Graduate Programme for Tier 4 students starting a career in the UK

If you are a recruiter, or a business, that has identified a great international graduate hire, who is currently in the UK on a Tier 4 student visa, and has successfully completed their course, this is the page for you.

Tier 4 students receive preferential treatment when it comes to getting a Tier 2 (General) visa / work permit.  There are 3 big advantages:

• Tier 4 students don’t need to leave the UK to get a Tier 2 (General) visa.
• Companies can sponsor a Tier 2 visa for a Tier 4 student without a ‘Resident Labour Market Test’ (ie without advertising the role to give UK/EU nationals first refusal)
• Where a student is under 26 years old, they may be able to be hired on ‘New Entrant’ terms, so salaries from £20,800pa may be eligible (for those 26 and over, the minimum salary is £30,000 pa).  NB for some roles the minimum may be higher

The Tier 4 visa allows work, and after completing final exams, a student can work for up to 40hrs per week on their student visa.  So Graduate trainees can start working immediately on their Tier 4 visa. As long as the Graduate then applies for a Tier 2 (General) visa before their old Tier 4 visa expires, they can keep working while the new visa application is processed.

If you have a Tier 4 student that you want to hire or to place, please fill in the form below: