Tier 3 Visas: Low skilled workers

The third tier of the new points based UK visa service is designed to cater for people immigrating to the UK in order to perform temporary low skilled work.

Please note that the tier 3 visa category is currently suspended and no information is available as to when or if it will be implemented.

Once implemented it is intended that the new tier 3 visa scheme will replace existing structures such as the Seasonal Agricultural Workers Scheme (SAWS) and the Sectors Based Scheme (SBS) and will grant leave to enter the UK to migrants from countries with which an effective returns arrangement with the United Kingdom is in place.

Tier 3 visas are intended to cater for the fluctuating need for low skilled workers throughout the year and will be used in circumstances where Migration Advisory Committee (MAC) identifies a shortage area which cannot be filled by the domestic workforce.

As with tier 2 visas, tier 4 visas and tier 5 visas, entry to the UK under a tier 3 visa will require a certificate of sponsorship as part of the application. For tier 3 visas the sponsor will be the operator of a particular low skilled worker scheme and the certificate will serve as confirmation that the applicants who are immigrating to the UK will be bound by the terms of the route.

Unlike a Tier 1 visa or a Tier 2 visa, applications at the tier 3 level do not constitute a route to settlement and will not provide you with an opportunity to apply for permanent residence in the UK.

It is envisaged that tier 3 visas would be granted for a maximum of 12 months and you would be obliged to return home at the end of this period. Switching to other tiers is not permitted and visas of this kind do not make provision for spouse visas and dependant immigration.