Tier 1 Work Visa in UK

Question

Can somebody shed some light on this - based on a fellow admits research it looks like the International students starting their MBA in 2009 cannot work till March 2011. I wanted to get the opinion of others on the board on what we might be overlooking. The excerpts from his email is provided below:

1. Tier1 general highly skilled programme needs 75 points to qualify
and here is their criteria
- Age - 20 to 31 - Points vary between 20 and 5 (anyone above age 31
on the date of application will get 0 points).
- Previous Earnings - Points vary between 10 to 45 (this is tricky
since they check the UK pounds salary and based on exchange rate - you
can fall anywhere)
- Masters degree - 35 points (MBA will fetch us 35 points) *
- English speaking abilities - 10 points
- Maintenance of Funds - approx 2800 pounds.

* The UK Border & visa officials changed the rules this year. Earlier
a MBA degree used to fetch directly 75 points but not anymore.

So if we do qualify based on the points - we cannot apply for the visa
untill we have the MBA degree certificate. Based on the universities response 
we may receive the letter only by Dec 2010.

So if my calculations are correct -
Dec 1st week letter from the uni + 1 week to submit Tier 1 + 2 months
processing time = Feb 2nd week
Apply jobs while or after you get your Tier1 visa - so best case by
March 1st week you can start your job.

In a nutshell - we cannot work untill Mar 1st week unless the
employers directly file visa for us - which will be far fetched as far
as I understand.

greenoak · Answer

Hi Scorpioguy,

This 75 points for MBA aren't awarded since last year already, I believe. The further changes to the visa regime that have been made deal mainly with implementing PBS (points-based-system) and introducing some new types of visa.

In our situation, AFAIK, there's a possibility to apply for Tier 1 - Post Study work:
 https://www.ukvisas.gov.uk/en/howtoapply/infs/inf25pbspoststudywork

In short, you will gain necessary points if you have an MBA degree from the UK insitution. The available funds requirements are 2800 GBP for principal applicant (must be on your account no less than 3 month prior to your visa application). No sponsor is needed, and there's no previous salary requirement.

This visa is short-term, and after that you're expected to apply for a work permit under general Tier 1 scheme, if you wish to work in the UK.

buffdaddy · Answer

good response by greenoak. Also note that on a student visa, one can work 20hours/week during term and fulltime out of term. So you should be okay.

scorpioguy · Answer

Buff, Greenoak

Thanks for the response. Let me take a look at the post-study work visa option.

I will get back based on my observations.

Nerdboy · Answer

On the UK Border Agency website there is a handy on-line calculator* for the Tirer 1 point based system. Surprisingly, I seem to get enough points.

Do you guys think it is a good idea to apply before b-school? It would be nice to have a ready UK work permit, esp. for internships next summer. On the other hand, I was not able to find out how long this permit lasts. There is a section written in legalese that may or may not say that the permit is granted for three years. Also, what happens to this thing if I suddenly depart for a year in, say, a small French town, instead of the UK?

* https://www.ukba.homeoffice.gov.uk/pointscalculator

monkeypunch · Answer

A close friend of mine got a Tier 1 recently. You're correct on the 3 years length.

The Tier 1 won't be very useful to you now. You basically forfeit your visa if you spend 6 months out of any 12 month period outside of the country, which you would have to do in order to study. You'll have to check the exact details with respect to days per year and what counts as a day, etc.

Also, when you enter the UK on a work permit the custom officer will usually question you about your work situation and can make life difficult if you're not working in the UK. This depends a bit on your luck and I'm still not sure on the exact consequences of not working. As you noticed the Home office is often WAY too vague on this stuff. You'll need another visa (Tier 1, employer sponsored, etc.) after your 3 years if you want to get Permanent Residency, which I believe requires 5 years of residency without leaving for more than 6 mo. in any 12mo. period. (Some countries have lower requirements.)

Your best approach might be to apply for the HSMP a few months before you want to come to the UK. That way you can claim previous earnings from when you were still working in order to get your points and you can put HSMP on your CV. For a  typical  job search in the UK this is essential, because most industries will just ignore a CV without a work permit. On top of that employer sponsorship obviously ties you to your employer, which is never really a good situation.

Having said that, big MBA recruiters like banks are set up to have their HR machine churn out an employer sponsorship for you with relatively little hassle, so that shouldn't be a problem. It may be different for botique firms, but networking will probably help there if you don't yet have a work permit. I've had a number of friends get sponsored and they all worked at their employer under other visas (student, etc) before getting their sponsorship.

A small tip: If you really do go for the HSMP and apply while in England then go to the Sheffield office, not the Croydon (London) one. When my friend went they had never done a Tier 1 so they erred on the side of approving it. They appear to be less organized and more lenient than the overworked Croydon office, which means you'd probably have less trouble obtaining a visa.

humblewinner · Answer

The post-study work option is for UK graduates ? 
What would be the situation, lets say, for an INSEAD grad ? What if they don't qualify for Tier1 based on previous salary etc. Is there a difference in terms of visa eligibility for a HEC grad versus an INSEAD grad..

If not, Does someone getting a degree from a 2nd tier or a 3rd tier UK univ better off than a INSEAD grad in terms of visa situation ?

greenoak · Answer

Hi Humblewinner,

I’m afraid you’re right – Tier 1 Post Study Work is targeted at those graduated from the UK unis (your course should be at Bachelor level or higher and no less than one year long). If graduates from other countries wish to work in the UK, they could apply for Tier 1 General - but their qualification should be comparable to at least the UK  Masters , not Bachelors, and their previous earnings are also taken into consideration. Other possibility is to find an employer who will act as your sponsor and then apply via Tier 2.

And yes, now it seems that even middle and low-tier UK unis give you easier option to stay for work than the top overseas ones (it was different two years ago, but the MBA-provision which gave you instant 75 points for qualification if you graduated from top b-schools was cancelled in 2008).

Btw, if people qualify for both Tier 1 Post Study and Tier 1 General, it may be wiser to apply for Tier 1 General – if their long-term plans are connected with the UK – because time spent on Tier 1 Post Study does not count towards the time necessary to apply for Indefinite Leave to Remain…

humblewinner · Answer

Thank you greenoak for confirming.

chauhan2011 · Answer

Hi,

Could someone advice me if i can study in UK if i already have a Tier1 Visa.
I have been working full time here since 2007 and currently hold a tier1 visa.

Planning to join 2011 MBA batch in UK college.
There is not immigration rule/law that says i cannot study i UK on Tier1

Please advice.

Tier 1 Work Visa in UK

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