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What is an offshore worker and who needs a visa?
An offshore worker is a foreign national who arrives directly into UK waters for the purpose of working, such as a crew member, seafarer, or engineer working on an offshore installation. UK waters include internal waters and territorial waters extending 12 nautical miles from the UK coastline.
A crew member or seafarer will generally be treated as an offshore worker if they arrive directly into UK waters to work, unless a specific exemption applies. For example, there is an exemption available under the Seafarer guidance for certain crew members who do not disembark or who meet other defined conditions.
Foreign nationals working in UK waters must have immigration permission that allows them to carry out the work. However, there is no specific UK offshore worker visa. Rather, they are normally required to have a Skilled Worker visa if they have an eligible job with a licensed sponsor. However, the appropriate immigration permission will depend on the worker’s circumstances, the type of work being carried out, and where the offshore work takes place.
What visa should offshore workers apply for?
An offshore worker’s suitable immigration route depends primarily on:
- Where the work takes place
- What the worker will actually do, and
- The nature of their employment or assignment
UK waters generally include internal waters and territorial waters extending 12 nautical miles from the UK coastline. Workers whose employment takes place wholly outside UK waters on the UK Continental Shelf do not normally require permission under the sponsored work system for that offshore employment itself. However, they do need leave to enter or leave to remain if they wish to stay in the UK during shore leave or between offshore rotations. This leave may be granted outside the Immigration Rules, provided their employment remains wholly on the UK Continental Shelf.
The main immigration options for offshore workers include:
- Skilled Worker visa
- Standard Visitor visa
- Global mobility route visa (e.g. senior or specialist worker visa), and
- Temporary concession for offshore well boat workers
Skilled Worker visa
A Skilled Worker visa may be required if the offshore worker is being employed to carry out an ongoing skilled job in UK waters, and the employer is a licensed sponsor. To qualify, the worker generally needs:
- A job offer from a licensed sponsor at the required skill level
- A valid Certificate of Sponsorship
- A salary that meets the relevant salary threshold for the role: general threshold £41,700 per year or your job’s going rate, whichever is higher
- To meet the English language requirement, and
- To have sufficient funds to support themselves (unless an exemption applies).
Standard Visitor visa
A Standard Visitor visa may be a more appropriate option if the worker remains employed overseas and comes temporarily to carry out a specific activity expressly permitted under the Visitor Rules, rather than taking up a UK job. Examples include:
- Site visits and inspections
- Troubleshooting
- Training
- Certain intra-corporate activities, or
- Installing or repairing equipment supplied by an overseas business, where the detailed conditions are met.
Some non-visa nationals may also be able to travel to the UK with an Electronic Travel Authorisation (ETA) if they are entering as a visitor and their offshore-related activities are permitted under the Visitor Rules.
Global mobility route
A Global Business Mobility route may be suitable where an overseas business sends an existing employee to the UK for a temporary offshore assignment. Two Global Business Mobility routes that may be particularly relevant to offshore assignments are the Senior or Specialist Worker route and the Service Supplier route.
- Senior or Specialist Worker: this route may apply where an overseas business is linked to a UK sponsor, and it wants to send an existing senior employee or specialist to work at a skilled role for the UK entity on a temporary basis
- Service Supplier: this route may apply where an overseas service provider is contracted to supply services to a UK company, and it needs to send an employee to the UK to carry out that contract on a temporary basis
The UK organisation must hold a sponsor licence for the relevant route, the worker must satisfy the applicable overseas-work requirement, and the role must meet the relevant occupation, skill and, where applicable, salary requirements.
Temporary concession for offshore well boat workers
A temporary concession may be available in limited circumstances to certain offshore well-boat workers. The previous published concession closed on 1 April 2026 and was replaced by a temporary visa concession.
The Home Office does not currently publish the full eligibility requirements or application procedure for the replacement concession. Prospective applicants should obtain the current requirements directly from the Home Office or speak to a immigration lawyer.
Offshore worker arrival and departure reporting requirements
As an offshore worker or offshore worker sponsor it is important to understand the requirements when arriving or departing the UK. Since 12 April 2023, offshore worker arrivals and departures from UK waters must be reported to the Home Office. If the offshore worker is sponsored, the sponsor must make the report. An unsponsored worker must make the report themselves, no later than 10 working days after arriving in or leaving UK waters.
A sponsor must notify the Home Office of the dates when a sponsored offshore worker first arrives in UK waters at the start of the job for which they are sponsored, and when they leave UK waters at the end of that job. This must be done through the sponsor’s Sponsor Management System (SMS) account.
An unsponsored offshore worker must notify the Home Office by email, including their name, date of birth, nationality, the date they arrived in or left UK waters, the activity being undertaken, the immigration route they are using, and the name of the vessel. This can also be done by post.
Any failure to comply may cause the Home Office to revoke a sponsor licence for failure to meet the reporting duties, while an unsponsored worker’s existing permission may be cancelled and future immigration applications may be refused.
Reference:
GOV.UK: Offshore workers
