Guidance

Offshore well boat workers: Immigration Rules concession 2022

Updated 24 January 2024

In February 2022, the Minister for Safe and Legal Migration introduced a concession to the Immigration Rules. Under the concession, foreign national workers employed by approved companies owning or operating well boat vessels in UK territorial seas may be considered for a grant of leave to enter.

This concession is time limited: Leave to enter will not be granted for a period extending beyond 8 February 2026.

The terms of the concession are set out below.

1. The Home Office has introduced a concession to the Immigration Rules.

2. Under the concession, foreign national workers employed by an approved company to work within UK territorial seas on a well boat owned or operated by that company may be considered for a grant of leave to enter for a period of up to 6 months at a time.

3. However, leave to enter will not be granted for a period extending beyond 8 February 2026.

4. Time spent in the UK under this concession will not count towards settlement. A person who is granted leave under this concession may not have recourse to public funds.

5. A person may only be considered for a grant of leave to enter under this concession if they have produced:

• a valid passport

• a letter from their employer stating that the worker is employed by an approved well boat company (see below) and will be required to work on a well boat within the UK’s territorial seas

• an employment contract that shows the person seeking entry is paid an annual salary of £26,200 or over, or the equivalent if salary is not paid annually

• if they are a visa national and cannot produce a relevant seaman’s book (see below), a transit visa (see entry clearance section below)

6. Additionally, a person may only be granted leave to enter under this concession if they are aged 18 or over on the date of entry.

7. An approved well boat company for the purposes of this concession is:

• Migdale Transport

• AquaShip

• Ocean Farm Services

• Solvtrans

• Bakkafrost

• Intership

• Mowi

• Froy Grupen (Froya)/DES

• Rostein

• Inverlussa Marine Services

• Volt Service AS / Remøy Management

• Finnmark Brønnbåtrederi AS

• Green Sea Service AS

• Njord Aquashipping AS

• Napier AS

• Scanbio Marine Group AS

• FSV Group AS

8. The Home Office will have regard to Part 9: grounds for refusal of the Immigration Rules in considering the suitability of a person seeking leave to enter under this concession.

Entry clearance for visa nationals

9. A visa national (c.f. Appendix Visitor: Visa national list) should apply for and obtain entry clearance prior to travel to the UK, unless they can produce a seaman’s book compliant with ILO Convention 108 (and issued by a country which has ratified that Convention) or ILO Convention 185 (and issued by a country which has ratified that Convention having previously ratified ILO Convention 108).

10. Persons requiring entry clearance should apply online on gov.uk for a visitor in transit visa and select the option, when prompted, “to start work on a ship or aircraft”. For information on application fees, see the ‘UK visa fees tool’ on GOV.UK. The Immigration Health Surcharge is not payable for this type of visa.

11. A person may only be considered for entry clearance under this concession if they have produced:

• valid passport

• a letter from their employer stating that the worker is employed by an approved well boat company and will be required to work on a well boat within the UK’s territorial seas

• an employment contract that shows the person seeking entry is paid an annual salary of £26,200 or over, or the equivalent if salary is not paid annually

12. On arrival to the UK, visa nationals must report to an Immigration Officer to apply for leave to enter under the terms of paragraphs 1 to 8 above.

13. The Home Office will have regard to Part 9: grounds for refusal of the Immigration Rules in considering the suitability of a person seeking entry clearance under this concession.