Immigration Rules Appendix Temporary Work – Government Authorised Exchange
Source: gov.uk (2025-11-11)

The Temporary Work - Government Authorised Exchange route is for a person who wants to come to the UK on an approved scheme for a period of 12 or 24 months (depending on the scheme).

A partner and children can apply as dependants on this route.

The Government Authorised Exchange route is not a route to settlement.

Validity requirements for the Government Authorised Exchange route

GAE 1.1. A person applying for entry clearance or permission to stay on the Government Authorised Exchange route must apply online on the gov.uk website on the specified form ‘Temporary Work – Government Authorised Exchange Scheme’.
- (a) any fee and Immigration Health Charge must have been paid; and
- (b) the applicant must have provided biometrics when required; and
- (c) the applicant must have provided a passport or other travel document which satisfactorily establishes their identity and nationality; and
- (d) the applicant must have a Certificate of Sponsorship that was issued to them no more than 3 months (or 90 days, where the Certificate of Sponsorship is linked to a Sponsorship Reference Number, disregarding any days during which an edit requested by a sponsor to their Sponsor a Worker submission is being reviewed) before the date of application.
GAE 1.3. If the applicant has in the last 12 months before the date of application received an award from a Government or international scholarship agency covering both fees and maintenance, they must provide written consent to the application from that Government or agency.

GAE 1.4. An application which does not meet all the validity requirements for the Government Authorised Exchange route may be rejected as invalid and not considered.

Suitability requirements for the Government Authorised Exchange route

GAE 2.1. The applicant must not fall for refusal under Part Suitability.
- (a) in breach of immigration laws, except that where the Exceptions for overstayers section of Part Suitability applies, that period of overstaying will be disregarded; or
- (b) on immigration bail.
Eligibility requirements for the Government Authorised Exchange route

Entry requirements for the Government Authorised Exchange route

GAE 3.1. A person seeking to come to the UK on the Government Authorised Exchange route must have applied for and obtained entry clearance on the Government Authorised Exchange route before they arrive in the UK.

GAE 3.2. A person applying for entry clearance on the Government Authorised Exchange route must, if Appendix Tuberculosis applies, provide a valid medical certificate confirming that they have undergone screening for active pulmonary tuberculosis and that this tuberculosis is not present in them.

Previous permission requirement for the Government Authorised Exchange route
- (a) permission on the Government Authorised Exchange route; or
- (i) a higher education provider with a track record of compliance; or
- (ii) an overseas higher education institution, to do a short-term study abroad programme in the UK.
- (a) the applicant must have completed a UK recognised bachelor’s or postgraduate degree during that last period of permission; and
- (i) a period of postgraduate professional training or work experience which is required to gain a professional qualification or registration in the same field as their degree; or
- (ii) an internship for up to 12 months which is directly related to their degree; and
- (c) the applicant must not be filling a permanent vacancy; and
- (d) the sponsor must not intend to employ the applicant in the UK once the training or work experience is completed.
Sponsorship requirement for the Government Authorised Exchange route
- (a) confirm the applicant’s name, that they are being sponsored on the Government Authorised Exchange route, details of the job and salary the sponsor is offering them, and that these arrangements comply with the National Minimum Wage; and
- (b) include a start date, stated by the sponsor, which is no more than three months after the date of application; and
- (c) not have been used in a previous application which was either granted or refused (but can have been used in a previous application which was rejected as invalid, made void or withdrawn); and
- (d) not have been withdrawn by the sponsor or cancelled by the Home Office; and
- (e) confirm that the role meets the requirements of the individual exchange scheme as set out in Appendix GAE schemes; and
- (f) confirm that the role is supernumerary, such that it is in addition to the host employer’s regular, required, or standard number of staff and does not fill a permanent position or ongoing vacancy in the relevant organisation’s workforce, even on a temporary basis (with a full explanation of why it is supernumerary); and
- (g) confirm that the role appears in Tables 1, 1a, 2, 2aa, 3 or 3a of Appendix Skilled Occupations; and
- (h) confirm whether the Academic Technology Approval Scheme (ATAS) requirement in Appendix ATAS applies.
GAE 5.2. The sponsor must be authorised by the Home Office to sponsor individuals in the role specified on the Certificate of Sponsorship and on the particular scheme that the applicant has applied to participate in (as set out in Appendix GAE schemes).

GAE 5.3. The sponsor must be listed as A-rated on the Home Office’s register of licensed sponsors, unless the applicant was last granted permission on the Government Authorised Exchange route and is applying to continue working for the same sponsor as in their last permission.

