The government authorised exchange category is for people going to the UK through approved schemes that aim to share knowledge, experience and best practice, and to experience the social and cultural life of the UK. This category must not be used to fill job vacancies or to bring unskilled labour to the UK.
Applicants need:
The sponsor must be an overarching body who manages the government authorised exchange scheme and has the support of a UK government department.
Individual employers and organisationsare not allowed to sponsor migrants in this category, even if they are licensed as sponsors under other tiers or other categories of Tier 5. The only exceptions to this are for people going to the UK:
The applicant’s work must be skilled (equivalent to the UK’s NVQ or SVQ level 3 or above). unless he/she is taking part in the scheme set up as part of the European Union’s lifelong learning programme, which allows vocational education and training at a lower skill level.
Successful applicants may stay in the UK for up to 12 or 24 months, depending on the scheme and the length of time shown on the certificate of sponsorship.
