Working in the UK after your studies

August 2008

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If you are a European Economic Area (EEA) or Swiss national, or if you are in the UK as the family member of such a person, this Information Sheet does not apply to you. Please see instead EEA and Swiss Students.

The countries of the European Economic Area are: Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Republic of Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovak Republic, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden and the UK.

If you are coming to the end of your studies in the UK, you might be considering the possibility of staying on in the UK to work. This Information Sheet explains some of the schemes that are likely to be of particular relevance to students at the end of their studies.

The details of the schemes change frequently, and this Information Sheet does not provide a list of all schemes. For full details of all the options that could be available to you, see the UK Border Agency website.

Within each category in this area of the website, you will also find links to the relevant Immigration Rules, guidance for applicants and Home Office caseworkers and the appropriate application forms.

If you are thinking about making an application under any of these schemes, and you want advice about the application, make an appointment with either an International Student Adviser or a Careers Adviser if they can offer such help. Some law centres, and other advice centres, have immigration specialists who will provide some basic advice free of charge. The Immigration Advisory Service (see address list for contact details) and some private solicitors also specialise in immigration law, although they will charge you a fee for their advice, unless your financial resources are so low that you qualify for legal aid. Ask the International Student Adviser or Welfare Officer at your college or university for the names of immigration specialists in your local area.

Under many of the schemes, your spouse, civil partner, opposite or same sex partner and children aged under 18 can apply to stay in the UK with you, or join you here.

Remember

• Read through the information given in this Information Sheet carefully, to see whether the Immigration Rules allow you to apply for the scheme whilst your are in the UK. For some of the schemes, you might have to return to your home country before an application is made. This is because most of the schemes have strict rules about who is allowed to 'switch' from another immigration category (for example, 'student'), into the scheme whilst still in the UK.
• For many of the schemes, students must have successfully obtained their qualification before applying to 'switch' into the scheme.
• If you want to stay in the UK under one of these schemes, you must make your application before your current permission to be here as a student runs out.
• If you have been sponsored by a government or international scholarship agency for your studies, most of the schemes require that you obtain their consent before you apply to stay on in the UK.

Tier 1 (Post-Study Work)

Note: this scheme replaced the International Graduates Scheme (IGS) and the Fresh Talent: Working in Scotland Scheme (FT:WISS) on 30 June 2008. The IGS replaced the Science and Engineering Graduates Scheme (SEGS) on 1 May 2007.

This scheme allows students who have successfully completed their UK degree or postgraduate studies (or, only if studying in Scotland, their HND) to apply to stay in the UK for up to two years to take employment without needing a work permit, or to be self employed or set up in business. You cannot, however, take employment as a doctor in training. You can apply for a maximum of 24 months under the scheme and you will not be able to apply again even if you later complete another qualification. However, you might be able to move on from the scheme to other work categories, including work permit employment or Tier 1 (General). You can find full information and application forms for Tier 1 (Post-Study Work) on the UK Border Agency website. It is vital that you read the policy guidance carefully before you apply because you must enclose the forms of evidence required in the guidance. Alternative documents will probably be rejected.

Who qualifies to apply as a Tier 1 (Post-Study Work) Migrant?

You will qualify to apply under Tier 1 (Post-Study Work) if you meet all the following requirements:

• You must not previously have been given immigration permission as a Tier 1 (Post-Study Work) Migrant.
• You must have a minimum of 75 points in attributes (see below).
• You must have 10 points for English language (you have this automatically if you have 75 points in attributes).
• You must have 10 points for meeting the maintenance (funds) requirement (see below).
• If you are applying in the UK, you must have, or have last been granted, immigration permission as one of the following:
  • a student
  • a student nurse
  • a student re-sitting an examination
  • a student writing up a thesis
  • a participant in the International Graduates Scheme or the Science and Engineering Graduates Scheme
  • a participant in the Fresh Talent: Working in Scotland Scheme.
• In some cases, you must provide your sponsor's consent to your application (see below).

Attributes

To qualify as a Tier 1 (Post-Study Work) Migrant, you have to show that you score a total of 75 points for attributes.

