UK Visa Opportunities In The Creative Sector

The last two years have been turbulent, testing and difficult times for many businesses in the UK. In addition to navigating the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic, businesses also had to adjust to the UK formally leaving the European Union, which resulted in the end of the transition period and an end to free movement. As the world reopens again and people start moving across borders for work, companies will be looking to understand the new immigration environment, especially in light of recent changes to the immigration rules in the UK since early 2021.

For the creative sector, being able to move people quickly, and at short notice, has always been key. The visual effects (VFX)/creative industry has no doubt benefited from the revamp of the Skilled Worker rules, with changes allowing for quicker recruitment and some cost reduction. One consistent visa option, the Temporary Creative visa, has remained relatively unchanged—but this is not a bad thing, as the category is advantageous in many respects. In this article, I will look at why companies in the creative sector should consider using the Temporary Creative visa by highlighting its important benefits.

What is the Temporary Creative visa?

The name somewhat reveals the design—it is a visa, temporary in nature, specifically catering to creative roles and the creative sector. The visa itself can be granted for an initial period of up to 12 months and is then extendable for a further 12 months if remaining with the same sponsor. If an individual is required to stay beyond this time frame, there is now flexibility to switch within the UK to the Skilled Worker visa, which leads to permanent residency. Previously, individuals had to travel overseas to change status which, undoubtedly, was a drawback for many businesses.

In order to be eligible for this visa, an individual’s role needs to be considered creative—most film/VFX roles are eligible (although with some limitations for certain on set film crew roles), as are actors, artists and musicians. If there is not a specific occupational code available, there is scope in the rules to justify how the role is considered creative.

Why use the Temporary Creative visa?

Fundamentally, it is a quick and cost-effective way of sponsoring overseas workers. Compared to a Skilled Worker visa—which, as an example, for a one-year visa incurs government fees of approximately £2,500—the Temporary Creative visa’s government fees are much less, coming in at approximately £900. A Temporary Creative visa under six months in duration is even more cost effective, totalling £265. The Home Office is currently turning around applications for the Temporary Creative visa normally within 1-2 weeks, and this can be even quicker for European nationals who are able to use the online app/identity process via their smart phones. There is also no English language requirement under the category.

There is an additional perk for certain nationalities coming into the UK for under three months. They simply need to be issued with a Certificate of Sponsorship (CoS) document and they can travel to the UK and present this at the border, obtaining a stamp that grants them work permission. The CoS document can be issued within a day. There is no application process and the total cost of issuing the CoS is £21—making this visa a quick and very cost-effective way to move people into the UK for short assignments, work location shoots, etc.

Getting set up to use the Temporary Creative visa

To sponsor workers, you must be a licenced sponsor holder and you must be licenced under the Temporary Creative category. The initial set-up of the licence can take around 6-8 weeks. If you are already a Skilled Worker or Intra Company Transfer licence holder and wish to add the Temporary Creative category to your licence, this also takes a similar time, although potentially slightly quicker. As long as you are a bona fide UK company operating in the creative sector, the licence application process itself should not present too many hurdles.

Need to Know More?

If you are operating in the creative sector in the UK and have not considered this visa type or are not set up to sponsor under the Temporary Creative visa, it may be well worth doing so for the flexibility and cost savings. This is particularly applicable if, prior to Brexit, you relied heavily on moving EU nationals into the UK on short notice. While it will not replace the ease of freedom of movement, it does offer a quick and effective way of moving people into the UK, especially in comparison with some of the other UK visa categories.

If you operate in the creative sector and would like more information on the category, please contact Associate Jasmine Jackson at [email protected]. 

This blog was published on 17 March 2022, and the UK’s immigration rules change frequently. To keep up-to-date with all the latest updates on global immigration, subscribe to our alerts and follow us on LinkedIn, Twitter, Facebook and Instagram.