Volunteering England Information Sheet

© Volunteering England 2008.

Accepting Volunteers from

Overseas
Summary
With the spread of the internet, more and more people from overseas are
applying to volunteer with UK organisations.

The rules governing this type of immigration matter can be complicated, but
generally there should be no problem with an organisation accepting someone
from overseas, as long as the person has the correct paperwork.

This Information Sheet covers recruiting or accepting potential volunteers from

outside the United Kingdom:
- People from within the European Union and European Economic Area
- People from outside the EU/EEA
- People who are refugees and asylum seekers and are already in the
UK

Please note that this document should not be regarded as a substitute for
immigration or legal advice.

The Asylum and Immigration Act 1996

This Act makes it a criminal offence to employ a person who does not have
the right to work in the UK. The act does not apply to taking on genuine
volunteers who are not working under a contract. But, an individual could be
in breach of their visa or entry clearance conditions if he/she volunteers when
not permitted to. (For more information about volunteers and contracts,
please refer to the Volunteering England publication “Volunteers and the
Law”. Further details are given at the end of this Information Sheet.)

As part of good practice in working with volunteers, it is sensible for

organisations to remind potential or new recruits to check whether they are
allowed to volunteer. The ultimate responsibility does rest with that individual,
but this Information Sheet has been written as guidance to support anyone
involved in recruiting or working with volunteers from outside the United
Kingdom.

People from the European Union (or the European Economic Area)
There are no restrictions on volunteering by people from Austria, Belgium,
Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, France, Finland, Germany,
Greece, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta,
Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain and Sweden
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(members of the European Union). The same freedom is extended to

nationals of Iceland, Norway, Liechtenstein and Switzerland which are
members of the European Economic Area (EEA).

Recent accessions to the EU

Romania and Bulgaria joined the European Union in 2007. At the time of
writing, freedom of movement and work has not been extended fully to
citizens of these countries. If someone from Bulgaria or Romania wants to
volunteer, we suggest that they contact the Border and Immigration Agency
(BIA) to confirm what they are allowed to do. BIA is an executive agency of
the Home Office.

The BIA website contains a list of contact details:

http://www.bia.homeoffice.gov.uk/contact/.
The telephone number for their immigration enquiry bureau is: 0870 606 7766.

The BIA website section about Romanian and Bulgarian nationals:

http://www.bia.homeoffice.gov.uk/eucitizens/bulgarianandromaniannationals/

People from outside the European Union or EEA

There are two main scenarios for a person from outside the EU or EEA who
wants to volunteer in the UK.

A) The person has come to the UK for a different activity, such as

employment or studying. Volunteering is not their primary reason for
being in the country, but they want to volunteer as an additional activity.

B) The person is coming to the UK with the main intention of volunteering

for a charitable organisation in the United Kingdom. This will be the
basis of their application to enter the country.

The two following sections explain what your organisation and a potential
volunteer should do in each of these circumstances.

A) Volunteering alongside other activities during their stay

People from outside the EU or EEA come to the United Kingdom for a wide
variety of reasons and therefore might be granted one of a number of visas or
types of entry clearance. Examples include student visas, visitor visas,
spouse’s visas.

If your organisation is approached by a potential volunteer from outside the

EU/EEA, you should explain that they must check their visa or entry clearance
conditions. The person must make sure that they are allowed to volunteer in
addition to their main purpose for entering the country. On official documents,
this will probably be described as ‘unpaid work’, rather than as ‘volunteering’.
It is important that individual volunteers take responsibility for this, because,

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as a worst case scenario, a person could jeopardise their visa status by

working or volunteering when they are not allowed to.

If a potential volunteer cannot find the answer clearly on their immigration

documentation, you can suggest that they contact the Border and Immigration
Agency. The Border and Immigration Agency is an executive agency of the
Home Office and deals with immigration issues once someone has been
issued with a visa/entry clearance and entered the country.

BIA website list of contact details: http://www.bia.homeoffice.gov.uk/contact/.

Telephone number for their immigration enquiry bureau: 0870 606 7766.

B) Applying to come to the UK with the main intention of volunteering

Work permits for employing a person from outside the EU or EEA are only
issued where a genuine vacancy exists and where particular qualifications or
skills are required that are in short supply from the British and EEA labour
force.