If you are applying to stay in the UK (not applying for entry clearance from outside the UK) and you have, or were last granted, immigration permission as a participant in the International Graduates Scheme (IGS), the Science and Engineering Graduates Scheme (SEGS) or the Fresh Talent: Working in Scotland Scheme (FT:WISS), you have 75 points. This means that you automatically score 10 points for English language, but you must also check that you can meet the maintenance (funds) requirement, which is worth 10 points.

If you are applying from outside the UK, or if you do not have immigration permission under one of these work schemes (IGS, SEGS or FT:WISS), you must meet all of the following requirements in order to score 75 points:

Qualification (20 points)

You must have been awarded one of the following:

• a UK recognised bachelor or postgraduate degree
• a UK postgraduate certificate or diploma
• a Higher National Diploma (HND) from a Scottish institution.

Recognised undergraduate and postgraduate degrees are awarded only by UK recognised bodies. You can check if your degree has been awarded by a UK recognised body on the website of the Department for Innovation, Universities and Skills.

The following qualifications are not accepted for eligiblity for Tier 1 (Post-Study Work):

• foundation degrees
• honorary degrees
• qualifications awarded in the UK by overseas awarding bodies
• qualifications undertaken in overseas campuses of UK institutions
• professional and vocational qualifications.

The UK Border Agency does not provide any examples of professional and vocational qualifications which are and which are not acceptable, but if your qualification is clearly a UK recognised degree, a postgraduate certificate, postgraduate diploma, or HND from a Scottish institution, it should be accepted. For example, Association of Chartered Certified Accountants (ACCA) qualifications are probably not accepted, but the Postgraduate Certificate in Education (PGCE) probably is accepted.

Check the policy guidance for full details of how you prove that you have an eligible qualification. If you have your certificate of award, you must include the original certificate with your application and a letter from the institution where you studied confirming a number of matters, including your name, the title of your qualification, the start and end dates of your period of study and/or research at that institution and the date of award. If you have a postgraduate certificate or a postgraduate diploma, the letter must also confirm that your qualification is equivalent to, or above the level of a UK bachelor's degree. If you are applying on the basis of an HND, the letter must confirm that your qualification is at HND level and was studied at a Scottish institution. If you do not yet have your certificate of award, you can still apply but the letter from your institution must contain additional information, including details of the body awarding the qualification and confirmation that the certificate of award will be issued.

Institution (20 points)

You must have studied for your award at a UK institution that is one of the following:

• a UK recognised or listed body - you can check this on the website of the Department for Innovation, Universities and Skills.
• the holder of a sponsor licence under Tier 4 of the Points Based System (this does not come into effect until 2009)
• a Scottish publicly funded institution of further or higher education which maintains satisfactory records of enrolment and attendance, if you are claiming points for having been awarded an HND from a Scottish institution.

Immigration permission during your study (20 points)

You must have carried out your periods of UK study and/or research whilst you had immigration permission as either:

• a student
• a dependant of someone with immigration permission in any category which allows the admittance of dependants

The Immigration Rules provide that you must have studied with student immigration permission, but the guidance expands this to include studying in the UK with student or student nurse permission, or with immigration permission to write up a thesis or re-sit an exam. If you have carried out your studies with any of these forms of immigration permission, you can make your application under Tier 1 (Post-Study Work). If you use the UK Border Agency's online calculator to assess your points, make sure you choose 'Student' and not 'Other' when you reach the section which says 'Select the immigration status you had when you were studying in the United Kingdom'.

Note that if you carried out your studies in the UK with immigration permission as a dependant, you can apply to be in the UK as a Tier 1 (Post-Study Work) Migrant. However, you will have to make your application from outside the UK, which means that you also have to meet the higher maintenance (funds) requirement (see below).

In order to prove that you studied in the UK with an eligible immigration status, you will need to submit your original passport or other travel document which contains that immigration permission. If you do not have it, you need to explain in section C of the application form (Tier 1 (Post-study work)) why you no longer have it. The UK Border Agency will check information you provide in section D to see if you had immigration permission as a student or dependant whilst you were studying in the UK.

