T5 International Agreement Worker Visa For Contractual Service Suppliers (CSS)

You can apply for entry clearance for T5 International Agreement worker visa as a Contractual Service Supplier (CSS) if you are employed by a company based outside the UK that has a contract to supply services to their sponsor in the UK. When a sponsor issues a Certificate of Sponsorship (CoS) to a  contractual service supplier (CSS), they guarantee that service falls within scope of the commitments in the relevant agreement under which they are supplying a service. Home Office UKVI will check that the sector the service is being supplied in is included in the relevant agreement via the tables in Annex IAW1 of the Sponsor an International Agreement Worker guidance. The applicant must be a contractual service supplier (CSS) who is employed by a company based outside the UK that has a contract to supply services to their sponsor in the UK

Eligibility Requirements For T5 International Agreement Worker Visa As A Contractual Service Supplier (CSS)

The applicant should meet the following requirements to apply for T5 International Agreement Worker visa as a Contractual Service Supplier (CSS):

• The applicant must have a valid certificate of sponsorship (CoS) assigned to him by his T5 Sponsor.
• The applicant must be employed by a service supplier that has been contracted to provide a service to the sponsor in the United Kingdom which falls within the scope of the sectors specified in the relevant commitments in respect of contractual service suppliers. The service supplier must:
  • not have a commercial presence in the UK; and
  • be established in the country or territory that is a signatory to the agreement under which they are supplying services.
• The sponsor must be the final consumer of the services provided under the contract.
• The services contract must have been awarded through an open tendering procedure or other procedure that guarantees the bona fide character of the contract. The period of the contract awarded to the applicant’s employer must not exceed 12 months.
• The applicant must be a national of the country in which the overseas undertaking is established or:
  • where the application is covered by a commitment in the General Agreement on Trade in Services and the overseas undertaking is established in a country which has made a notification under Article XXVIII(k)(ii)(2) of that agreement, a permanent resident of that country. (The countries that have made a notification under Article XXVIII(k)(ii)(2) of the General Agreement on Trade in Services (GATS) are Armenia, Australi, Canada, New Zealan, Switzerland); or
  • where the application is covered by a commitment in the Temporary Agreement between the Swiss Confederation and the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland on Services Mobility, a permanent resident of Switzerland.
• The applicant must have been an employee of the service supplier for at least 12 months immediately before the date of application. The applicant must provide evidence of the employment in IA 9.5 in the form of:
  • formal payslips from the employer and showing the employer’s name; or
  • payslips accompanied by a letter from the applicant’s employer, on the employer’s headed paper and signed by a senior official, confirming the payslips are authentic; or
  • personal bank or building society statements or building society book which cover the 12 months (ending no more than 31 days before the date of application) which show transactions by the service supplier covering the full specified period (but the statements must not be mini-statements obtained from an Automated Teller Machine).
• The applicant must show they have a university degree or equivalent level technical qualification unless they are supplying one of the following services in which case the qualification requirements in the following table apply:

• The applicant must hold any professional qualifications or registrations required to provide the services under UK law, regulations or sectoral requirements.
• The applicant must have at least 3 years professional experience in the sector in which they are supplying services unless they are supplying chef de cuisine services under the CARIFORUM-UK economic partnership agreement, in which case the applicant must have at least 6 years relevant experience at the level of chef de cuisine.
• The applicant must have personal savings so that he can support himself when he arrives in the UK.
• The applicant can show that he can travel and his travel history over the last 5 years
• The applicant must not fall for refusal under general grounds for refusal.
• The applicant must have tuberculosis test results if you’re from a listed country

ATAS Requirement

For applications on the International Agreement Worker route made from 21 May 2021, applicants must provide a valid ATAS certificate if all of the following apply:

• they are being sponsored as an International Agreement Worker by a sponsor which is also a licensed Student sponsor (these will mainly be universities); and
• they are not one of the exempt nationals listed in paragraph ATAS 3.1; and
• their job is in one of the occupation codes listed in paragraph ATAS 1.2(a); and
• the job includes an element of PhD-level research in a relevant subject (and these subjects are listed in paragraph ATAS 4.1).

The details are set out in Appendix ATAS. Sponsors should confirm on the applicant’s CoS whether the ATAS requirement applies. A field will be added to the CoS to confirm this but, at the moment, it needs to be set out in a sponsor note.

Financial Requirement

Where the applicant is applying for entry clearance or permission to stay and has been in the UK for less than 12 months on the date of application, either;

• the applicant must have funds of at least £1,270; or
• the applicant’s A rated sponsor must confirm on the Certificate of Sponsorship that they will, if it is necessary, maintain and accommodate the applicant up to the end of the first month of their employment for an amount of at least £1,270. The applicant must show that they have held the required level of funds for a 28-day period and as specified in Appendix Finance.

