If You Are an Overseas (Non-UK) Graduate, Can You Find a Visa-Sponsored Job in the UK?
It is every graduate's dream to launch a career on a global platform where they can shine. The United Kingdom, one of the world's largest business centres, provides many such platforms for students and graduates alike.
Before Brexit, for non-EU (European Union) nationals, the country had always been a career destination that was difficult to reach. Whether the applicant had already been based in the UK or not, all non-EU applicants would be subject to the Resident Labour Market Test (RLMT), and priority was always given to local EU nationals.
However, after Brexit, things have changed. Due to border restrictions, the UK does not have access to a large pool of graduates from mainland Europe anymore, and it has been difficult for many organisations to fill their vacancies with local students and graduates.
In the wake of this, UK regulatory bodies started launching different visa schemes to help those companies find the right talent, which encouraged them to reconsider their recruitment strategies and look beyond the UK border.
Since 2021, the UK has removed the restrictions for the resident labour market test (RLMT), allowing UK students to be subject to the same opportunities as local students when they apply for full-time job opportunities that sponsor work visas. In 2023, the requirement for RLMT has been scrapped altogether for UK-based and non-UK-based applicants alike. This means that, as long as the company is willing to sponsor a work visa, it does not need to conduct a residence labour market test (RLMT) and considers local applicants first.
The Graduate Visa was also introduced to encourage UK-based international students to seek employment in the UK after finishing their studies. Depending on your education level, the Graduate Visa is often valid for 2 - 3 years. If you have a valid graduate visa, there is no restriction on your employment, meaning you can do internships, part-time or full-time jobs in the UK or even start your own company. However, not all companies can accommodate graduate visa holders as the employment often lasts beyond two years.
It was not the end of the story. The UK Government even went a step further and launched a High Potential Individual visa (HPI). This visa is very similar to the Graduate Visa in terms of how it works. The only difference is that the HPI Visa is aimed at people who are not studying at a UK university. HPI holders can work in the UK for either 2 or 3 years, depending on their education level, and do internships, part-time or full-time jobs without restriction. However, the HPI visa is only open for students and graduates of the world's top 50 universities published here, which is one of the downsides of this visa.
If you are a graduate visa or HPI visa holder and only want to work in the UK for a short term, like six months or a maximum of two years, you do not need a sponsorship from an employer. You can apply for the job you are interested in just like other people who have the right to work. However, this is not the case for most job seekers, as they want a long-term career in the UK.
At this point, students and graduates who have neither been to the UK nor studied at those top universities must be wondering whether they can apply for a job in the UK. The answer is yes. As more and more employers are hiring internationally, the demand for overseas workers is increasing. Many companies started hiring students and graduates who had never studied in the UK. All you have to do is tick the "suitable for applicants based outside the UK" box when filtering jobs.
Also, the scope of jobs available is wide, covering more than 30 sectors, allowing many people to find their dream job in the field they want to work in regardless of their nationality. In some areas, visa-sponsored jobs may be very limited, especially for recent graduates. We encourage applicants to stay open-minded and explore more career opportunities rather than focusing on just one area.
In summary, the UK's hunger for talent has opened the door for talented students and graduates from around the world who want to pursue their dream careers in this wonderful country. While the opportunity is here, it is now down to you, the job seeker, to work hard to seize this opportunity and be a part of the global professional family.