GAE 5.4. The decision maker must not have reasonable grounds to believe the job the applicant is being sponsored to do does not comply with the National Minimum Wage Regulations or the Working Time Regulations.

Genuineness requirement for the Government Authorised Exchange route
- (a) genuinely intend, and be able, to undertake the role for which they are being sponsored; and
- (b) not intend to undertake employment other than in the role for which they are being sponsored, or as otherwise permitted by paragraph GAE 11.3.
ATAS requirement for the Government Authorised Exchange route

GAE 7.1. If the ATAS requirement in Appendix ATAS applies, the applicant must provide a valid ATAS certificate.

Financial Requirement for the Government Authorised Exchange route

GAE 8.1. If the applicant is applying for permission to stay and has been in the UK with permission for 12 months or longer on the date of application, they will meet the financial requirement and do not need to show funds.
- (a) the applicant must have funds of at least £1,270; or
- (b) 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.
GAE 8.3. If GAE 8.2. applies the applicant must show that they have held the required level of funds for a 28-day period and as specified in Appendix Finance.

Parental consent requirement for the Government Authorised Exchange route

GAE 9.1. The applicant must meet the parental consent requirement for applicant not applying as a dependent child in Appendix Children.

GAE 9.2. DELETED.

Decision on an application for the Government Authorised Exchange route

GAE 10.1. If the decision maker is satisfied that all the suitability and eligibility requirements for the Government Authorised Exchange route are met, the application will be granted, otherwise the application will be refused.

GAE 10.2. If the application is refused, the person can apply for an Administrative Review under Appendix AR: Administrative Review.

Period of grant for the Government Authorised Exchange route

GAE 11.1. If the application is for entry clearance, the applicant will be granted for the period of the role on the Certificate of Sponsorship plus up to 14 days before and 14 days after that period (the end date of the Certificate of Sponsorship may be up to the maximum period of time that a person is permitted to spend in the UK under the terms of the specific scheme on which the applicant has applied to participate in, as set out in Appendix GAE schemes).
- (a) the period of the role on the Certificate of Sponsorship plus 14 days after that period (the end date of the Certificate of Sponsorship may be up to the maximum period of time permitted under the terms of the specific scheme on which the applicant has applied to participate in, as set out in Appendix GAE schemes); or
- (b) where the applicant is applying to continue to participate in the same scheme, a period of 14 days plus the difference between the maximum period of time that a person on the Government Authorised Exchange route is permitted to spend in the UK under the terms of the specific approved scheme on which the applicant had applied to participate in (as set out in Appendix GAE schemes) and the period that they have already been granted permission to participate in that scheme; or
- (c) the difference between 25 months and the duration of the period during which the applicant has already held continuous permission on the Government Authorised Exchange route, including any period where the Exceptions for overstayers section of Part Suitability applied.
Conditions of grant on the Government Authorised Exchange route
- (a) no access to public funds; and
- (b) work is permitted only in the job the applicant is being sponsored for, including volunteering and job shadowing if recorded on the Certificate of Sponsorship; and
- (c) supplementary employment is permitted; and
- (d) study is permitted, subject to the ATAS condition in Appendix ATAS.
- (e) DELETED.
Dependants on the Government Authorised Exchange route

Validity requirements for a dependent partner or dependent child on the Government Authorised Exchange route

GAE 12.1. A person applying for entry clearance or permission to stay as a dependent partner or dependent child on the Government Authorised Exchange route must apply online on the gov.uk website on the specified form as follows:
- (a) any fee and Immigration Health Charge must have been paid; and
- (b) the applicant must have provided biometrics when required; and
- (c) the applicant must have provided a passport or other travel document which satisfactorily establishes their identity and nationality; and
- (i) has made a valid application for entry clearance or permission to stay as a person on the Government Authorised Exchange route that has not been decided; or
- (ii) has entry clearance or permission to stay as a person on the Government Authorised Exchange route.
GAE 12.3. An applicant applying as a dependent partner must be aged 18 or over on the date of application.

GAE 12.4. If applying for permission to stay, the applicant must be in the UK on the date of application.
- (a) as a Visitor; or
- (b) as a Short-term Student; or
- (c)as a Parent of a Child Student; or
- (d) as a Seasonal Worker; or
- (e) as a Domestic Worker in a Private Household; or
- (f) outside the Immigration Rules.
- (a) Condition A: the applicant must have completed the course of study for which the Confirmation of Acceptance for Studies was assigned (or a course to which ST 27.3 of Appendix Student applies); or
- (i) be studying a full-time course of study leading to the award of a PhD with a higher education provider which has a track record of compliance; and
- (ii) have completed at least 24 months of study on that course.
GAE 12.5. An application which does not meet all the validity requirements for a partner or child on the Government Authorised Exchange route may be rejected as invalid and not considered.