Relevant International Trade Agreements

• The General Agreement on Trade in Service
• UK-Chile Association Agreement
• CARIFORUM-UKEconomic Partnership Agreement
• UK-Georgia Strategic Partnership and Cooperation Agreement
• UK-Ukraine Political, Free Trade and Strategic Partnership Agreement
• UK-Moldova Strategic Partnership, Trade and Cooperation Agreement
• UK-Andean Trade Agreement
• UK-Canada Trade Continuity Agreement
• UK-Japan Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement
• UK-Switzerland Temporary Agreement between the Swiss Confederation and the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland on Services Mobility
• UK-European Union Trade and Cooperation Agreement
• Least Developed Country (LDC) services waiver –these are additional commitments notified to the World Trade Organisation by the UK in respect of service suppliers of least developed countries

Relevant Sectors For Which Contractual Services Supplier (CSS) Visa Is Permitted

The table below lists all the relevant sectors for which Contractual Services (CSS) visa for UK is or is not possible under different international agreements between the UK and other countries:

What Is The Points Based Requirements For T5 International Agreement Worker Visa Entry Clearance?

T5 International Agreement Worker visa is a Points Based visa category and points can be awarded for the Certificate of Sponsorship (CoS) and funds for maintenance. A T5 International Agreement Worker should score 40 points in total to qualify for entry clearance for T5 International Agreement Worker visa. The breakdown of the required points for T5 International Agreement Worker visa entry clearance is given in the table below:

Period of Stay

A Contractual Service Supplier (CSS) can be granted up to a maximum length of stay of 6 months in any 12-month period, unless they are:

• providing services under the Temporary Agreement between the Swiss Confederation and the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland on Services Mobility, in which case they can be granted up to a maximum length of stay of 12 months in any 24-month period
• providing services under the UK-EU Trade and Co-Operation Agreement, in which case they can be granted up to a maximum of 12 months

How Can We Help You?

Our specialist team of T5 International Agreement Worker visa solicitors can provide fast, friendly, reliable and fixed fee legal services for your T5 International Agreement Worker visa entry clearance application. As your appointed legal representative for T5 International Agreement Worker visa entry clearance application, our work can include the following:

• assessing your eligibility for T5 International Agreement Worker visa for UK by considering all the relevant eligibility requirements;
• advising on relevant documents to be submitted in support of the T5 International Agreement Worker visa entry clearance application;
• assessing the documentary evidence including the Certificate of Sponsorship (CoS) to ensure that the documents are in line with the Home Office UKVI requirements for T5 International Agreement Worker visa entry clearance;
• completing online application form for T5 International Agreement Worker visa entry clearance for UK;
• preparing a detailed cover letter in support of the T5 International Agreement Worker visa entry clearance application to explain in detail how all the relevant requirements for T5 International Agreement Worker visa entry clearance have been satisfied by the Tier 2 applicant;
• submitting the T5 International Agreement Worker visa entry clearance application online, paying the Home Office UKVI fees for T5 International Agreement Worker visa application and booking applicant’s appointment with the relevant UK visa application centre;
• uploading all the supporting documents online in support of the T5 International Agreement Worker visa entry clearance application;
• preparing the applicant for an interview by the Entry Clearance Officer (ECO) in relation to T5 International Agreement Worker visa entry clearance application;
• making any post interview representations to the Entry Clearance Officer (ECO), if necessary;
• doing all the follow up work including responding to any queries raised by the Entry Clearance Officer (ECO) until decision is reached on your T5 International Agreement Worker visa entry clearance application.

Our Fee For T5 International Agreement Worker Visa Entry Clearance Application

Our fees for T5 International Agreement Worker visa entry clearance application are given in the fee table below:

The agreed fixed fee will depend on the complexity of the T5 International Agreement Worker visa entry clearance application and the volume of casework involved in the application. In addition to our fixed fee for T5 International Agreement Worker visa entry clearance, the applicant will also have to pay the Home office UKVI fees for the entry clearance application.

Other Related Services

• T5 International Agreement Worker Visa
• T5 Independent Professionals (IP) Worker Visa
• Private Servants In Diplomatic Households
• Employees Of Overseas Governments and International Organisations
• Extension Of T5 International Agreement Worker Visa
• Administrative Review (AR) Of T5 International Agreement Worker Visa Refusal
• Dependants Of T5 International Agreement Worker
• T5 International Agreement Worker Sponsor Licence

Useful External Links

• Immigration Rules Appendix T5 (Temporary Worker) International Agreement Worker
• Temporary Worker – International Agreement Worker visa (T5)
• Guidance on application for UK visa under T5 (Temporary Worker)
• Guidance for sponsors: sponsor an International Agreement Worker