Leave and enter the UK during a Tier 5 GAE Visa

Question

I am struggling to find information on this scenario.

I have applied for a Tier 5 GAE UK Visa, for a duration of a year. Suppose that the visa duration is from January to December.

Suppose that I need to temporary come back to my country (in EU) for a short period of time (for example, for holidays) in April (so, during my Visa validity period), and then I want to come back in the UK.

I am not sure I will be able to do this, or whether there may be problem with this "leave and enter". Is there a maximum amount of times/period which I can go "back and forth" the UK, obviously during the validity period of my visa?

Answer 1

Summary (Jan 2022): Provided you meet all other conditions imposed by your GAE visa, you will be able to leave and re-enter the UK as many times as you wish during the visa validity.

---

As of the time of the answer, neither the Government Authorised Exchange (GAE) visa information page nor the associated caseworker guidance has explicitly mentioned that one is allowed to leave and re-enter the UK for multiple times during the visa validity.

However, in the guidance for sponsors for work and temporary work visas (i.e. employers) from UK Visas and Immigration (under Home Office, UK Government), which is dated 30 Dec 2021 and covers GAE visas, it is mentioned that multiple entries during the visa validity period is allowed:

S7.60. If a worker:

• entered the UK with entry clearance (granted for any duration), or
• was granted permission to stay for more than 6 months

they can leave and re-enter the UK for business, holiday or personal reasons as often as they wish, provided their entry clearance or permission to stay has not expired and they otherwise continue to meet the requirements of the route in which they were granted.