Key points 

Unsponsored graduate program to be made available July 1 for international graduates to live and work in the U.K. 

Overview

On July 1, graduate students can apply to live and work in the U.K. without a work sponsorship. Foreign national graduate students with bachelor's degrees will be allotted years to live in the U.K. post-graduation, and doctoral students will be allotted three years. The new graduate route will allow recent graduates to be able to explore and develop career options with the U.K. The U.K. government will not be setting a minimum salary requirement or a cap to the number of graduates that can utilize this new route. 

What Should Employers and Applicants Know?

The U.K. is offering this option to help students seek employment within the U.K. job market post-pandemic. This route will also allow employers to seek newly graduated foreign nationals from within the U.K. 

Students whose travel plans were pushed back due to COVID-19 travel restrictions in the fall of 2020 have until June 21, 2021, to enter and be eligible for this new route.

Originally Published 7 April, 2021

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