Options after you finish your studies in UK

If you are on a Tier 4 student visa considering to continue to stay in the UK there are a number of options which are available to you. Applicants may be able to stay longer to continue their courses or if they are eligible, they can apply to study a new course.

However, if you do not intend to continue studying, then you may consider applying for any of the appended visas:

Tier 2 is the main immigration route for Woking in the UK and is a skilled worker with a job offer. Visa Sponsorship is required by an employer and the visa is linked to a specific job. There are different categories available for Tier 4(general) graduates but the most relevant is UK Tier 2 (general). You can only switch to Tier 2(general) if you are applying from inside the UK. Once you have completed your degree course, or up to 3months before he expected completion date of your degree course, having completed 12 months of PhD.

The visa can be granted for up to 5year and will depend on the length of the appointment and the type of the job.

The UK start-up Visa is a newly launched visa category. The start-up visa category visa type is reserved for early-stage, high potential entrepreneurs starting a business in Britain for the first time. You do not need to invest funds initially. However, you must not have previously set up a business in the UK. You can stay in the for two years on a start-up visa and can bring your dependant as well. You cannot work outside your business to support yourself. There is no option to extend your start-up visa after two years, but you can switch to innovator visa to extend your visa stay in the UK to develop your business.

The Doctorate Extension scheme enables tier 4 students who have completed a PhD at a UK institution to extend their visa in order to have more time to find work with a Tier 2 employer set up as an entrepreneur or gain experience in other fields.

To apply under this scheme, you will need to be sponsored by the university a make a new tier 4 visa applications before you complete your PhD. You can only apply for the Doctorate Extension Scheme up to 60 days before the course end date stated on the CAS you have been given to apply for the Doctorate Extension Scheme. You cannot apply after you have completed your PhD. The Doctorate Extension Scheme visa will be granted for a period of 12 months from the extended completion date of your PhD.

If you are in the UK on a Tier 4 visa and would like to explore your eligibility for any other UK visa, you can contact our UK Immigration experts at SmartMove2UK [a division of SmartMove Immigration]

Call us on +91 98191 27002 or email us at info@smi.legal to book an initial consultation with our UK visa consultants based in Mumbai | Delhi | Gurgaon | Chandigarh | Bangalore.