Time limit for applying (15 points)

You must make your application for Tier 1 (Post-Study Work) within 12 months of obtaining your relevant qualification. This means that you must apply within 12 months of first being notified in writing by the awarding insitution that you have been awarded the qualification. You letter from your institution which you have to submit as evidence that you have a relevant qualification must contain information about the date of award of your qualification.

Maintenance (funds)

You must meet the maintenance (funds) requirement in order to score the required 10 points. This is in addition to scoring 75 points for attributes and 10 points for English language (which are awarded automatically if you have 75 points for attributes).

If you are applying for entry clearance from outside the UK, you must be able to show that you have £2,800 on the date of application and you must have had at least that amount available to you for three months before your application. This means that the level of funds in your bank account must not have fallen below £2,800 at any time during the three months before you apply for entry clearance as a Tier 1 (Post-Study Work) Migrant. Any documents you supply as evidence of this must be no more than 7 days old.

If you are applying to stay in the UK, the required level of funds is £800. If you apply on or after 1 November 2008, you must be able to show that you have held this sum in your account for three months before applying, in the same way as for entry clearance applications. If you submit your application in the UK before 1 November 2008, transitional arrangements mean that you have to show only that you have £800 in your account on the date of application. All evidence of your funds, if you are applying in the UK, must be no more than one month old.

Evidence of maintenance (funds)

For full details of the documents you must provide with your application, see the policy guidance on the UK Border Agency website. In summary, you need to have personal bank statements or a savings account pass book covering a period of three months, or a letter from your bank or from a regulated financial institution which confirms the level of funds in your account and that they have been in the account for at least three months. Documents must be originals, although internent bank statements can be acceptable, and they must provide all the details required in the guidance, for example, your name, account number and transactions covering a three-month period. If you are applying in the UK before 1 November 2008, you need only provide evidence that is no more than one month old, showing that you have £800. There is no need to provide three months' worth of documents.

Sponsor's consent

If you are currently sponsored by a government or international scholarship agency, or you were being sponsored by a government or international scholarship agency 12 months ago or less, you will, in most cases, need your sponsor's written consent to your Tier 1 (Post-Study Work) application. This applies to you if:

• your sponsorship covers or covered your fees and your living costs and
• you are applying in the UK and
• you have, or were last granted, immigration permission as a student.

The Immigration Rules at paragraph 245Z(h) are written in such a way that it looks as if you do not have to provide your sponsor's consent to the application if you are applying in the UK and you have, or were last granted, immigration permission as a student nurse, writing up student or to re-sit an exam. However, it is not clear from the policy guidance whether you would be expected to provide the consent in such cases and paragraph 39A of the Immigration Rules states that "An application for a variation of leave to enter or remain made by a student who is sponsored by a government or international sponsorship agency may be refused if the sponsor has not given written consent to the proposed variation". For this reason it is safer to ensure that you have your sponsor's written consent to your application, even if you have, or were last granted, immigration permission as a student nurse, re-sit or writing up student. The Immigration Rules at paragraph 245X do not require your sponsor's consent if you are applying for entry clearance as a Tier 1 (Post-Study Work) Migrant, and paragraph 39A does not apply to entry clearance applications, so you do not need your sponsor's consent if you are applying from outside the UK. However, the UK Border Agency has stated that it intended to require sponsor's consent to entry clearance applications. If you have your sponsor's consent, you should include it. If not, you should argue that the Immigration Rules do not require it, but the Immigration Rules might change.

In the section of the application form which deals with sponsorship, you are asked if you are in the UK with postgraduate doctor or dentist immigration status. It is not clear why this is included. If you have studied with immigration permission as a postgraduate doctor or dentist, you are not eligible to apply as a Tier 1 (Post-Study Work) Migrant. If you previously studied with student or dependant immigration permission but now have postgraduate doctor or dentist immigration status, you are not able to apply in the UK as a Tier 1 (Post-Study Work) Migrant and should instead apply for entry clearance from outside the UK, making sure you apply within 12 months of first receiving written confirmation that you have been awarded your qualification.

You can see the relevant Immigration Rules from UKBA Home Office.

