If you are an overseas national, you can apply for this visa if you qualify by gaining enough points. You can apply from overseas or from within the UK if you have permission to be in the UK. You will need a UK sponsor to offer you employment and assign you a Certificate of Sponsorship (CoS). The UK sponsor must have an A-Rated sponsor licence to be able to assign you a CoS.

This visa type is for skilled workers that has been offered a job in a faith community such as minister of religion, missionary, member of a religious order. 

There are different rules if the worker is entering the UK, switching from UK studies or from another visa type or, already working on Tier 2 by changing employers.

You will need to score, 50 points for attributes, 10 for maintenance and 10 for English.

Attributes

Assigned CoS in your name = 50 points

English & Maintenance

English level being B2 = 10 points

Maintenance having sufficient funds = 10 points.

The appropriate salary for Tier 2 Minister of Religion depends if you are assigned a SOC code 2444 or 3239.

Click here for SOC code 3239 and look under table 4 for further details.  

Click here for SOC code 2444 and look under table 6 for further details.

The minimum annual pay is set at £20,000 for SOC code 3239 and for SOC code 2444 is governed by the National Minimal Wage level. You must use SOC code 2444 or 3239 when assigning the CoS and the UK sponsor must demonstrate it falls within the religious sector.

Below is a defined list of all job titles for the religious sector with SOC codes as of 2010 changes made by Office for National Statistics:

• Abbot (2444)
• Archbishop (2444)
• Archdeacon (2444)
• Assistant, pastoral (2444)
• Bishop (2444)
• Brother (2444)
• Canon (2444)
• Captain (religious organisation) (3239)
• Captain (Salvation Army (3239)
• Chaplain Chargehand – see Foreman (2444)
• Clergy (2444)
• Clergyman (2444)
• Clerk in holy orders (2444)
• Curate (2444)
• Deacon (2444)
• Dean (2444)
• Ecclesiastic (2444)
• Elder, church (3239)
• Enabler, mission (3239)
• Evangelist (3239)
• Friar (2444)
• Healer (3239)
• Imam (2444)
• Incumbent (2444)
• Major (Salvation Army) (2444)
• Member of Religious Community (2444)
• Minister (religious organisation) (2444)
• Minister of religion (2444)
• Missionary (2444)
• Missioner (2444)
• Moderator (Presbyterian Church) (2444)
• Monk (2444)
• Nun (2444)
• Officer, Army, Church (2444)
• Officer, Army, Salvation (2444)
• Pastor (2444)
• Practitioner, Science, Christian (2444)
• Preacher, lay (3239)
• Preacher, local (2444)
• Prebendary (2444)
• Priest (2444)
• Prior (2444)
• Rabbi (2444)
• Reader, lay (3239)
• Rector (2444)
• Sister (religious organisation) (2444)
• Spiritualist (2444)
• Superior, lady (2444)
• Superior, mother (2444)
• Theologian (2444)
• Vicar (2444)
• Worker, army, Church (3239)
• Worker, church (3239)

The initial visa can be up to 3 years. This visa can be extended a further 3 years but after 5 years you can apply for UK settlement status.

Can and Cannot do on this visa type

• Can take a second job up to 20 hours per week in the same profession
• Accept voluntary work up to 20 hours per week
• Can study in the UK
• You are not permitted to accept UK public funds
• You cannot start this job until the visa is approved.

Before you submit your visa application to the Home Office, you must have a:

• Certificate of Sponsorship

Once you been assigned a CoS, you can then submit a visa application to the Home Office. 

Unless you are applying from North Korea, all visa applications are now processed online. 

Leave to Enter

If you are applying to enter the UK on this visa type, you will have to register with the Home Office commercial partner where you attend your biometrics appointment.

Entry visas are processed normally in 3 weeks from your biometrics appointment date unless you upgrade to priority or super priority.

Leave to Remain

If you are applying to remain in the UK on this visa type, you will have to register with the Home Office commercial partner where you attend your biometrics appointment.

Visas to remain in the UK are processed normally in 8 weeks from your biometrics appointment date unless you upgrade to priority or super priority.

Can I switch into this visa type:

Yes, you can if you hold a valid UK visa that is permitted to switch:

• Tier 1 visa
• Tier 2 (General) visa
• Tier 2 (Sportsperson) visa
• Tier 2 (Intra company Transfer) visa under the Immigration Rules in place before 6 April 2010 and you’re applying to change sponsor
• Tier 4 visa - if you have an eligible qualification, will complete your course in 3 months, or you have done at least 12 months of a PhD
• Start-up visa
• Innovator visa
• a dependent partner of someone with a Tier 4 visa
• a representative of an overseas business.

Tier 4 Guidance

If you plan to switch from this visa type to Tier 2 General, you must have completed your UK studies at one of these levels:

• a UK bachelor’s degree
• a UK master’s degree
• a postgraduate certificate in education
• a professional graduate diploma of education.

If you are currently studying at PhD level or just completed your studies and, your Tier 4 visa is still valid, if you completed at least 12 months’ of studies, you can also switch if your training institute is one of these:

• a higher education provider listed on the Tier 4 register of sponsors as ‘Tier 4 sponsor - track record’
• an overseas higher education institution if you did a short-term study abroad programme in the UK.

Note: If your education is below these listed levels, you cannot switch meaning, you need to depart the UK and apply to enter the UK on a new visa.

Can I extend my tier 2 visa?

Yes, you can extend up to a maximum of 6 years, then you must depart the UK unless you apply for UK settlement status which is 5 years.

You can extend your tier 2 visa with the same employer or you can change employers. 

Certifying Maintenance

When you are assigned a new CoS, you need to clarify with the UK sponsor if they will certify maintenance for you and any family members needing a visa. If they say yes, you do  not need to provide the maintenance levels of £945 for you and £630 per family member and these funds must have been held at or above these levels for 90 consecutive days prior to your visa submission.

'In-Time' Application

You must submit online your visa extension before your Biometric Residence Permit (BRP) card expires. If you submit your visa after it has expired, you must cease working under your visa is approved.

Can I settle via this visa route?

Yes, you can as long as you complied to the visa rules you are under.

Once you been legally in the UK for 5 years (continuous residence).

Continuous Residence

If you switched into Tier 2 Minister of Religion from one of the following, you could combine these visa types to count as 5 continuous years:

• Member of Ground Staff of an Overseas Owned Airline
• Minister of Religion, Missionary or Member of a Religious Order
• Work Permit in the business and commercial category or the sports and entertainment category
• Representative of an Overseas Business
• Representative of an Overseas Newspaper, News Agency or Broadcasting Organisation
• any tier 1, except Tier 1 (Post-study work) or Tier 1 (Graduate Entrepreneur)
• Highly Skilled Migrant Programme
• Innovator
• any tier 2, except Tier 2 (Intra-Company Transfer) unless the 5 years includes time as a Tier 2 (Intra-Company Transfer) issued before 6 April 2010 or with a Work Permit issued for intra-company transfer

You and any adult dependants will need B1 level in English and pass the Life in the UK test.

UK sponsor letter & A-Rated

When applying for UK settlement, your salary must be at a certain level, this needs to be confirmed in a letter from your UK sponsor plus, confirm they still need to employ you if your visa is approved.

Can my family apply under this visa route?

All 'direct' family members can apply to enter the UK or apply to remain in the UK under this visa route as your PBS Dependant.

Who are 'Direct' family members?

• Married or Civil Partnership
• Unmarried partner
• Children aged 0-17 (entry visa only)
• Children aged 18 and over (if in the UK already and entered the UK under aged 18).

Click hereto learn more.