) or permission to stay (if you are inside the UK).

Your Sponsor will choose the start and end date on your CoS. Make sure to communicate with your Sponsor so they can choose a date which allows you time to make a well-prepared entry clearance/permission to stay application and to relocate to the UK.  You should consider application processing times from where you are applying and whether any priority services are available.

Why is my work start date important?

You can only make an application for entry clearance / permission to stay within 3 months of your intended work start date. CoS can only be assigned with a work start date of no more than 3 months in advance.

When do I actually have to start working (the 28 day rule)?

Once you have been granted entry clearance/permission to stay you must start working within 28 days of whichever is latest:

  • The start day on your CoS (the Home Office will take account of any changes reported by your employer using a sponsor note, see below);
  • The “valid from” date on your entry clearance vignette (that’s the sticker in your passport which is your visa);
  • If you entered the UK without entry clearance through the Creative Worker concession, the date you were granted permission to enter; or
  • The date you were informed of the grant of your entry clearance or permission to stay.

This means that if your work start date is delayed by less than 28 days from the relevant date, you do not have to do anything. However, if you need to delay your work start date by more than 28 days, your Sponsor will need to consider what action they wish to take.

What happens if I need to delay my work start date beyond 28 days?

Your Sponsor is required to report a change in work start date to the Home Office. They can do this in two ways depending on the stage at which the start date changes.

If you have not yet applied for entry clearance/permission to stay, your Sponsor can add a sponsor note to the CoS. This should set out the new intended work start date and any reasons for delay.

If you have already applied for entry clearance/permission to stay, but you have not yet received a decision from the Home Office, your Sponsor must report the change using the “report migrant activity” function in the sponsor management system (SMS).

What happens if I cannot start working within the relevant period of 28 days?

If you cannot start working within the period of 28 days from the relevant date your Sponsor has two options:

  • If they want to keep sponsoring you, they must report the new work start date to the Home Office with reasons for your delayed start.
  • The other option is that they may choose to stop sponsoring you.

Whichever option your Sponsor chooses, they must report this by the end of 10 working days after the 28-day period using the “report migrant activity” function in the SMS.

What is a “valid reason” for a delay?

Examples of valid reasons include:

  • Travel disruption due to natural disaster, military conflict or pandemic;
  • You are obliged to complete your notice period for your previous employer, if you are in the UK check that your conditions of stay allow you to do this;
  • You need an exit visa to leave your country of residence and administrative delays meant that you did not get it on time;
  • Illness, bereavement or compelling family or personal circumstances.

This is not an exhaustive list and the Home office will consider each case on its own merits. We recommend that full reasons are provided to enhance the chance of the Home Office accepting the reasons for the delay.

What if the Home Office decides that I do not have a “valid reason” for the delay?

The Home Office may cancel your permission to stay if they decide that you do not have a valid reason for the delay, in which case your Sponsor will have to stop sponsoring you within 10 working days of the decision.

What options do I have if my entry clearance / permission is cancelled?

If your entry clearance / permission  to stay is cancelled you may challenge this through administrative review or judicial review. Administrative review is a process where you can challenge the Home Office’s decision on the ground that it was wrongly decided because it contained one or more case work errors. Judicial review is a process where you can challenge the Home Office’s decision on the ground that it was unlawful, unreasonable or procedurally improper.

Alternatively, your employer may have to allocate you a new CoS and you will have to make a fresh application. Our immigration solicitor can advise you on which option is right for you and the merits of your case.