Applying as an International Graduates Scheme or Fresh Talent participant or former participant

If you have, or were last granted, immigration permission as a participant in the International Graduates Scheme (IGS), its predecessor the Science and Engineering Graduates Scheme (SEGS), or the Fresh Talent: Working in Scotland Scheme (FT:WISS), you have some options about applying as a Tier 1 (Post-Study Work) Migrant. Unlike all other applicants, you will be able to take employment as a doctor in training.

Fresh Talent: Working in Scotland Scheme participants

The Immigration Rules at paragraph 245Z(g) state that only certain nationals can apply to extend their stay if they have immigration permission as a Fresh Talent participant and were given permission to stay for under two years, namely: British (Nationals) Overseas; British overseas territories citizens; British protected persons; British subjects. However, the policy guidance implies that any Fresh Talent participant who has been granted permission for under two years can apply.

Applying in the UK

If you currently have immigration permission in one of these three categories (IGS, SEGS or FT:WISS) and you want to apply to stay in the UK as a Tier 1 (Post-Study Work) Migrant, you automatically have 75 points for attributes and 10 points for English language, and you should check that you meet the maintenance (funds) requirement. You will be granted permission to stay for a maximum of two years combining your previous and your new immigration permissions. For example, if you were granted one year as an IGS participant, you will be granted one more year as a Tier 1 (Post-Study Work) Migrant. It does not matter if, when you were originally granted permission as an IGS, SEGS or FT:WISS participant, you did not meet all the requirements of this new scheme.

Applying outside the UK

If you currently have immigration permission in one of these categories and you meet all the attributes requirements of Tier 1 (Post-Study Work), including having studied with student or dependant immigration permission and having first received written notification of your results under 12 months ago, you can choose to apply in the UK, as described above, or you can apply for entry clearance in your home country. If you apply for entry clearance, you will have to meet the higher maintenance (funds) requirement but you should be granted the full two years' leave, in addition to any time you have already spent in the UK as an IGS, SEGS or FT:WISS participant. The reason for this is that paragraph 245Y of the Immigration Rules states that entry clearance will be granted for a period of two years. Unlike paragraph 245ZA, which deals with leave to remain in the UK, there is no exception for those who have already had immigration permission as an IGS, SEGS or FT:WISS participant.

Former IGS, SEGS and FT:WISS participants

You might have already spent time in the UK as an IGS, SEGS or FT:WISS participant and then have undertaken further studies in the UK after having changed your immigration status. If you meet all the requirements for Tier 1 (Post-Study Work), there is nothing in the Immigration Rules or the policy guidance to prevent you from applying after completion of your new course of study for two years' immigration permission as a Tier 1 (Post-Study Work) Migrant. This is because you have not previously have been granted entry clearance or leave to remain as a Tier 1 (Post-Study Work) Migrant, and the limit of two years in total applies only to those who are applying in the UK as a Tier 1 (Post-Study Work) Migrant when they have, or were last granted leave, as an IGS, SEGS or FT:WISS participant. You will be applying with different immigration permission, perhaps as a student. Remember that you must have undertaken your studies with student or dependant immigration permission and, if you studied with dependant immigration permission, you will have to apply as a Tier 1 (Post-Study Work) Migrant from outside the UK. You will not be able to take employment as a doctor in training.

How to apply

Applying in the UK

To apply as a Tier 1 (Post-Study Work) Migrant in the UK, make your application on form Tier 1 (Post-study work). You can download the application form and accompanying policy guidance from the UK Border Agency website. at. The immigration fee is £400 and you can make this application by post only.

You should make your application before your current immigration permission as a student, student nurse, re-sit or writing up student, or as an International Graduates Scheme, Fresh Talent or Science and Engineering Graduates Scheme participant expires. If you do not, you can be refused and you will not have a right of appeal against that refusal.

If you stay in the UK for more than 28 days beyond the end of your immigration permission, any future entry clearance applications will be automatically refused for a period of one year following your return home, if you leave the UK voluntarily and at your own expense. If you are removed from the UK by the UK Border Agency, you face automatic entry clearance refusals for 10 years following your return. As a transitional provision, automatic entry clearance refusals will not apply in such cases if you leave the UK voluntarily before 1 October 2008. From 1 October 2008, overstaying for over 28 days will attract automatic entry clearance refusals. For more information about this, see paragraph 26.17 of chapter 26 of the entry clearance guidance.

