If you are working for your employer as part of a graduate training programme outside of the UK, you are able to come to the UK as part of that programme.

Your job must be eligible, i.e. must meet salary and skill requirements, and must be part of a formal graduate training programme for a managerial or specialist role. You must also have worked for your employer outside of the UK for at least 3 months immediately before you apply. The UK entity must have a Graduate Trainee sponsor licence, so they can issue you with a Certificate of Sponsorship.

You must apply for the Graduate Trainee visa from outside the UK. It is not possible to switch to a Graduate Trainee visa from inside the UK.

You can stay in the UK with a Graduate Trainee visa for a maximum of 12 months. Your employer will need to decide how long your graduate programme requires you to be in the UK, so the timeframe may be shorter. It is not possible to extend this type of visa, but you can apply for multiple Graduate Trainee visas from overseas, as long as you do not exceed the maximum time you are permitted to stay in the UK under this (and a possible combination of other) visas in 6 years.

How Gherson can assist

Gherson’s Immigration Team are highly experienced in advising on UK visa matters. If you have any questions arising from this blog, please do not hesitate to contact us for advice, send us an e-mail, or, alternatively, follow us on Twitter, Facebook, or LinkedIn to stay-up-to-date.

The information in this blog is for general information purposes only and does not purport to be comprehensive or to provide legal advice. Whilst every effort is made to ensure the information and law is current as of the date of publication it should be stressed that, due to the passage of time, this does not necessarily reflect the present legal position. Gherson accepts no responsibility for loss which may arise from accessing or reliance on information contained in this blog. For formal advice on the current law please do not hesitate to contact Gherson. Legal advice is only provided pursuant to a written agreement, identified as such, and signed by the client and by or on behalf of Gherson.

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