UK Fresh Talent Scotland

The Fresh Talent: Working in Scotland program is a UK immigration visa for candidates who wish to apply to live and work in Scotland.

It enables overseas graduates from Scottish Universities and Colleges to stay in Scotland at the conclusion of their studies and to take up any type of employment, self-employment, or business. The scheme is not intended as a route to settlement, does not provide Indefinite Leave to Remain in the UK (ILR) and does not constitute a path to permanent residence or UK citizenship. Any leave granted under this scheme does not count towards the qualifying period for settlement in other employment or business routes.

Benefits

Applying for a UK visa of this kind allows overseas graduates from Scottish Universities or Colleges to obtain permission to stay on in Scotland and take employment for a period of two years. At any time during their leave, the participant may switch into another leave category without leaving the United Kingdom. Other leave categories the participant may be eligible to switch into include the business visa and innovator visa, the UK Work Permit scheme, which requires a job offer from a British Sponsor to be in place, and the Highly Skilled Migrant Programme, or HSMP. UK visas for immigration to Great Britain under HSMP allow an applicant complete freedom to seek and undertake employment as they choose. If the participant does not switch into one of these categories, they must leave the country at the end of their two-year period on the scheme.

Eligibility Criteria

The Fresh Talent: Working in Scotland scheme will undergo an important addition from 1st March 2007 when the eligibility criteria for this method of immigration to the UK will be revised to include those who have completed a postgraduate certificate or diploma at a recognised or listed Scottish institution of higher education. However, the existing criteria will also be carried through after March 1st 2007 and under the present system eligibility requirements are as follows.

• The scheme is available to students who graduate with an undergraduate degree, Masters, PhD, or HND from a Scottish University or College and who have lived in Scotland while they are studying.

• Fresh Talent Scotland is open to students from outside the European Economic Area.

• The applicants must intend to work during the two years following their graduation and must have the means to provide their own accommodation and living expenses.

Spouse and Dependent Immigration

Spouse immigration is provided for under this type of visa for the UK and you can apply for your Spouse, Unmarried Partner and Dependent children under the age of 18 to join you in the United Kingdom for the two-year duration. In order to do this you must be able to show that you are able to financially support yourself and any dependents throughout this period. Like a UK marriage visa or De Facto Visa, often referred to as an unmarried partner visa, your spouse or unmarried partner will be able to work in the UK upon arrival. They will be permitted to engage in employment under the same terms as the dependents of people who hold a British work permit.