If you are applying when you have only a very short period of time left on your immigration permission, it is best to pay the application fee with postal orders. This is to minimise the likelihood of payment problems. If there is a payment problem, your application may be returned to you and you may not have time to send it back to the Home Office before your leave expires.

Applying outside the UK

If you studied with immigration permission as a dependant, you must apply for Tier 1 (Post-Study Work) from outside the UK. This is also an option for you if you studied with one of the other relevant immigration statuses. You apply on forms VAF9 and Appendix 4 which you can download from the website of the UK Visa Services. The application fee is £205.

Dependants

Dependants already in the UK

If your family members are already in the UK with you with immigration permission as your dependants, they can apply to stay in the UK with you as Tier 1 (Post-Study Work) dependants. This applies to your husband or wife (spouse), civil partner, children aged under 18 and, if you are currently in the UK with immigration permission as an International Graduates Scheme, Science and Engineering Graduates Scheme or Fresh Talent: Working in Scotland Scheme participant, your opposite or same sex partner. If you have children who have turned 18, they can apply as your dependants only if they already have immigration permission as Tier 1 dependants. This means they must already have immigration permission as the dependant of a Tier 1 (Post-Study Work), Tier 1 (General), Tier 1 (Investor) or Tier 1 (Entrepreneur) Migrant. If you have family members with you in the UK but they do not have immigration permission as your dependants, for example, your spouse, civil partner, opposite or same sex partner has immigration permission as a student or work permit holder, they cannot apply in the UK to stay with you as your dependants. They will have to go home and apply for entry clearance as your dependants.

Dependants applying outside the UK

If your family members are applying for entry clearance to come to the UK, they must be your spouse or civil partner, child aged under 18, opposite or same sex partner who has lived with you for at least two years in a relationship similar to marriage or civil partnership. For more information about family members, see the UKCISA Information Sheet, Your family.

Maintenance (funds) for dependants

If you have been in the UK for 12 months or more, each of your family members who is applying to come to, or to stay in, the UK as your dependant must have £533 in funds. If you are outside the UK or if you have been in the UK for under 12 months, this sum is £1,600 per person. Your dependants must be able to provide evidence that the relevant amount has been available for at least three months. See the UK Border Agency policy guidance for dependants for information about the exact documents required. You can download policy guidance from UKBA Home Office.

Applying as a dependant

For applications in the UK, each of your dependants must submit form Tier 1 (Dependant). If they are applying at the same time as you, your dependants' applications are free of charge. You should make sure that all applications are posted together in the same envelope so that it is clear that they should be processed at the same time. If your dependants are applying separately from you, the immigration fee is £395 for each person. For entry clearance applications outside the UK, each of your dependants must submit form VAF10. The immigration fee is £205 per person.

You can download the Tier 1 (Dependant) form from the UK Border Agency website.

You can download the VAF10 form from the UK Visa Services website.

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Work permits

Note: work permits will be replaced by Tier 2 of the Points Based System from autumn 2008.

An employer can apply for a work permit to enable them to offer a job to someone who would not otherwise be allowed to work in the UK.

It is relatively straightforward for an employer to obtain a work permit if the job is categorised as a 'shortage occupation'. The shortage occupations list is regularly updated. The full and current list is on the Home Office website in the section of the Work Permits pages which explains the Business and Commercial work permits arrangements. This is in the area for Sponsored skilled workers.

It is very much harder for an employer to obtain a work permit if the job is not categorised as a shortage occupation. For jobs that are not shortage occupations, employers normally have to demonstrate that they advertised the job to resident workers (allowing four weeks for responses), and provide detailed explanations of why each individual who applied was not suitable, and could not do the job with extra training. Resident workers are nationals of the European Economic Area, and people who have settled status in the UK. The advertising has to be in an appropriate medium, readily available throughout the European Economic Area (for example, national newspapers or professional journals). There are a number of other requirements too. Note that you can only switch into work permit employment without leaving the UK if you have current permission to be in the UK as:

