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Top Ten Facts About a Best Graduate Visa.

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Are you a statistics student or in the UK on a student visa? If you are not into statistics, you probably don’t want to be bored with graduate visa and immigration stats but you may want to know if the graduate visa is the best visa route for you to stay in the UK. Our friendly immigration solicitors understand that you want answers not statistics so in this blog we will look at some facts about the graduate visa and help you decide if OTS Solicitors can help you apply for a graduate visa.

UK Online and London Based Immigration Solicitors and Graduate Visa Lawyers

For advice on whether the graduate visa is your best option to stay in the UK after graduation or for legal advice on any aspect of immigration law call the expert London immigration lawyers at OTS Solicitors on 0203 959 9123 or contact us online.

The graduate visa top ten facts

With the graduate visa it is easy for UK immigration solicitors to be very positive about the visa route as it is so flexible. That’s why all the early indications are that both UK employers and international students are attracted to the graduate visa. For UK business owners it offers an additional work visa route without all the red tape and for international students it offers the best visa flexibility, provided you stick out your course and graduate.

The graduate visa top ten facts:

  1. If you are an international student in the UK on a student visa you are likely to meet the eligibility criteria for a graduate visa . That is because applicants are not restricted to those doing degrees in key STEM subjects. Applicants are welcomed from all disciplines, so it doesn’t matter if your degree is in the history of art or media studies – you are just as welcome to apply for the graduate visa.
  2. You don’t need a 2.1 degree to qualify for a graduate visa. All our immigration solicitors know how all international students are told that it is essential to get a good degree to make your family proud and to justify all the money spent on your education. With the graduate visa you are welcome to apply if you got a 2:2 or a third. You won't be rejected by the Home Office just because you did not get a first.
  3. You don’t need a job. All our immigration solicitors appreciate how hard it is to get a good job when you are straight out of university. Many international students who want to stay in the UK feel under immense pressure to get a job with a sponsoring employer so they can stay in the UK on the skilled worker visa. The beauty of the graduate visa is that you can apply for the visa without having a job to go to.
  4. You don’t need a sponsoring employer. Sometimes you don’t want to go straight into a job that is suitable for your qualifications. You may want ‘time out’ after your studies to investigate job options as after all once you are on your set career path it can be difficult to switch career or specialism. With the graduate visa you can take any job. That means you don’t need a sponsoring employer and you are not going to be forced into taking a job that you don’t really want just so you can get a skilled worker visa.
  5. You don’t need to meet a minimum salary threshold. Some graduates and international students say it can be hard to get a job in the UK with a sponsoring employer in their preferred career because of the skilled worker visa minimum salary threshold. With the graduate visa there is no minimum salary threshold so provided the UK employer pays you more than the national minimum wage you can do a job that interests you to allow you to get more experience. You can then switch to a skilled worker visa when you have the experience to justify the minimum salary threshold for the skilled worker visa in your chosen career.
  6. You don’t need to intend to apply for a skilled job. If after your studies you want to pick fruit or pour coffee or change bed sheets or work as a labourer in the UK construction industry then that is OK. The graduate visa immigration rules don’t say you have to plan to secure a graduate level job offer when you are applying for the graduate visa and the immigration rules don’t specify that your job search has to be related to your degree.
  7. You can't go home after you graduate and then apply for a graduate visa. Many international students don’t want to go home after they have completed their studies as it is hard to move from international student to living back at home. One of the best things about the graduate visa for some students is that you have to apply for the visa from the UK whilst you are still in the UK on a student visa.
  8. Post graduate students can apply for the graduate visa. The graduate visa is not restricted to graduates from universities. You may also be eligible to apply for a graduate visa if you have studied in the UK on a post-graduation course, such as a law conversion or post law degree course. If you are wondering if your course qualifies you to apply for the graduate visa the best thing to do is call one of our friendly immigration solicitors on 0203 959 9123 for more information.
  9. You can stay in the UK for a minimum two years on a graduate visa. A graduate visa is for two or three years depending on the nature of your qualification. If you decide the graduate visa is not for you then you can go home earlier or you can apply to switch visa. For example, to the skilled worker visa.
  10. You can switch to the skilled worker visa and still potentially be classed as a new entrant. As the graduate visa does not lead to settlement in the UK you may want to look at visa switch options. With a degree and after some work experience whilst you are on the graduate visa, you may find it best to switch to the skilled worker visa as this work visa routes does lead to UK settlement. Once you meet the five-year residence requirement you will then be able to apply for indefinite leave to remain in the UK and , if you chose to do so, you can go onto apply for British citizenship.

Our UK immigration solicitors understand that post-graduation it can be hard to know what you want and where you want to be. That’s why our friendly and approachable immigration solicitors are happy to chat to you to help you work out whether the graduate visa is the best visa route for you.

UK Online and London Based Immigration Solicitors and Graduate Visa Lawyers

For advice on any aspect of immigration law call the immigration team at OTS Solicitors on 0203 959 9123 or contact us online.

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