After your studies - working in the UK
If you wish to stay in the UK to work when you have finished your studies, unless you are an EEA or Swiss national you will need to apply for visa permission to do so. There are different routes which you should check to see if you qualify and which is most appropriate for you.
- Recent and future changes to work visas
- Tier 1 visa categories
- Tier 2 (General) - you have a job offer from an employer able to sponsor you
- Information on other routes for working in the UK
Recent and future changes to work visas
Tier 1 (Post Study Work) has closed
Tier 1 (Post Study Work) has now closed to new applicants. Details of the new provision for graduates under Tier 2 are below. Dependants of those who already hold a Tier 1 (Post Study Work) visa, are still eligible to apply from outside or inside the UK.
New provision under Tier 2 for graduates to remain in the UK to work
A new provision under Tier 2 has been introduced, specifically designed for recent graduates. This will make it easier for some degree students with a job offer to apply under Tier 2. Information is available from the UK Council for International Student Affairs and the UK Border Agency
Tier 1 visa categories
You can see full details of any new and current Tier 1 visa categories on the UK Border Agency website:
Graduate Entrepreneur: a new category for graduates who have developed world class innovative ideas or entrepreneurial skills. Applicants must be invited to make an application by the education institution from which they have received their award and the application endorsed by that insitution. Only 1,000 places available each year, limited to a maximum of 10 per institution. As a first step, the Policy Guidance for this new scheme has been published on the UKBA website, including how participants can switch into Tier 1 (Entrepreneur).
Entrepreneurs: for applicants or pairs of applicants proposing to set up, or take over, and actively run a business in the UK and who either have access to funding of £200,000, or access to funding of £50,000 from particular specified sources.
Exceptional talent: for detail, see UKBA's information on Tier 1 (Exceptional talent). Only 1,000 visas will be granted in this category in its first year of operation, to 'exceptionally talented migrants in the fields of science, arts and humanities', as endorsed by a 'designated Competent Body'.
Investors: for applicants with £1million to invest in the UK.
Tier 1 (General): This category has now permanently closed to new applications. There is information about the arrangements for those who already hold a visa in this category on the UKBA website.
Tier 2 (General) - you have a job offer from an employer able to sponsor you
This category is for applicants who have been offered a graduate level job by an employer who holds a Tier 2 license and has issued a Certificate of Sponsorship to the applicant. The route aims to enable employers to offer jobs to nationals from outside the EEA which cannot be filled by applicants from 'the resident workforce'.
The UK Council for International Student Affairs provides useful information on how to apply under Tier 2 from 6 April 2012 with particular reference to the new provision for recent graduates. For full requirements see the UK Border Agency's information.
You can check whether an employer is a Tier 2 licensed sponsor by looking at UKBA's register. You would need to discuss with a prospective employer about whether they are willing and able to sponsor you so that you can apply under Tier 2.
For a Tier 2 application, the job you have been offered must be graduate level, which means it must either appear on UKBA's Graduate Occupation List or Shortage Occupation List. The salary offered must be appropriate to the type of work and at least £20,000. If the job offer is not in a 'shortage occupation', it must usually pass the Resident Labour Market Test, requiring the employer to have advisertised it appropriately and demonstrated that no one settled in the UK or a national of the EEA could be found to fill it.
In order to apply for Tier 2 from within the UK, if your last visa granted was as a student or a Tier 4 student, you will have to show that you have completed, during the period of that visa, a course of at least one academic year. If you have finished your course at Oxford you can include a Degree Confirmation Letter to prove that that you meet this requirement.
You will also need to meet maintenance and English language requirements as set out in UKBA's Tier 2 Policy Guidance.
The number of Tier 2 (General) applications made outside the UK is limited by a quota system which may slow down your application or make it more difficult for you to apply. For this reason it is usually better to apply under Tier 2 from within the UK if you are eligible to do so.
If you already have a Tier 1 Post Study Work visa and have been working for at least six months for an employer who wishes to keep you on in the same graduate level job under Tier 2, it does not have to meet the Resident Labour Market Test and you do not have to meet the maintenance requirement. You must apply in the UK to benefit from this provision.
Information on other routes for working in the UK
If you are in the UK as the dependant of an EEA or Swiss national you may have the right to work in the UK. For further information, look at the UK Border Agency's website.
Nationals of Australia, Canada, Japan, Monaco, New Zealand or Taiwan might be eligible to apply under the Tier 5 (Youth Mobility Scheme). This scheme is for young people from participating countries who would like to experience life in the UK, including taking employment. There are specific requirements to be met, visas are issued under a quota system and you have to apply from your home country. You can also apply if you are a British Overseas citizen, a British Overseas Territories citizen or a British National Overseas (there is no limit on these visas).
If you are a Commonwealth citizen with a grandparent born in the UK, you may be able to apply from outside the UK for a visa to come to the UK for five years to look for a job and work, on the basis of UK ancestry.
If you are a Turkish citizen you may benefit from a European agreement with Turkey if you want to set up in business in the UK, or to obtain the right to stay longer to work if you have already been legally working in the UK.
See UKBA information for all other work categories.