Graduate Trainee visa for employers
A Graduate Trainee visa lets your UK business host an employee of your overseas group for a work placement of up to 12 months, as part of a graduate programme for a managerial or specialist role. You need a Temporary Worker sponsor licence, and the trainee must be paid at least £27,300 a year or 70% of the going rate, whichever is higher.
- Service abroad first3 monthsunbroken, right before they apply
- Certificate, you pay£55the Temporary Worker rate, per trainee
- Skills chargeNonenot charged on this route
- Extend in the UKNoa new visa means applying from abroad
Figures from GOV.UK, Graduate Trainee visa.
Who qualifies for a Graduate Trainee visa
The trainee must already work for your group outside the UK and be on a structured graduate training programme that leads to a senior management or specialist post. The UK placement has to be a genuine part of that programme.
- They must have worked for the group abroad for the 3 months immediately before applying, with no breaks and no UK time counted.
- The job must be on the GBM list of eligible occupations. You can look up a role's 4-digit code with our SOC code search.
- They must be 18 or over.
| Temporary Worker licence (you, once) | £611, any size of business |
|---|---|
| Visa application fee (trainee) | £340 per person |
| Healthcare surcharge (trainee) | £1,035 per adult for each year |
| Savings held for 28 days (trainee) | £1,270, unless you certify their first month's costs |
The sponsor licence for graduate trainees
Graduate Trainee is a Temporary Worker route, so the Temporary Worker licence fee of £611 applies whatever the size of your business (GOV.UK licence fees). Your UK business must be linked to the overseas employer by common ownership or control, for example as a subsidiary or branch, or through a joint venture that is already operating.
You also have to prove the programme exists. The Home Office accepts a course brochure, evidence of recruitment for the programme, or a company web page describing it (GBM guidance, section GBM2).
Graduate Trainee salary rules
For most jobs the 70% going rate test applies, but some health and education roles must be paid the full going rate, based on national pay scales such as the NHS ones (GOV.UK eligibility). Check the figure for your code in the GBM going rates table.
When you assign the certificate of sponsorship (CoS), the electronic record a trainee needs to apply, you give the PAYE reference the trainee will be paid through. The Home Office uses it to check with HMRC that you pay what you said.
How long a graduate trainee can stay
The visa runs for 12 months or the dates on the CoS plus 14 days, whichever is shorter. It cannot be extended from inside the UK, so a second placement means a fresh application from abroad (GOV.UK).
During the placement the trainee can move between roles with you, provided each role is part of the programme and you tell the Home Office. Time on this visa counts towards the shared GBM limit of 5 years in any 6. If the trainee is promoted afterwards, you can sponsor them as a Senior or Specialist Worker for the time they have left.
How many employers sponsor graduate trainees
The Home Office register of licensed sponsors (22 October 2026 edition) lists 621 organisations licensed for Graduate Trainee, about 1 in every 200 of the 127,744 on the register. That compares with 10,351 holding Senior or Specialist Worker.
Questions employers ask about graduate trainees
Can a graduate already in the UK switch to this visa?
No. GOV.UK says the visa cannot be applied for from inside the UK, because the 3 months of overseas service must come straight before the application. A graduate already here would need to leave, work for your group abroad and apply from there.
Does the Graduate Trainee visa lead to settlement?
No. A trainee cannot apply for indefinite leave to remain on this visa, cannot take a second job and cannot change jobs outside the programme. They can bring a partner and children as dependants if the family meets the rules.
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