Employing Graduates From Overseas
A guide for UK business owners
Many UK employers are struggling to recruit the workforce they need. It's therefore not surprising that UK business owners are employing international students and overseas graduates to fill graduate and other roles.
In this blog, our Immigration Solicitors look at employing graduates from overseas and if your business will need a sponsor licence to do so.
UK Online and London-Based Immigration Solicitors and Sponsorship Licence Lawyers
For immigration advice call OTS Solicitors on 0203 959 9123 or contact us online.
Does your graduate employee have the right to work in the UK?
Not all graduates have the right to work in the UK so your company must carry out a right-to-work check on any new employee before they start their employment. If they fail then they must not continue their employment with you as otherwise, you risk a civil penalty notice.
The fine for employing an individual who does not have the right to work in the UK is now up to a maximum of £45,000 per illegal worker. For a second or subsequent offence, the maximum fine rises to £60,000 per illegal worker. With this level of potential fine per worker, your business cannot afford to take the approach that the Home Office is unlikely to investigate or to assume that what your company is doing is OK because you are employing the graduate temporarily or the overseas graduate is doing a job that could warrant a Skilled Worker Visa or Health and Care Worker Visa but you have classed their work as a ‘secondment.’
If you are unsure about how to carry out right-to-work checks using the latest guidance or whether an overseas graduate has the right to work then call our London Immigration Solicitors on 0203 959 9123.
Which overseas graduates have the right to work in the UK?
There are several ways an overseas graduate could have a right to work in the UK. For example, they could be from the EU and have pre-settled status or settled status under the EU Settlement Scheme. Alternatively, they may have graduated from university and be studying in the UK for a PhD and be in the UK on a Student Visa. International students can work while in the UK but their visas restrict them to part-time employment. If you employ an international student outside the hours permitted on their Student Visa, they do not have the right to work in the UK for those hours and you risk a civil penalty notice.
Other graduates who have the right to work in the UK include those on:
- Graduate Visas
- Skilled Worker Visas
- Health and Care Worker Visas
- Global Talent Visas
- Innovator Founder Visas
- Senior or Specialist Worker Visas
- Those on non-work visas where the visa holder has a right to work, such as those on Family Visas, Spouse Visas and Unmarried Partner Visas
For business owners, the first question to ask is whether employing a graduate from overseas will require sponsorship and the holding of a sponsor licence. If your company has a sponsor licence it may then be a question of weighing up whether you want to employ an overseas graduate on a Graduate Visa or a Skilled Worker Visa. There are pros and cons to both options. If your business doesn’t have a sponsor licence now may be the time to apply for one if you want to recruit a graduate on a Skilled Worker Visa or want to retain an overseas graduate who was originally employed by your business on a Graduate Visa and who now wants to switch to a Skilled Worker Visa.
Graduate Visa or Skilled Worker Visa
With a Graduate Visa, a graduate employee can do any type of job within the business and there is no need for the company to have a sponsor licence. The flexibility of a Graduate Visa means that a graduate can easily move within the firm without the employer needing to check if the new job role falls within the scope of a certificate of sponsorship. The drawback of the visa, from the perspective of an employer, is that the Graduate Visa is a short-term Work Visa (up to 2 years) that does not lead to UK settlement or Indefinite Leave to Remain. Time spent on the Graduate Visa does not count toward the 5-year continuous residence requirement for UK settlement. Your business may therefore be training a graduate who will not stay in your employment for long whilst a Skilled Worker Visa holder has more ‘longevity.’
Some employers start with the employment of an overseas graduate on a Graduate Visa and then support the graduate to switch to a Skilled Worker Visa once they know that the overseas graduate is a good fit with the firm.
Our Sponsorship Licence Lawyers can help your business apply for a sponsor licence so your graduate employee can then switch from the Graduate Visa to the Skilled Worker Visa.
Switching from the Graduate Visa to the Skilled Worker Visa
To switch from the Graduate Visa to the Skilled Worker Visa your employee will need:
- Your business to have a sponsor licence and have allocated a certificate of sponsorship to the graduate
- A job offer that meets the Skilled Worker Visa criteria including paying the minimum salary threshold. Skilled Worker Visa jobs need to pay the minimum salary threshold. This is now £38,700 or the going rate for the job, whichever is the higher figure. There are some situations where a Skilled Worker Visa holder can be paid less than £38,700. For example, if they fall within the criteria of a ‘new entrant’
How can our Business Immigration Solicitors help your company?
When you need to recruit graduates, it can be tough to recruit the ones you need without recruiting from overseas on a Skilled Worker Visa or Health and Care Worker Visa or recruiting an international student in the UK on a Student Visa who can then apply for a Graduate Visa.
Our specialist Sponsorship Licence Lawyers can guide you on:
- Right-to-work questions and procedures
- How to prepare for a sponsor licence application including office procedures and appointment of key personnel
- Sponsor licence applications
- Certificate of sponsorship allocation
- Sponsor Licence Management Services
- Immigration Law Training
- Mock audits and sponsor licence compliance advice
- Sponsor licence troubleshooting
UK Online and London-Based Immigration Solicitors and Sponsorship Licence Lawyers
For immigration advice call OTS Solicitors on 0203 959 9123 or contact us online.
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