• a student and have obtained a recognised degree qualification from a publicly funded UK higher or further education institution or a bona fide UK private education institution (and if you were sponsored by a government or international scholarship agency, you have their written consent)
• a postgraduate doctor or dentist and want to work as a nurse, doctor or dentist (and if you were sponsored by a government or international scholarship agency, you have their written consent)
• someone attending a PLAB test or clinical attachment or dental observer post and want to work as a doctor or dentist
• a student nurse or overseas qualified nurse or midwife and want to work as a nurse, doctor or dentist (and if you were sponsored by a government or international scholarship agency, you have their written consent)
• a working holidaymaker who has been in the UK at least 12 months and want to work in a shortage occupation
• a participant in the IGS or SEGS Schemes
• a participant in the Fresh Talent Scheme and the job is in Scotland (and if you were sponsored by a government or international scholarship agency, you have their written consent)
• a highly skilled migrant
• a Tier 1 migrant
• an innovator

Otherwise, even though the employer may apply for a work permit while you are in the UK, you will usually need to leave the UK and apply for an entry clearance to come to the UK as a work permit holder once the employer has obtained the work permit and passed it on to you.

If you are in one of the groups listed above (who are able to switch into work permit employment from within the UK), the employer should send you a copy of the letter from Work Permits (UK) approving the employment (this is the immigration employment document) and you will need to make a separate application to the Home Office to change your immigration status on form FLR(IED) before your current leave to remain expires (and not later than six months after the date of the approval letter).

If your prospective employer is not experienced in applying for work permits, they may want to seek advice from a business immigration specialist.

Sponsored researchers

There is a separate category under the work permit scheme for researchers who have a job overseas or are on sabbatical and who wish to come to the UK for the purpose of research work at a UK educational or research institution. Applications are dealt with in a similar way to those for shortage occupations (in other words, it is relatively straightforward for an employer to obtain a work permit for a sponsored researcher). Note that there is a separate application form for applications under this category.

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Training and Work Experience Scheme (TWES) Permits

An employer can apply for a TWES permit to enable them to offer training or work experience to someone who would not otherwise be allowed to work in the UK.

TWES permits are issued on the clear understanding that you intend to leave the UK at the end of the agreed period to use your new skills and experience. You will not be allowed to transfer to work permit employment at the end of your training or work experience. You will also be required to spend a certain amount of time outside the UK when your TWES permit finishes, before being issued with any further work permits: 12 months, if your TWES permit was for up to 12 months; 24 months, if your TWES permit was for more than 12 months. However there may be some flexibility over these periods if you will be working in a shortage occupation.

TWES permits are not issued for training or work experience in the sports or entertainment sectors.

A TWES permit for work-based training for a professional or specialist qualification is normally issued for the average time expected to complete the training, up to a period of five years.

A TWES permit for a period of work experience will usually be for up to 12 months. If the work experience is likely to take longer than 12 months to complete, this should be explained at the beginning. Extensions can be granted in exceptional circumstances, up to an overall maximum of 24 months’ work experience.

You need to meet a number of different criteria, including:

• you must be additional to your employer’s normal staffing requirements and you must not be filling a job that would otherwise be filled by a ‘resident worker’
• you must have an adequate command of the English language to enable you to benefit from the training or work experience
• the training or work experience should be for a minimum of 30 hours per week, excluding any time for associated study
• the entry level to qualify for the training or work experience should be at N/SVQ level 3 or equivalent
• the pay and conditions should be comparable to those normally given to a ‘resident worker’ doing the same kind of training or work experience. The National Minimum Wage must be complied with, and also the Working Time Regulations.

More information on TWES permits, and the application process. Or alternatively telephone the Work Permits (UK) distribution centre and ask them to send the information to you by post (see address list for contact details).

Note that if you currently have permission to be in the UK as a student, you can apply to remain as a TWES permit holder without leaving the UK. You do not need to have completed your course.

Once your prospective employer has obtained authorisation to employ you under the scheme, you will need to make a separate application to the Home Office to change your immigration status on form FLR(IED) before your current leave to remain expires (and not later than six months after the date of the approval letter).

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Tier 1 (General)

Note: Tier 1 (General) replaces the Highly Skilled Migrants Programme.