But, the Home Office has allowed a concession to allow people from outside
the EEA to come to the UK with the main intention of volunteering. It is
intended to support charity work and youth mobility and is a short term
immigration category known as being a ‘voluntary worker’.

A person applying for a voluntary worker visa must meet the following criteria:
• the activity is purely voluntary and does not involve taking up a salaried
post or permanent position of any kind within the charitable
organisation or entering into any arrangement that is likely to constitute
a contract of employment; and
• the activity is either for a charitable organisation listed in Home Office
guidance or a registered charity whose work meets the criteria set out
in this instruction; and
• the activity is unpaid, or is not likely to be subject to payment of the
National Minimum Wage, [see Volunteering England’s Information
Sheet on the National Minimum Wage], and directed towards a worthy
cause; and
• it is closely related to the aims of the organisation; and
• it is fieldwork involving direct assistance to those the charitable
organisation has been established to help; and
• the passenger intends to leave the United Kingdom at the end of their
stay.

These rules are described on the website of the Border and Immigration
Agency:

An explanation for individuals can be found at:

http://www.bia.homeoffice.gov.uk/workingintheuk/voluntaryworkers/

A copy of the Immigration Directorate’s Instructions can be found at:

http://www.bia.homeoffice.gov.uk/policyandlaw/guidance/IDIs/
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“Chapter 17: Employment outside the rules”

“Section 9: Voluntary Workers from overseas”
Also see: “Chapter 17: Employment outside the rules annexes”

Applying for immigration status as a “voluntary worker from overseas”

Firstly, an individual needs to check whether a visa is required. Secondly,
they need to make sure they fit the eligibility criteria.

Visas
Some individuals need to acquire a visa before coming to the UK and others
do not need one. The two types are known as:
a) A visa national (from a country for which a visa is required to enter the
UK)
b) A non-visa national (from a country where a visa is not required and
‘entry clearance’ has to be granted on arrival in the UK.)

You can find out which category an individual falls into by checking with UK
Visas, which is the government department responsible for visas.

⇒ Check the list of countries on the UK Visas website

http://www.ukvisas.gov.uk/servlet/Front?pagename=OpenMarket/Xcele
rate/ShowPage&c=Page&cid=1020786334922

⇒ Use one of UK Visas’ direct points of enquiry via email or fax:

(Please note that the telephone enquiry service is currently suspended
due to limited resources)
http://www.ukvisas.gov.uk/servlet/Front?pagename=OpenMarket/Xcele
rate/ShowPage&c=Page&cid=1006977150196

⇒ Take the simple questionnaire called “Do I need a UK visa?”

http://www.ukvisas.gov.uk
To complete the questionnaire, you choose the relevant country of
origin, current country of residence and the appropriate activity
description, and the website tells you how to proceed with an
application. For example, it may tell you that you should apply via the
British Embassy in your country or via an online visa application. Or, it
may say that a visa is not required and that you just have to satisfy
conditions for entry on arrival in the UK.

Eligibility criteria and supporting documentation

Information about eligibility, as well as instructions for applying for or for
extending a stay as a voluntary worker can be found on the Border and
Immigration Agency website at:
http://www.bia.homeoffice.gov.uk/workingintheuk/voluntaryworkers/

As part of the application, individuals will need to prove that they have
financial means to live on and provide a letter of support from the charitable
organisation they will be volunteering with.

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A charitable organisation is not allowed to pay a voluntary worker from

overseas, but you can provide reasonable expenses. In some circumstances,
organisations give a subsistence payment to their voluntary workers. Above
all, the Border and Immigration Agency highlights the importance of meeting
the terms of “the National Minimum Wage Act exemption for voluntary
workers”.

For further information, please visit:

http://www.bia.homeoffice.gov.uk/workingintheuk/voluntaryworkers/typeofwork

Rules for specific groups

Visitors
Anyone holding a ‘visitor visa’ is not allowed to take up paid or unpaid work
during their stay in the UK, which includes volunteering.

Students
A person with a genuine ‘student visa’ should not need permission to take
part-time or holiday work, including volunteering. Some restrictions remain in
place, including a limit of 20 hours per week during term time, unless the
college agrees otherwise.

Note that a new short-term category of ‘student visitor visa’ was introduced in
2007. At the time of writing, we understand that this is different from a
‘student visa’, and has the same rules as visitor visas meaning that these
individuals aren’t allowed to volunteer. If required, please contact the Border
and Immigration Agency for further information.

