Graduate Trainee visa

If you meet the eligibility criteria to apply for a Graduate Trainee visa, both the applicant and employer must meet the following requirements:

• The employer must hold a valid sponsor licence in order to employ foreign workers and issue a certificate of sponsorship- they must be deemed a Home Office approved sponsor
• The applicant must be paid at least £23,100 per calendar year or 70% of the ‘going rate’ of their overseas job
• The applicant must be able to support themselves with personal savings or other funds when they arrive in the UK- applicants are not permitted to apply for or use public funds
• The applicant must be able to provide a negative Tuberculosis test if they are coming to the UK from a listed country

Visas listed under the Global Business Mobility route are subjected to the points-based system. To be eligible for a Graduate Trainee visa, applicants must score 60 points across three separate criteria.

Sponsorship

The Graduate Trainee route requires applicants to score 20 points by being allocated a valid certificate of sponsorship from a UK sponsor with a valid sponsor licence. The UK job must be proved to be genuine. Applicants must have worked for their overseas employer for a minimum of three months with no breaks. In addition, the visa application requires the applicant to have not worked in the UK before.

Appropriate skill level

Another 20 points can be scored for skill level. The Graduate Trainee visa applicant must be taking on a job meeting the job skill level requirement, typically, the job you are being sponsored for must be skilled to level 6 or above (graduate level) on the Regulated Qualifications for England, Northern Ireland and Wales.

Salary requirements

The final 20 points are awarded for a salary at an appropriate level. The Graduate Trainee visa applicant must be paid at least £23,100 per calendar year, or, the appropriate ‘going-rate’ for the occupation code they are assigned- typically, it is whichever is higher out of the two. If the amount that the sponsor is planning to pay the visa holder is under the minimum salary requirement or the ‘going-rate’, the Graduate Trainee visa application will most likely be refused by the Home Office.

You will be asked to provide the following documents as part of a Graduate Trainee visa application:

• Your certificate of sponsorship reference number- this will be given to you by your employer
• A valid passport or any other valid document that helps to prove your identity and nationality
• Details of your job title and yearly salary
• Your jobs occupation code
• The name of your employer and their sponsor licence number- you can find this detailed on your certificate of sponsorship
• Bank or building society statements to prove you have enough funds or personal savings to support yourself when you arrive in the UK
• Your tuberculosis test results- are only applicable if you are from a listed country

Graduate Trainee visa applicants may also be asked to produce the following documentation:

• Evidence that you have worked for your overseas employer for at least 3 months before applying for a Graduate Trainee visa in the UK
• A valid ATAS certificate if your job involves researching a sensitive subject at PhD level or higher- your employer will tell you if this is something you need

Supporting documents should be translated into English or Welsh if they aren’t already before being submitted to the Home Office.

Applying for and acquiring a Graduate Trainee visa comes with costs and fees which the applicant is subjected to paying should they wish to come and work in the UK.

Application fees

The total cost of application fees for a Graduate Trainee visa is £259 per person applying from outside of the UK. The application fee is payable when you submit the application form on the government website.

Immigration Healthcare Surcharge

Typically, you will need to pay the Immigration Healthcare Surcharge if you are planning to enter the UK on a visa. The Immigration Healthcare Surcharge is a fee to be paid to allow visa holders access to the UK National Healthcare services should they need to whilst living and working in Great Britain. The cost of IHS is £624 per year.

Funds to support yourself

When a Graduate Trainee visa holder arrives in the UK, you must show that you have enough money to support yourself without lying on means-tested benefits or public funding. You must have a minimum of £1,270 in funds or personal savings to support yourself and any dependent children and a partner during your first month in the UK.

If your new employer in the UK will be covering the cost of your first month of living in the UK, this must clearly detailed on your certificate of sponsorship.

If you are applying from outside of the UK, you must apply for a Graduate Trainee visa online.

You will need to ensure you have all of the correct supporting documents readily available with the application fee- failure to submit the correct documents can result in your application being delayed or even rejected.

Graduate Trainee visa applicants will be required to prove their identity in one of two ways.

You will either:

• Attend an appointment at a visa application centre to have your fingerprints and photograph taken- if you are asked to do this, you will be issued a Biometric Residence Permit soon after
• Be asked to use the UK Immigration ID check app to scan in the relevant identity documents

If it is requested that you attend an in-person appointment, you must be prepared for the office to keep hold of your identity documents whilst the Graduate Trainee visa application process takes place.

Once a Graduate Trainee visa application has been submitted to the Home Office, a decision is typically made within three weeks of applying.

You can apply for a Graduate Trainee visa up to three months before you are due to begin your new job role within the United Kingdom. You can find your start date listed on your certificate of sponsorship from your new employer.

For those who may require a faster decision on their visa application, it may be possible to opt for the visa application fast-track service. However, this will come at an additional cost, usually approximately £500 per application required to be fast-tracked.

You can remain in the UK for either of the following:

• The time specified on your certificate of sponsorship plus an additional 14 days
• 12 months

Typically, it is whichever is the shortest out of the two scenarios.

The Graduate Trainee visa is not able to be extended, however, you are able to apply for an additional Trainee visa from outside of the UK, when you return back to your home country.

You maximum stay in the UK is 5 years in a 6 year period if you have previously spent time in the UK on the following visa types:

• Intra-company Graduate Trainee visa
• Intra-company Transfer visa
• Graduate Trainee visa (Global Business Mobility)
• Secondment Worker visa (Global Business Mobility)
• Senior or Specialist Worker visa (Global Business Mobility)
• Service Supplier visa (Global Business Mobility)
• UK Expansion Worker visa (Global Business Mobility)