Tier 1 (General) of the Points Based System is designed to allow individuals with particular levels of qualifications and earnings to come to or stay in the UK for work, without needing a job offer, or to take up self employment. You cannot take up employment as a doctor in training. You will be granted three years in the first instance, and then you can apply for another two years if you continue to meet the requirements of the Immigration Rules. It can lead to settlement after five years in the UK.

In order to qualify under Tier 1 (General), you must have a total of 75 points, which are awarded for: qualifications; previous earnings; age; UK study or earnings. You must also meet separate English language and maintenance (funds) requirements. You can find full details and application forms at: www.ukba.homeoffice.gov.uk/workingintheuk/tier1/general.

A transitional measure means that you can claim 75 points if you enrolled on an MBA or Executive MBA course at one of 50 specified institutions throughout the world before 30 June 2008 and you submit your initial application to enter or stay in the UK as a Tier 1 (General) Migrant within 12 months of completing your course. For full details of this provision, including the list of institutions (there are 10 in the UK) and the documentary evidence you will have to provide in order to qualify, see: www.ukba.homeoffice.gov.uk/workingintheuk/tier1/general/eligibility/mbaprovisiontransitional.

You can apply to stay in the UK as a Tier 1 (General) Migrant if you have permission to be in the UK as one of the following:

• Student
• Student nurse
• Student re-sitting exam
• Student writing up thesis
• Postgraduate doctor or dentist
• Highly skilled migrant
• Tier 1 migrant
• Work permit holder
• International Graduates Scheme (or Science and Engineering Graduates Scheme) participant
• Fresh Talent: Working in Scotland Scheme participant
• Innovator, Business person, Self-employed lawyer or Writer, composer or artist.

There is no requirement that you must have completed your studies but, if you are in the UK as a student or as a postgraduate doctor or dentist, and you are sponsored by a government or international scholarship agency for your tuition fees and living costs, you must have your sponsor's written consent to your application. The same applies if your sponsorship ended 12 months or less before your application.

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Student Union Sabbatical Officers

You can apply to remain in the UK if you have been elected to a full-time salaried post as a sabbatical officer at an education establishment where you are registered as a student. You must be able to support yourself without needing welfare benefits and without undertaking work other than your sabbatical post. You should be given permission to be in the UK for 12 months which can be extended up to a two year maximum. At the end of this time, you must intend to:

• take up a further course of study which you have deferred to take up the post; or
• complete a course you have already begun; or
• leave the UK.

You must have written consent from your sponsor, if you were sponsored by a government or international scholarship agency, and that sponsorship for your studies has come to an end.

The requirements you need to meet are in the Immigration Rules paragraphs 87A – 87F

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Voluntary workers

You can apply to remain in the UK for up to 12 months as a voluntary worker under a Home Office concession. Your work must be for a registered charity or recognised body (there are lists of organisations that the Home Office commonly deal with), it must involve direct assistance to those the charitable organisation has been established to help and it must be unpaid. You should intend to leave the UK at the end of your stay. More information is available from the UK Border Agency. You can apply to stay in the UK as a voluntary worker even if you entered the UK in a different category.

This provision will disappear in autumn 2008, when Tier 5 of the Points Based System will replace it. Some information about Tier 5 is available.

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UK ancestry

You cannot switch into this immigration category from within the UK. If you are a Commonwealth citizen aged 17 or over and you can prove that you have a grandparent who was born in the UK, Channel Islands or the Isle of Man (or the Republic of Ireland if born before 31 March 1922), you can return to your home country to apply to the British diplomatic post there for entry clearance on the basis of your UK ancestry. You have to intend to take or seek employment in the UK, and you will be granted up to five years’ permission to be in the UK if you are eligible. The Home Office provides further further information about UK ancestry.

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Working holidaymakers

As a working holidaymaker, you can stay in the UK for up to two years and work for a maximum of 12 months. You cannot switch into this immigration category from within the UK. Instead, you need to leave the UK and apply for entry clearance as a working holidaymaker in your home country. Entry clearance is compulsory for all working holidaymakers, whatever their nationality.

