Studying abroad in the UK is a goal for many students. While a lot of them return to their home country after studying in the universities in UK for masters, some of them plan on staying back and settling down or at least working for a few years before they return. Countries normally have certain requirements when it comes to staying back post-study and the UK is no different. They require their foreign citizens to have a post-study work visa in UK.
UK Work Visa
The Home Office of the UK grants eligible students a UK Work Visa (Tier 2 General Visa) after concluding their study if they are eligible to do so on all the applicable grounds. After getting a work visa, students can opt for jobs in Engineering, Medicine, Management, and various other sectors within the UK.
This requires them to finish their courses successfully by holding a degree that makes them worthy of securing a job. The students need to get a job with the licensed Tier4 sponsor within 3 months after making their application for the Tier 2 work visa.
International students are allowed to stay for a period of 2 years in the United Kingdom once they have been given their work visa after completion of their graduation. This new rule gives international students graduating in the UK the option to obtain a work permit for a period of two years through which they can continue living and working in the country legally.
This is one of the ways of becoming a permanent resident, apart from obtaining an “indefinite leave to remain (or ILR) Visa ”, which allows its applicants to file an ILR application if they have completed 5 years of stay in the UK post their studies or for work in the UK. It can take around 6 months to obtain the ILR visa considering all the requirements are met by the applicant within the timeline.
UK Work Visa: Eligibility
To check your post-study work visa UK eligibility, one must fulfil the following requirements:
- On the point chart, you are required to score at least 70 points based on your age, qualification, skills, salary earned, etc.
- You must hold a valid job offer from a Home Office licensed sponsor. This job offer must be at a required skill level of RQF 3 or above, that is an A-Level and equivalent.
- Under the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages, the applicant must have a minimum of B1 level of English
- The applicant must possess a bachelor’s degree or its equivalent with 2 years of skilled work experience. The occupation must fall under the list of eligible occupations.
- A standard salary commencement is 20,800 GBP for first-timers and 30,000 GBP for experienced applicants.
- The employer is answerable for issuing the Certificate of sponsorship to the work permit aspirant.
How to apply for a UK Work Visa?
For applying for UK Work Visa, there are 3 main steps that you must follow:
- You must receive an employment offer from a licensed employer who should be permitted to sponsor employees from outside the country.
- The sponsor or the employer will hire you after making sure that you have the necessary skills required to do the job and meet all the qualifications and requirements to be eligible for the approval of your work visa.
- After meeting all the requirements, you will be issued the certificate of sponsorship which is pretty much the primary requirement for applying for the UK Work Visa.
UK Work Visa: Documents Required
To apply for a UK Skilled Worker visa, you will need the following documents:
- A valid passport or any other valid acceptable document to establish the applicant’s nationality and identity.
- The reference number o the applicant’s Certificate of Sponsorship (CoS).
- Name and Address of the employer.
- The sponsorship license number of the employer.
- Job title.
- Annual salary.
- Occupation code of the job.
- Proof of knowledge of the English language through language proficiency test scores.
Other Documents
It is possible that you may require additional documents for UK Work Permit to opt for various jobs in the UK after your MBA, Engineering or any other courses depending on your specific circumstances:
- You might be required to provide evidence of possessing sufficient personal savings to support yourself in the UK, which includes bank statements, deposits, etc. unless your certificate of sponsorship shows that your employer can support you financially instead.
- A proof of your relationship with your partner or children (dependents) if they are also included in your application.
- Tuberculosis test results might also be needed depending on your country of origin.
- A background certificate or a criminal record certificate can be asked specially for certain job categories. These areas include –
- Therapy professionals like psychologists, counsellors, speech therapists, and any similar professionals are included.
- Healthcare professionals include nurses, doctors, paramedics, pharmacists, and other similar professionals.
- Social services include social workers, welfare officers, and others.
- Education sector professionals- teachers, educational advisers, school inspectors, and assistants to name a few.
- UK PhD certificate, or your unique ECCTIS reference number (formerly known as unique UK NARIC reference number). If you completed your qualifications outside the UK, then you will be required to apply through ECCTIS.
- If the documents you are submitting are not in English, then an official and acceptable translation will be needed.
- If you’ve lived in more than one country, you may have to bring forward a certificate from each country that you have lived in. It will vary from person to person depending on their age and how long they have stayed in each country.
If the applicant is below the age of 28, they will need a certificate from any country of stay for a cumulative of 12 months or more after 18 years of age. But if they are 28 years or above, they will need a certificate from any country of stay over the span of the last 10 years.
If you sincerely wish to work abroad post studying then you must make sure to meet the following criteria and guidelines to ensure a smooth and stress-free stay in the UK.
