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Graduate Post Study Visa

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Graduate Post Study Visa

The UK Government as part of its commitment to attract the brightest and the best students to the UK has set out a new route to promote this and remain competitive internationally. The graduate immigration route will be open to international students entering the UK in the 2020-21 academic year when they complete an undergraduate degree or above at an institution with a good track record of compliance with the Home Office.The successful applicants will be allowed to remain in the UK and work up to 2 years and will be able to switch into a skilled work visa route if they find a suitable job.

Graduate Immigration Eligibility Requirements

The Home Office is yet to publish detailed rules and requirements for this category. On the basis of information available now, the students would need to make a new application to switch into this route, pay a  further application fee (yet to be determined) and pay Immigration Health Surcharge. 

The standard requirement would be for the students to complete their degree level or above at a qualifying institution by summer of 2021.The qualifying institution is one with the status ‘Tier 4 Sponsor – Track record’ in the register of licenced sponsors publicly available. It is highly advisable that students check this status before obtaining admission to the institutions, if they want to take advantage of the scheme. The application process will be light touch as confirmed by the Home Office, and applicants will be subject to criminality, identity and security checks.

The period during which the applicants can stay in the UK under this route will not be counted for settlement, but applicants will be permitted to switch to the skilled work visa category under which they can obtain settlement. The applicants will not need any sponsor to apply for the Graduate Immigration Route.

How can we assist?

Our Immigration lawyers at City Legal have immense experience in assisting international students from across the globe in continuing to remain in the UK further to the completion of their studies. We have successfully assisted many individuals in switching to Tier 5 GAE Internship visas, Tier 2 General Skilled worker visas and to Business & Entrepreneur visas in the past. We are a multi award winning law firm and pride ourselves in being approachable, innovative and always going that extra mile to make sure our clients receive the individual attention they deserve. Our Immigration team maintains a high reputation and is committed to provide clear, transparent and reliable advice to our clients.

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Frequently Asked Questions

The maximum duration of Tier 2 General visa is upto six years unless an exemption applies. Individuals may apply for Indefinite Leave to Remain after spending 5 years under this category, if they meet all other requirements.

Any individuals granted with Tier 2 general visa cannot have recourse to public funds and can only work for their sponsor in the job as described on the CoS. Voluntary and supplementary employment are permitted. Individuals with this leave can also study as long as it does not interfere with their main job. Individuals granted with a Tier 2 leave can undertake supplementary employment of no more than 20 hours per week in the same profession and level as their main job or on a profession under the shortage occupation list. This must be outside of their normal working hours.
Tier 2 Cooling off period refers to the 12 months period applicants have to wait before they can apply for a Tier 2 visa again to re-enter the UK. This triggers when an individual was previously sponsored under Tier 2 by any employer in the UK, and they have left the UK and their visa lapsed or expired. There is an automatic refusal failing to adhere to the cooling off period.
The minimum salary requirement is set out by the relevant SOC codes. The common SOC code used is 2444 Clergy and the minimum salary requirements or this SOC code is of national minimum wage requirements.
The new PBS skilled worker visa will not apply to any EU nationals living in the UK by 31 December 2020. EU nationals and their families are eligible to apply under EUSS scheme up until 30 June 2021 and employers may continue to accept Passports and National ID cards as evidence of right to work up until 30 June 2021. All EU nationals who enter the UK to work from January 2021 will need to apply for permission in advance.
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