You may be eligible if you are a citizen of one of a number of Commonwealth countries specified by the Home Office (or if you are a British Overseas Citizen, a British Overseas Territories Citizen, or a British National (Overseas)), aged between 17 to 30, and you:

• are either unmarried, or married to a person who also meets the requirements and you intend to take a working holiday together
• have the means to pay for your return journey
• intend to take employment as an incidental part of a working holiday
• are not going to work for more than 12 months during your stay
• intend to leave the UK at the end of your working holiday
• do not have dependent children who will reach five years old before you finish your working holiday.

You can stay in the UK as a working holidaymaker for up to two years. The Home Office provides more information about working holidaymakers.

This provision will disappear in autumn 2008, when Tier 5 of the Points Based System is introduced. The new scheme will apply only to people who are not visa nationals. For information about the youth mobility scheme which will replace working holidaymakers.

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Japan: Youth Exchange Scheme

This scheme allows Japanese nationals to come to the UK for a working holiday for up to 12 months. You should intend to work as part of your holiday, but not full time for more than half of your time in the UK. You have to enter the UK with entry clearance in this capacity. In other words, if you are currently in the UK in some other capacity (for example, as a student or visitor), you will need to leave the UK and return to your home country in order to apply to return under the scheme. You may be eligible if you are a Japanese national aged 18 to 25 (there is discretion to increase this age limit to 30 if you can show good reason for not applying earlier, for example, you were in full time studies or looking after a sick relative) and you can meet the other requirements. These include: being single, or married to a person who also meets the requirements and you intend to take a working holiday together; having the means to pay for your return journey; intending to take employment as part of your holiday; intending to leave the UK at the end of your working holiday. The Home Office provides more information about the Japan: Youth Exchange Scheme.

This provision will be replaced in autumn 2008 by Tier 5 of the Points Based System. Some information about Tier 5 is available.

Specific areas of work

The Immigration Rules allow people to apply to come to the UK to undertake other specific areas of work. You will usually have to apply for entry clearance in the relevant category before coming to the UK. More information about each category.

Turkish workers

Turkish Nationals have the option of setting up in self-employment in the UK under an Agreement between Turkey and the European Community. Applications to switch into this category can be made from within the UK if you are in the UK on some other basis (eg student).

In addition Turkish nationals who are working lawfully in the UK have a series of rights over a four-year period entitling them to a renewal of their permission to work.

You should consult an immigration specialist for further advice about applications under these provisions. The AIRE Centre (Advice on Individual Rights in Europe) at www.airecentre.org can provide you with information.

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Further information and contacts

UKCISA:

Telephone advice: 020 7107 9922
Monday to Friday 1300-1600 hours (UK time)
Note: we cannot see personal callers

Web: www.ukcisa.org.uk

Law centres and other advice centres

Note: make sure to check that advisers are specialists in immigration law before seeking advice from them.

You can find contact details for your local law centre at: www.lawcentres.org.uk

Some Citizens Advice Bureaux have immigration specialists. For details of your local bureau, see the relevant one for England and Wales at www.citizensadvice.org.uk; for Scotland, see www.cas.org.uk; for Northern Ireland, see www.citizensadvice.co.uk.

The Community Legal Service has details of solicitors and advice agencies at www.clsdirect.org.uk.

Immigration Advisory Service

Third Floor
County House
190 Great Dover Street
London
SE1 4YB
Telephone the head office (020 7967 1200) or fax (020 7403 5875) for details of offices in Birmingham, Blackburn, Bradford, Cardiff, Derby, Glasgow, Leeds, Leicester, Liverpool, Manchester, Middlesbrough, Norwich, Oakington, Peterborough, London, Hounslow, Sylhet and Lahore.

Alternatively, www.iasuk.org lists the opening hours of the telephone advice lines operated by individual IAS offices.

This Information Sheet may not be reproduced in any form without permission from UKCISA except by the following categories of UKCISA member, who may reproduce copies for the use of their students and staff: institutions of further and higher education, students' unions and voluntary sector bodies. All other UKCISA members who wish to reproduce Information Sheet must contact UKCISA.

© UKCISA

The information in this Information Sheet is given in good faith and has been carefully checked. UKCISA, however, accepts no legal responsibility for its accuracy.

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