UK Minister of Religion Visa
United Kingdom
Residency
At a glance
The UK Minister of Religion visa is for people offered a job within a faith community, such as a minister, missionary, or member of a religious order, by a licensed UK sponsor.
- Type
- Sponsored faith-community work
- Initial stay
- Up to 3 years and 1 month
- Sponsor
- Licensed UK faith organization
- Permanent residence
- Possible after 5 years
- Salary requirement
- Sponsor-set
- Job offer required?
- Yes
Summary
The T2 Minister of Religion route is for sponsored faith leadership, including leading a congregation, preaching and essential pastoral or missionary work. It is distinct from the Temporary Religious Worker route for non-pastoral work or service in a religious order.
Eligibility
The applicant must be 18 or over and have a certificate from a licensed religious sponsor for a genuine eligible role. They need B2 English and normally £1,270 held for 28 days unless exempt after 12 months with UK permission or the sponsor certifies maintenance. The sponsor must pay at least the National Minimum Wage where it applies and comply with working-time rules; remuneration and any support must match the certificate.
The role's main duties must be religious leadership rather than a secular job for a faith organization. Full-time teaching in a church school, for example, does not become ministerial work simply because the employer is religious.
Minister of Religion settlement English rises to B2
Minister of Religion settlement English rises to B2
The route already uses B2 for initial permission, but settlement currently uses the existing B1 framework. Applications for settlement from 26 March 2027 will use B2 unless exempt.
Timing: The B2 settlement requirement takes effect on 26 March 2027. Applications made before that date remain subject to the rules then in force; applicants planning to file on or after it should prepare for B2 unless an exemption applies.
Current pathway rules still apply.
The current five-year route to settlement may change
The current five-year route to settlement may change
The Minister of Religion route currently leads to settlement after five qualifying years. The proposal would generally replace five-year work-route settlement with a 10-year baseline that can be adjusted, but final and transitional rules are pending.
Timing: The consultation ran from 20 November 2025 to 12 February 2026. GOV.UK currently says the government is analyzing feedback. No general implementation date has been announced, and current settlement rules remain in force unless and until Immigration Rules changes take effect.
Current pathway rules still apply.
What This Route Allows
An initial grant is normally up to three years and one month, and extensions are possible up to the route's six-year maximum. The holder may work for the sponsor, study, volunteer and take up to 20 hours' qualifying supplementary work. Eligible partners and children can join and generally work. From 8 April 2026 the fee is £819 outside or £943 inside the UK, per person; IHS applies and public funds are barred.
Settlement remains available after five qualifying years on this and permitted combined work routes, subject to sponsor need, continuous residence, salary/conditions, English and Life in the UK. B1 is current for settlement; B2 starts for applications on 26 March 2027. A dependent partner normally needs five years.
What This Route Is Not
It is not the two-year Religious Worker route, which has no direct settlement path. It also does not permit unrestricted outside work or self-employment. The consulted earned-settlement baseline had not changed the current five-year rules by this review date.
Next Steps
- Confirm the organization is licensed for T2 Minister of Religion, not only Religious Worker.
- Map the actual daily duties to pastoral leadership and make the certificate, contract and pay consistent.
- Prepare B2 English and maintenance evidence.
- Track the six-year cap, absences and sponsor records from the first grant.
New Zealand
New Zealand Religious Worker Resident Visa
New Zealand's Religious Worker Resident Visa is for people already in New Zealand religious work who have held a Religious Worker Work Visa for at least 3 years and have…
United States
U.S. Religious Worker Green Card
The EB-4 religious worker route is a green card path for certain ministers and qualifying religious workers with a U.S. religious organization sponsor.
United States
U.S. Religious Worker Visa
The R-1 route is for certain religious workers coming temporarily to work for a qualifying U.S. religious organization.