Table Of Contents
- Eligibility requirements for the Graduate Trainee route
- Who can use the Graduate Trainee visa
- Which types of businesses should use Graduate Trainee visa
- Summary
The Graduate Trainee visa, which replaced the Intra-Company Graduate Trainee visa (previously Tier 2 ICT (Intra-company Transfer) Graduate Trainee visa), allows you to come to or stay in the UK to work for your overseas employer in their UK branch. This visa is part of the Global Business Mobility routes. These routes include the Senior or Specialist Worker visa, Graduate Trainee visa, UK Expansion Worker visa, Service Supplier visa, and Secondment Worker visa, and are for you if you are based outside the UK and are undertaking a temporary work assignment in the UK.
Your job must be eligible (a job that meets the occupation and skill-level requirements set out in the UK Immigration Rules) and part of a graduate training programme (formal, planned, and time-limited) for a managerial or specialist role.
Your sponsoring organisation in the UK, in order to assign a CoS to you on the Graduate Trainee route, must be linked to an overseas business. The link can be established by common ownership or control or by a joint venture agreement.
Eligibility requirements for the Graduate Trainee route?
If you are looking to come to the UK as a Graduate Trainee, you must apply for and obtain entry clearance before arriving in the UK.
Further, you need to get a CoS (Certificate of Sponsorship) from your overseas employer, have done a job for your employer outside the UK, have been assigned to do an eligible job in the UK, and be paid the minimum salary level required for your job.
1. Genuineness requirement
UKVI must be satisfied that you genuinely intend to undertake the role you are being sponsored for and described on the CoS and are capable of undertaking this role (both must be the same).
You must have no intention to undertake any other employment.
If you are assigned a CoS for a role that is not genuine, your application for a Graduate Trainee visa will be refused, and your employer may have their sponsor licence revoked.
2. Financial requirements
You must, on the date of the Graduate Trainee visa application, have £1,270 or more (held for a 28-day period), or your sponsor must confirm on the CoS that they will, if it is necessary, maintain and accommodate you for the first month of your employment in the UK for the amount of £1,270 or more.
If you have already been in the UK with a valid visa for 12 or more months on the date of application, you are not required to show proof of these funds.
3. Certificate of sponsorship requirement
You must have obtained a CoS (it is an electronic record containing your name, job details, salary offered to you, PAYE details, and other details) from your employer, unless your last permission was on the Graduate Trainee route, and you are applying to continue working for the same sponsor as in your last permission.
You must have worked for your employer outside of the UK for 3 or more months immediately before you apply. This means you cannot apply to extend or change (‘switch’) to this visa from inside the UK.
4. Salary requirements
Your employer must pay a salary of at least £27,300 a year or 70% of your occupation’s ‘going rate’-whichever is higher.
If you work in the healthcare or education sector, you must be paid a salary of at least £27,300 a year or your occupation code’s full ‘going rate’, whichever is higher.
You can check the list of eligible occupations to see if the job you are being offered is eligible for a Graduate Trainee visa and what the going rate for your job is.
Who can use the Graduate Trainee visa?
The UK Graduate Trainee visa is for employees of overseas companies who need to come to the UK for a temporary work placement as part of their graduate training programme. This visa may be suitable for you where:
- You are an employee of an international company: You are working for an overseas company that has a linked business or branch in the UK.
- You are an employee receiving graduate training: You are taking part in a training programme that prepares you for future managerial or specialist roles.
- You are an employee who needs training in the UK: You need to spend some time at your company’s UK office to gain practical experience as part of your training.
- You are an employee with overseas work experience: You have worked for your employer’s business group outside the UK for at least three continuous months immediately before applying for the visa.
- You are an employee with a UK sponsor: You are a worker whose employer has a valid sponsor licence for the Graduate Trainee route and can assign you a CoS (Certificate of Sponsorship).
You must also meet the relevant job, salary, and other requirements for this visa.
Which types of businesses should use Graduate Trainee visa?
This route may be suitable for:
• Multinational companies: Businesses operating in several countries, with a UK branch or linked business, that run graduate training programmes across their international operations.
• International IT and technology companies: Businesses that want to give overseas graduate trainees temporary experience in their UK technology, software or specialist teams.
• International engineering and manufacturing companies: Businesses that need trainees to gain practical experience at their UK facilities as part of a formal development programme.
• International banks and financial services companies: Businesses that train graduates for future specialist or management roles and require them to complete part of the programme in the UK.
• International consulting and professional services firms: Businesses that provide structured development programmes for graduates preparing for future specialist or managerial positions.
Summary
You can use the Graduate Trainee visa under the Global Business Mobility umbrella if you are going to undertake temporary work assignments in the UK and the assignment is part of your graduate training course.
This visa is for international businesses that want to develop their existing overseas graduate employees through a temporary UK placement—not for graduates who want to find their first job in the UK.
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