Work Visa: Other

European Economic Area and Swiss nationals:
All EEA and Swiss nationals are free to enter and live in the United Kingdom without the need to apply for our permission. If you are a national of a country that joined the European Union (EU) in 2004 you may need to register with us when you start work. If you are a national of Bulgaria or Romania, you may need to apply for our permission before you start to work.

Seasonal Agricultural Workers Scheme (SAWS):
The SAWS is designed to allow farmers and growers in the United Kingdom to recruit low-skilled overseas workers to undertake short-term agricultural work. The scheme works on a quota basis. Farmers and growers who participate in the scheme are allowed to employ a fixed number of overseas workers though the scheme each year. In 2009 the quota is 21,250 places.

To be able to apply to come to the United Kingdom under the SAWS you must be a national of either Bulgaria or Romania.

Participants in the scheme will be issued with a work card. This work card gives them permission to work in the United Kingdom for a fixed period of time.

Participants will be allowed to work in the United Kingdom under the scheme for up to six months.

Once the number of fixed work cards have been issued to workers the scheme will be closed for the year and no more applications will be accepted.

SAWS workers will carry out low-skilled work including:
planting and gathering crops;
on-farm processing and packing of crops;
handling livestock.

Workers will be paid at least the Agricultural Minimum Wage and will be provided with accommodation by the farmer or grower employing them.

The SAWS is a short-term immigration category. If you come to the United Kingdom as a seasonal agricultural worker you will be given permission to work for a maximum of six months.

Sectors Based Scheme (SBS):
This section explains what the Sectors Based Scheme (SBS) is, who can apply for a place on the scheme, and how to make an application.
The SBS allows United Kingdom based employers to recruit low skilled workers from Bulgaria and Romania to vacancies in the food manufacturing sector that cannot be filled by resident workers.

Other categories:
This section contains information about other work-based categories available to people wanting to come to the United Kingdom to work.

domestic worker:
This section explains how you can apply to come to the United Kingdom to work as a domestic worker in a private household.
The domestic worker category allows overseas employers to bring their domestic workers with them when they visit or move to the United Kingdom. To qualify to come here as a domestic worker, you must be an established member of the employer's staff.
You will only be given permission to stay in the United Kingdom for a fixed period of time - at the end of this period you will need to either return home or apply to extend your stay.
The domestic workers category can be a short- or long-term immigration category. We will only extend your visa if you are still employed as a domestic worker when your old visa expires. You are allowed to change employers while you are in the United Kingdom, but you must still be employed as a domestic worker. If you change employers, you must notify us, and you will not be allowed to change into a different type of employment.
Once you have been in the United Kingdom for five years as a domestic worker, you can apply to stay here permanently.

sole representative of an overseas firm without a work permit:
This section explains how you can come to the United Kingdom as a sole representative of an overseas firm without a work permit. In most cases you will need a work permit, and this section also explains how you can apply for one if you need to. You are not allowed to switch into this category from another.
In this section you can find out:
whether you are eligible;
how to apply;
whether you can extend your stay under this category;
whether you can use a representative when making your application;
whether your dependants can come to the United Kingdom;
how much your application will cost; and
whether you can appeal.

Representatives of overseas newspapers, news agencies and broadcasting organisations:
This section explains how you can apply to come to or stay in the United Kingdom as a representative of an overseas newspaper, news agency or broadcasting organisation.

If we approve your application to come to the United Kingdom as a representative of an overseas newspaper, news agency or broadcasting organisation, we will give you permission to enter and stay in the United Kingdom for a maximum of two years. At the end of this period you will need to either return home or apply to extend your stay.
If you are coming to the United Kingdom to work for less than six months, you may be able to apply under the business visitor category. You should read the pages on business visitors for more information.
You cannot change employers while you are in the United Kingdom.
If you have been in the United Kingdom for five years as a representative of an overseas newspaper, news agency or broadcasting organisation, you can apply to stay permanently.