Refugees
People who have refugee status or who have exceptional leave to remain,
and their family members, are allowed to do any type of work including
volunteering.

Asylum seekers
Many people seeking asylum want to use their skills and contribute something
to the society in which they wish to live. Since April 2000, asylum seekers,
(people in the process of applying for refugee status), and family members are
allowed to volunteer. This includes volunteering whilst they are appealing
against a decision to refuse them asylum.

New Home Office guidance confirms that the Government “does not expect
asylum-seekers to be left out of pocket because of their volunteering”, and
that they can be reimbursed normal volunteer expenses. It states that care
should be taken to ensure that activity undertaken by an asylum seeker is
genuinely voluntary, and does not amount to either employment or job
substitution.

Please note that although asylum seekers receive form IS 96, which states
that they cannot take up employment, paid or unpaid, this does not include

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volunteering. This has led to a great deal of confusion, which the Home
Office has sought to clarify:
“There is a difference between volunteering and employment, which in
general remains forbidden to asylum seekers even where the employment is
unpaid. An example of unpaid employment would be an arrangement in which
a person makes an arrangement to help out in a business, perhaps on behalf
of a relative, in return for some non-monetary benefit. But where the work is
unpaid and is carried out on behalf of a charity, voluntary organisation or body
that raise funds for either then it will be accepted for immigration law purposes
as volunteering.”
[At the time of writing, this text appears to be currently unavailable on the
Home Office and BIA websites following their recent development work.]

Future developments
Please note that some of these rules may be subject to change in 2008 and
2009, as part of the government’s review of immigration laws. For further
information, please read the statement on BIA website’s latest news page
http://www.bia.homeoffice.gov.uk/sitecontent/newsarticles/primeministerlaunc
hescontract

Volunteering England is following these developments closely and will update

this Information Sheet as soon as necessary. This information is correct at
the time of writing, to the best of our knowledge, but as previously stated it
should not be taken as a substitute for immigration or legal advice.

Further information
“Volunteers and the Law”. A readable guide to legal issues on volunteering.
In particular, read chapter 1 on “Volunteers and Employment Rights”.
This publication is free to download, thanks to funding from the Cabinet Office.
http://www.volunteering.org.uk/law

Volunteering England Information Sheet

“Introduction to Criminal Record Bureau Checks”
This provides guidance on obtaining Criminal Record Bureau Checks for
volunteers from overseas.
http://www.volunteering.org.uk/information

Border and Immigration Agency

(formerly known as the Immigration and Nationality Directorate)
Public Enquiry Offices are located in Croydon, Birmingham, Liverpool and
Glasgow.
Tel: 0870 606 7766
Minicom: 0800 38 98 289
Email: indpublicenquiries@ind.homeoffice.gsi.gov.uk
Website: http://www.bia.homeoffice.gov.uk/contact/

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Refugee Council
The Refugee Council has a number of offices and advice lines for different areas
of the country. Please telephone or visit their website to find the nearest office
to you.
Tel: 020 7820 3085
Email: info@refugeecouncil.org.uk
Website: www.refugeecouncil.org.uk
If you do not have internet access, you can contact their head office at:
240-250 Ferndale Road
Brixton
London
SW9 8BB

UK visas
Foreign and Commonwealth Office
King Charles Street
London
SW1A 2AH
Tel: 0845 010 5555 (this service is temporarily suspended)
Minicom: 020 7008 8457
Fax: 020 7008 8359/61
Email: Visas.ForUK@fco.gov.uk
Website: http://www.ukvisas.gov.uk/

Last reviewed: April 2008

We have made every effort to ensure that this Information Sheet was
correct at the time of publication. It is intended as a summary of
relevant issues and suggests further sources of information. Legal and
immigration advice must be sought where appropriate as this document
cannot be regarded as a substitute for such advice.

For more information on managing volunteers, please visit

The Good Practice Bank at www.volunteering.org.uk/goodpractice

All of Volunteering England’s Information Sheets are available at:

www.volunteering.org.uk/information

Or please contact Volunteering England Information Service

Email: Information@volunteeringengland.org
Freephone Information Line: 0800 028 3304 (M-F 10.30-12.30 & 14.00-16.00)

Volunteering England
Regent’s Wharf
8 All Saints Street
London N1 9RL

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