Graduates looking to apply for the UK Tier 1 Post Study Work visa will want to apply as soon as they are able to; this visa category will be abolished in April 2012.
In March 2011, UK immigration announced they will close the Tier 1 Post-study work visa, which allows students 2 years to work in the UK after their course ends. In most cases only graduates who have an offer of a skilled job from a sponsoring employer under Tier 2 of the points-based system will be able to stay and work in the UK.
Currently, under the Tier 1 Post-study work (PSW) visa, visa holders can live in the UK and work for any employer. This is much easier to obtain and more flexible than a Tier 2 visa. If granted a visa under this category, you can switch into another tier of the points-based system.
Tier 1 PSW is part of the UK's points-based system, which is for migrants from outside Europe. You do not need to apply under the points-based system if you are a national of a country in the EU. Successful applicants in the Tier 1 PSW category will be able to stay in the UK for up to two years on this visa.
Those graduating from a UK university with a recognised degree will be able to switch into Tier 1 PSW. They will only be able to switch if they are in the UK, before their student visa expires. They can then switch again from a Tier 1 post study work visa to a tier 2 visa. The normal Tier 2 requirements will apply, except for the Resident Labour Market Test. This means that a Tier 2 employer will not have to show that the job was advertised and that no UK or EEA nationals could be found to fill the position. However, the job will have to be a graduate level job with the salary level as required under Tier 2, and the employer must have a Tier 2 sponsorship license.
In order to apply for a Tier 1 PSW visa applicants must:
have completed a Bachelor's Degree, Master's Degree, PhD, a Post Graduate Certificate or Diploma from a recognised UK institute of higher education;
be able to support yourself without accessing public funds;
apply within 12 months of finishing the course;
meet the English language ability requirements; and
have sufficient funds at the time of application.
If you already have permission to stay in the UK as a student under the Tier 4 PBS system or are a postgraduate doctor or dentist, you can apply for Tier 1 PSW from inside the UK. If you are in any other immigration category, you will need to leave the UK and make your application from abroad.
If you meet all the requirements you can apply for the Tier 1 PSW visa until April 2012.
If you finish your course after April 2012 and Tier 1 Post-study work visa has been abolished, you might still be able to stay for work under Tier 2. Tier 2 visas are for jobs where there is no one suitable to do the job from the resident labour market, and occupations where there is a shortage of qualified workers.
Wednesday, November 23, 2011
New documents show extent of relaxed UK Immigration border checks
There have been new developments in the UK Border Agency scandal. New documents further confirm the extent to which checks on UK visitors were relaxed; this includes allowing passengers of private jets to bypass UK visa and immigration security checks.
The documents were emails obtained by the opposition Labour Party in the UK disclosing conversations between UK Border Agency officials suggesting passport checks were relaxed nearly 2,500 times at airports over the period. According to the emails thousands of passengers on private aircraft did not face passport checks at all and were not screened against the terrorist watch list.
UK Border Agency officials warned their managers they feared a "security breach" because they could not "secure the border as robustly as we would like to" and UKBA managers replied that the new arrangements were part of a strategy being introduced at airports across England, and reflected "national policy".
According to Labour, there are between 80,000 and 90,000 flights on private jets landing in Britain every year, each carrying two or three passengers.
Shadow Home Secretary Yvette Cooper said the "startling" emails disclosed the "scale of the borders fiasco".
"Last week the Home Secretary told us that no one had been waved through without checks this summer," Cooper said. "But these documents show passengers on private flights weren't even seen. Last week the Home Office wouldn't admit to having figures about how often checks were downgraded. Now we know those figures exist."
The leaked documents come as Brodie Clark, the departed head of the UK border force, prepares to defend himself in order to clear his name and retain his pension when he appears before the Commons home affairs committee on this week.
"The Home Secretary needs to show she has a grip on what is going on at our borders and is capable of sorting this fiasco out rather than making it worse," said Cooper.
The UK Border Agency has responded to the allegations stating, "It is not true that we don't carry out passport and warnings index checks on private flight passengers and will deploy officers to airfields where we have concerns."
The documents were emails obtained by the opposition Labour Party in the UK disclosing conversations between UK Border Agency officials suggesting passport checks were relaxed nearly 2,500 times at airports over the period. According to the emails thousands of passengers on private aircraft did not face passport checks at all and were not screened against the terrorist watch list.
UK Border Agency officials warned their managers they feared a "security breach" because they could not "secure the border as robustly as we would like to" and UKBA managers replied that the new arrangements were part of a strategy being introduced at airports across England, and reflected "national policy".
According to Labour, there are between 80,000 and 90,000 flights on private jets landing in Britain every year, each carrying two or three passengers.
Shadow Home Secretary Yvette Cooper said the "startling" emails disclosed the "scale of the borders fiasco".
"Last week the Home Secretary told us that no one had been waved through without checks this summer," Cooper said. "But these documents show passengers on private flights weren't even seen. Last week the Home Office wouldn't admit to having figures about how often checks were downgraded. Now we know those figures exist."
The leaked documents come as Brodie Clark, the departed head of the UK border force, prepares to defend himself in order to clear his name and retain his pension when he appears before the Commons home affairs committee on this week.
"The Home Secretary needs to show she has a grip on what is going on at our borders and is capable of sorting this fiasco out rather than making it worse," said Cooper.
The UK Border Agency has responded to the allegations stating, "It is not true that we don't carry out passport and warnings index checks on private flight passengers and will deploy officers to airfields where we have concerns."
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