Graduate Trainee
(GBM) visa

To qualify for a Graduate Trainee visa, you must:

• Be an existing employee of an organisation that’s been approved by the Home Office as a sponsor, and have worked for your employer outside the UK for at least 3 months immediately before you apply.
• Have a ‘Certificate of sponsorship’ (CoS) from your employer with information about the work you will do in the UK.
• Do a job that’s on the list of eligible occupations.
• Be paid at least £25,410 per year, or 70% of the ‘going rate’ for your job – whichever is higher.

When you apply for a Graduate Trainee visa, you will need to have enough money to:

• Pay the visa application fee – It costs £298 to apply.
• Pay the Immigration Health Surcharge (IHS) – The IHS costs £1,035 per year, or £776 per year for under-18s.
• Support yourself in the UK – You will usually need to show that you have at least £1,270 in your bank account (unless you’re exempt). Your employer may be able to cover your costs during your first month in the UK, up to £1,270.

note:

The visa application fee and the IHS must also be paid for any accompanying dependants.

You must apply online for a Graduate Trainee visa. You can only apply for this visa from outside the UK. You cannot apply to change (‘switch’) to a Graduate Trainee visa from inside the UK because you need to have worked for your employer overseas for 3 months immediately before you apply.

As part of your application, you will need to prove your identity and provide your supporting documents. How you do this depends on where you’re from and what type of passport you have. You will either:

• Attend an appointment at a Visa Application Centre (VAC) to have your fingerprints and photograph taken.
• Use the ‘UK Immigration: ID Check’ app to scan your identity document, if you are eligible.

You can apply for a Graduate Trainee visa up to 3 months before the day you are due to start work in the UK. This date is listed on your certificate of sponsorship.

Once you’ve applied online, proved your identity and provided your documents, you’ll usually get a decision within 3 weeks.

You may be able to pay for a faster decision using the Home Office priority services.

You can stay in the UK with a Graduate Trainee visa for whichever is shorter of:

• The time given on your certificate of sponsorship plus 14 days
• 12 months.

You cannot extend your visa, but you can apply for another Graduate Trainee visa from outside the UK.

You can only stay in the UK for a maximum of 5 years in any 6-year period if you’ve spent time on any of the GBM routes, including the predecessor ICT routes.

With a Graduate Trainee visa, you can:

• Work for your sponsor in the job described in your CoS
• Study
• Bring dependant family members with you, if they are eligible
• Do voluntary work
• Travel abroad and return to the UK

You cannot:

• Access most public funds, or the State Pension
• Change jobs
• Have a second job
• Apply to settle permanently in the UK

Smith Stone Walters can offer expert advice and assistance with your Graduate Trainee visa application. We have worked with employers and individuals to successfully bring Graduate Trainees to the UK for graduate training programmes. To find out more about how we can help, please contact us today.