Do you aspire to settle down in the United Kingdom? The UK is a developed nation that draws the attention of thousands of college aspirants as well as job seekers with its advanced economy and wide range of benefits offered to the residents. If your dream is to stay in the United Kingdom for higher studies or employment, you can consider completing your undergraduate degree from a reputed university to be assured of the best results. For achieving the same, you can come across a wide number of highly esteemed colleges as well as UK universities.
The UK is known to draw the attention of a great portion of international students.  It is, after the United States, the second-most popular destination for international students from different parts of the world. While the nation is home to some of the most reputed universities and colleges in the world, the students are also drawn to the place with its lavish lifestyle and high quality of life. Moreover, those who are pursuing their undergraduate degree here are also given the assurance of profitable employment prospects.
How to Work in the UK with an Undergraduate Degree?
Once you graduate from a college or university in the United Kingdom, you can consider staying here for a longer period of time. If you are an international student and wish to stay and start your employment after studies, you will be required to switch the respective student visa to some work-related visa.
However, since 2012, new laws have made it complicated for international students to fulfil their dreams seamlessly. With the execution of the new regulations, the non-EU students are allowed to stay and work in the United Kingdom for just around 4 months (previously, it was around 2 years) after completing their undergraduate degree. The law witnessed a huge backlash from international students across the world. Therefore, recently in 2019, the UK Government announced that it would be going back to the previous policy when it comes to international students.
Thereby, the international students will be getting access to work and live in the country for around 2 years after completing their course. The given law will apply to those students who are planning to start the undergraduate course from 2020 & beyond.
Available Visa Options for Employment in the UK After Studies
When you are applying for the visa, there are several options. To be assured of no hassles, you should visit the official website of the UK Government, where you will come across many visa options. As an international student, you can apply for any one of the following:
- Tier 2: It is one of the most common visa routes that allow international students to pursue higher education and work in the country. To qualify, you will be required to work under some employer who is willing to pay you around £20,800 yearly at the minimum. Depending on the type of work that you wish to do, the number can rise as well. In addition to this, the employer is also required to present the fact that the company had put forth the job advertisement. As they were unable to hire an eligible UK candidate, they went for the option of employing an international candidate.
Once you graduate and wish to work in the UK under the Tier 2 Visa, here are some guidelines to follow:
- Part-time Placements or Jobs: Most graduates in the UK are required to obtain valid work experience in addition to the degree to be assured of a profitable professional career. As such, you can seek part-time placement or internship related to your course to help you develop industry-specific skills and expertise.
- Entrepreneurial Skills: Most universities in the UK will provide ample opportunities to the students to gain expertise in the given field through multiple programs. As such, during your college, you need to be proactive to be assured of improved career growth.
- Language Skills: When you are an international student, you might speak more than a single language. This would set you apart from the other potential candidates out there. In case you are not adept in native English, then you would require improving your English-speaking skills for a better job opportunity in the UK.
- Start-up Visa: This visa has replaced the previous version of Tier 1 Visa or Graduate Entrepreneur Visa. When you wish to apply for the start-up visa, you should be endorsed by some reputed higher educational institution or a leading business organization in the country. The institution or organization should maintain a proper history of supporting entrepreneurs in the past. At the same time, you will also be required to present a valid business concept or idea that is new, unique, viable, and innovative.
For instance, the innovative Sirius Programme in the United Kingdom is a famous 12-month programme aimed at providing support to the young, budding entrepreneurs from all corners of the world and  The programme is known to address as many as 65 types of visas on an annual basis for the young minds who wish to serve as an entrepreneur in the United Kingdom.
There is no shortage of job opportunities in the United Kingdom. As an international student at a reputed college like MR College, you can go through the available options to allow you to work and live in the UK on a long-term basis. Make the most of your undergraduate degree to gain in-depth industry knowledge as well as expertise in the given field. All the best!