Suitability requirements for a dependent partner or dependent child on the Government Authorised Exchange route

GAE 13.1. The applicant must not fall for refusal under Part Suitability.
- (a) in breach of immigration laws, except that where the Exceptions for overstayers section of Part Suitability applies, that period of overstaying will be disregarded; or
- (b) on immigration bail.
Eligibility requirements for a dependent partner or dependent child on the Government Authorised Exchange route

Entry requirement for a dependent partner or dependent child on the Government Authorised Exchange route

GAE 14.1. A person seeking to come to the UK as a dependent partner or dependent child on the Government Authorised Exchange route must apply for and obtain entry clearance as a dependent partner or dependent child on the Government Authorised Exchange route before they arrive in the UK.

GAE 14.2. A person applying for entry clearance as the partner or child on the Government Authorised Exchange route must, if Appendix Tuberculosis applies, provide a valid medical certificate confirming that they have undergone screening for active pulmonary tuberculosis and that this tuberculosis is not present in them.

Relationship requirement for a dependent partner on the Government Authorised Exchange route
- (a) P has permission on the Government Authorised Exchange route; or
- (b) P is, at the same time, applying for (and is granted) entry clearance or permission on the Government Authorised Exchange route.
GAE 15.2. The requirements of Appendix Relationship with Partner must be met.

GAE 15.3. DELETED.

GAE 15.4. DELETED.

Relationship requirement for a dependent child on the Government Authorised Exchange route
- GAE 16.1. DELETED.
- GAE 16.2. DELETED.
GAE 16.3. DELETED.

Care requirement for a dependent child on the Government Authorised Exchange route

GAE 17.1. DELETED.

Age requirement for a dependent child on the Government Authorised Exchange route

GAE 18.1. DELETED.

GAE 18.2. DELETED.

Requirements for a dependent child on the Government Authorised Exchange route
- (a) relationship requirement: entry clearance and permission to stay; and
- (b) care requirement; and
- (c) age and independent life requirement.
Financial requirement for a dependent partner or dependent child on the Government Authorised Exchange route

GAE 19.1. If the applicant is applying for permission to stay and has been living in the UK with permission for 12 months or longer on the date of application, they will meet the financial requirement and do not need to show funds.
- i) the applicant; and
- ii) the person on the Government Authorised Exchange route (P); and
- iii) if the applicant is applying as a dependent child, their parent who is lawfully present in the UK or being granted entry clearance, or permission to stay, at the same time; or
- (b) the A-rated sponsor of the person on the Government Authorised Exchange route must certify that they will, if necessary, maintain and accommodate the dependent partner and/or any dependent child as well as the person on the Government Authorised Exchange route, up to the end of the first month of each of their grants of permission, to at least the amounts required in GAE 19.3.
- (a) £285 for a dependent partner in the UK, or applying for entry clearance; and
- (b) £315 for the first dependent child in the UK, or applying for entry clearance; and
- (c) £200 for any other dependent child in the UK, or applying for entry clearance.
GAE 19.4. If GAE 19.2.(a) applies, the funds held for the applicant must be held in addition to any funds required for the person on the Government Authorised Exchange route to meet the financial requirement and any other dependants in the UK or applying at the same time.

GAE 19.5. If GAE 19.2.(a) applies, the funds must have been held for a 28-day period and as specified in Appendix Finance.

Decision on an application as a dependent partner or dependent child on the Government Authorised Exchange route

GAE 20.1. If the decision maker is satisfied that all the suitability and eligibility requirements for a dependent partner or dependent child on the Government Authorised Exchange route are met, the application will be granted, otherwise the application will be refused.

GAE 20.2 If the application is refused, the person can apply for an Administrative Review under Appendix AR: Administrative Review.

Period of grant for a dependent partner or dependent child on the Government Authorised Exchange route

GAE 21.1. A partner will be granted permission which ends on the same date as their partner’s permission on the Government Authorised Exchange route.

GAE 21.2. A child will be granted permission which ends on the same date as whichever of their parents’ permission ends first.

Conditions of grant for a dependent partner or dependent child on the Government Authorised Exchange route
- (a) no access to public funds; and
- (b) work (including self-employment and voluntary work) is permitted, except as a professional sportsperson (including as a sports coach); and
- (c) study is permitted, subject to the ATAS condition in Appendix ATAS if the applicant is over the age of 18.
- (d) DELETED.