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on August 6, 2024
Read Time: 8 Minutes
The UK has long been a world leader in the intensely competitive modelling industry, which is not a status that has arisen by accident. With models and their representatives routinely operating across national borders, travelling to and working in various territories, modelling is an inherently international industry, requiring an outward-looking, global mindset.
Fortunately, even amid relative political turbulence over the past decade – marked by events such as Brexit and a rapid turnover of Prime Ministers – the UK has shown its resilience as a key base and destination for models and modelling agents.
The country remains one of the world’s fashion epicentres, with events such as London Fashion Week (LFW) attracting style innovators, in-demand models, and fashionistas from far afield. The UK fashion and textile industry is a major economic success story, directly supporting a £62 billion contribution to UK GDP, and a million jobs around the country, according to a report commissioned by the UK Fashion and Textile Association (UKFT).
It isn’t merely the UK’s well-developed fashion scene and infrastructure that have helped maintain the momentum of fashion catwalks, photoshoots, and other forms of creative production for brands, designers, and models – it is also the flexibility of the country’s immigration system.
This is embodied by the Creative Worker (Temporary Work) visa, which is the immigration route typically followed by models seeking to come to the UK to work. However, if a modelling agency wishes to bring a model to the UK under this visa category, they will first need to obtain the relevant sponsor licence from the Home Office.
So, if you are reading this as a decision-maker for a modelling agency, why should you be seeking a sponsor licence, and what are the benefits of being granted one? Below, our central London-based experts in UK immigration law at Cranbrook Legal have laid out the key things to know.
Yes, some modelling agencies can – and do – sponsor visas for models to come and work in the UK. However, in common with other UK employers under the country’s points-based immigration system, modelling agencies can only usually hire someone from outside the UK to work for them if they hold a sponsor licence from the Home Office.
There are certain groups of people that modelling agencies can sponsor for employment in the UK even if they do not have a sponsor licence. Examples of these include Irish citizens, those with settled or pre-settled status under the EU Settlement Scheme, and holders of indefinite leave to remain (ILR) status.
Irish models, for instance, can come and work in the UK for a modelling agency without needing permission from the authorities, due to the UK and Ireland both being in the Common Travel Area (CTA).
Otherwise, a UK modelling agency that lacks a sponsor licence will be somewhat restricted with regard to the foreign-national models it can sponsor. So, one powerful reason for a UK modelling agency to seek a sponsor licence, is the freedom this would unlock for the business to bring the models to the UK that meet its requirements.
Once a UK modelling agency has obtained a Creative Worker sponsor licence, it will be able to sponsor an eligible model under the Creative Worker (Temporary Work) visa route.
This visa category is sometimes referred to as simply the “Creative Worker visa”; it replaced the Temporary Worker – Creative and Sporting visa (T5) route.
This immigration route is aimed at workers in the creative and cultural sectors who wish to come to the UK on a temporary basis to work or perform. It has been designed not just for fashion models and their entourage, but also for other creative professionals such as artists and entertainers.
If a model or other creative worker is successful in being granted this visa, they will be entitled to come to the UK for a maximum of up to 12 months, or for the time stated on their Certificate of Sponsorship (CoS) plus up to 28 days – whichever is shorter. Their stay in the UK must begin no more than 14 days prior to the start date on their CoS, and during their time in the country, they will be able to work for their sponsor in the job described on the CoS.
However, to apply for the Creative Worker (Temporary Work) visa, the fashion model or other creative worker will need to have been offered an eligible job in the UK. In the words of the UK Government’s own guidance, “the job the Creative Worker is coming to do must be one where they will make a unique contribution to the UK’s rich cultural life.” The guidance cites fashion modelling as a potential example of such a job.
It is important to note that a modelling agency holding a sponsor licence does not automatically mean they will be able to use it to hire any model they choose. That is because the worker will still need to satisfy the other eligibility requirements for this visa.
The job will need to pay at least the minimum wage, for example, and it must follow the UK rules for how many hours a week they work. If the modelling agency fails to meet these requirements, the model’s visa application will be refused.
There are a number of reasons why, as a modelling agency, you may be looking to get approved for a sponsor licence from the UK Home Office:
What is the ‘Code of Practice’ for modelling agencies sponsoring models for UK visas?
As a modelling agency looking to assign a CoS to a model that you would like to bring to the UK, you will need to ensure you have complied with the relevant code of practice in Appendix Creative Worker Codes of Practice of the UK Immigration Rules.
Different codes of practice apply to different creative and cultural workers under the Creative Worker (Temporary Work) visa route. In the case of models in the fashion industry, the code of practice includes the following:
Cranbrook Legal is an award-winning immigration firm in central London. We have an excellent track record of helping UK employers – including modelling agencies – to gain access to the talent they require from outside the country.
Getting approved for a sponsor licence from the Home Office could greatly help you recruit exciting overseas models so much more easily and quickly. So, why not call our specialists in UK immigration law today, on 0208 215 0053, or fill in and submit our online contact form, to arrange a free consultation and discover how we could help your modelling agency obtain a sponsor licence?
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