Government Authorised Exchange visa

In response to the demand from various entities to allow them the freedom to hire foreign nationals as interns, the Home Office has granted various entities the right to operate a “Government Authorised Exchange” scheme, which provides UK registered businesses the freedom to identify prospective interns as per their requirements and offer internships to bright undergraduates, graduates or those that are studying towards a degree that is equivalent to a UK bachelors degree or higher.

In essence, in addition to the Youth Mobility Scheme visa and the Creative Worker visa, the Government Authorised Exchange visa is designed to be a temporary work visa for individuals that either intend to come to the UK for a short period of time to undertake work experience, training, an Overseas Government Language Programme, research, or a fellowship through an approved government authorised exchange scheme.

Eligibility

In order to be eligible to take part in this visa scheme, various conditions must be met, relative to both the UK based employer and the conditions surrounding the interns’ prospective internship.

The UK Employer must initially meet the respective terms & conditions of membership with the requisite approved scheme such as the GTI intern scheme.

Requirements that the intern must meet include the following:

• The intern must either possess a degree, or be studying towards a degree that is equivalent to a UK bachelors degree or higher;
• The intern’s salary must be at least equivalent to the UK National Minimum Wage or above;
• The intern’s role must be supernumerary – must be in addition to ordinary requirements for staffing;
• The intern’s role should also be supervised and require a minimum skill level of at least NVQ Level 3;
• Depending on the scheme applied for, the internship can last for any period up to a maximum of 12 month or 24 months. The intern can enter the UK up to 14 days prior to the job start date; and
• The intern must have a valid Certificate of Sponsorship assigned from a sponsoring organisation. The Certificate of Sponsorship will also confirm whether the employer can support the intern by way of maintenance. If not, the intern must have at least £1,270 in their bank account to evidence self-sufficiency and the monies must have been available for at least 28 days in a row.

Once the above requirements are met, the candidate will make a separate application to the Home Office and in addition to having met the above eligibility criteria, the candidate must also provide some mandatory documents and can only come to the UK (or continue to live in the UK as a intern) once this vas has been granted.

Visa application

As part of the visa application, identity will need to be proven, which depends on where the intern is applying from and the passport they possess. The intern will either

• Have their fingerprints and photograph taken at a local Visa Application Centre; or
• Use the “UK Immigration: ID Check” application to scan an identity document.

The processing times vary, depending on whether the application is made outside the UK, or internally. For application submitted outside the UK, the Home Office aim to turnaround application within 15 working days from the receipt of verified application. Depending on the availability of services in the country of application, priority or super-priority services may also be available which reduces the processing time down to 5 working days or 24 hours. Whereas for eligible ‘switch’ or extension applications within the UK, the Home Office aim to process applications within 8 weeks from receipt of application. Depending on the availability of services, priority or super-priority services may also be available.

Record keeping and reporting obligations

Employers have an long-lasting obligation to retain necessary documents on file for each employee, including the same for sponsored migrant workers and interns. As such, the required identity documents, employment documents and right to work checks must be retained and carried out on arrival, during and at the close of the internship alike. Similarly, employers are bound by reporting obligations for migrant workers and interns, which must be submitted in a timely manner to avoid breaching the Immigration Rules. In addition to the duties stipulated within the Immigration Rules, the respective organisation which assigned the CoS to the intern may have additional duties that will also need to be satisfied.

Benefits of the Government Authorised Exchange Visa

This visa route offers a wide range of considerable benefits to both the UK based sponsor and interns similarly.

For interns, this visa route provides an invaluable opportunity to gain international work experience, enhancing career prospects, whilst also facilitating the acquisition of new skills via training and hands-on experience. It also allows the intern to build professional networks both inside the UK and externally, whilst not tying the individual down into long-term immigration commitments.

For UK based sponsors, they will find the benefits include having access to a diverse global talent pool, which improves workforce and strengthens international collaborations and relationships, whilst also fostering cultural exchange and understanding within the company. Similarly, the sponsor can meet their short-term staffing needs, without tying into long-term commitments, whilst paying a salary in line with the National Minimum Wage which is well-welcomed by sponsors across the board following the implementation of the Immigration Rules earlier this year. This is a useful interim recruitment method for UK employers who do not want to commit to a Skilled Worker visa immediately due to high salary thresholds, vacancy availability or as a candidate-vetting process.

How can JMW help:

If you are a UK employer who requires assistance in exploring the option of employing non-domestic workers on a short-term basis or you’re a student/graduate looking at exploring the option of gaining UK employment experience, please do contact us. We have a dedicated team of Immigration Solicitors who specialise in the Government Authorised Exchange Scheme and will be able to provide further tailored advice to your personal circumstances.