UK Graduate Trainee Visa – Complete Guide 2026

The Graduate Trainee visa falls under the GBM (Global Business Mobility) category. The GBM routes are intended for overseas companies that need to temporarily assign employees to the UK to carry out specific roles that cannot be filled by a settled worker.

The Graduate Trainee visa route is for foreign workers who are going to undertake temporary work assignments in the UK which is a part of their graduate training course (formal, planned, and time-limited) that would lead to a senior management or specialist position, and are required to do a work placement in the UK. These assignments are commonly referred to as ICT or an Intra-company Transfer - graduate trainee.

The Graduate Trainee route has replaced the former Intra-Company Graduate Trainee route. However, existing Intra-Company workers in the UK can apply for extensions and changes of the employment under the Graduate Trainee routes.

Dependants (partners and children) are permitted to apply for this route. However, this visa does not lead to ILR (Indefinite Leave to Remain) or permanent settlement in the UK. 

Graduate Training Programme

To apply under the Graduate Trainee visa route, an applicant must be employed in a position that is part of a clearly defined and formally structured graduate training programme. The programme must be planned and organised, with a clear framework, and cannot be an informal internship or a casual, ad-hoc training arrangement. It should also provide a clear pathway for progression into a future managerial or specialist role within the sponsoring organisation.

The Certificate of Sponsorship (CoS) issued to the applicant must explicitly state that the role is that of a Graduate Trainee. Additionally, the sponsoring organisation must be able to provide detailed information about the training programme if requested by the decision makers, to demonstrate that the applicant fully meets all the requirements of this visa route.

Eligible sponsors for this route

The sponsoring organisation in the UK, in order to assign CoS to a person as a Graduate Trainee, must be linked to an overseas business by common ownership or control or by a joint venture agreement. 

Validity requirements for the Graduate Trainee route

The applicant applying to obtain entry clearance to the UK or permission to stay here on the Graduate Trainee route must apply online on gov.uk using the specified application form. 

Applicants applying from outside the UK will have to apply using the “Global Business Mobility visa” form, and applicants applying from inside the UK will have to apply using the form “Global Business Mobility”.

An application for obtaining entry clearance to the UK or permission to stay here on the Graduate Trainee route must fulfil all the following requirements:

• The applicant must be 18 or over at the time of their application.

• Any visa application fee and IHS (Immigration Health Surcharge) must have been paid; 

• The applicant must have enrolled their biometric information when required. 

• The applicant must have given a valid passport/other travel document to establish their nationality and identity.

• If the applicant is making a sponsored application, they must have a Certificate of Sponsorship(COS) issued to them no more than 3 months before the date of their application;

• If the applicant for this route has, in the last 12 months prior to the date of their application, received an award from an International Scholarship agency or Government covering their fees as well as living costs for study in the UK, they must submit written consent to the application from that agency or Government.

A person cannot apply to switch to the GBM – Graduate Trainee visa if they are currently in the UK on:

• A UK visitor visa

• A UK short-term student visa

• A UK Parent of a Child Student visa

• A UK Seasonal Worker visa

• A UK domestic worker in a private household visa

• Outside the Immigration Rules.

Anyone in the UK with one of the above visas must leave the UK and apply for a UK Graduate Trainee visa from abroad.

The person who is applying for permission to stay on this route and currently has, or last had, permission as a student, must satisfy either of the conditions listed below when they apply:

(a) They must have completed the course of study for which they were assigned CAS (Confirmation of Acceptance for Studies) or a course to which Immigration Rules - Appendix Student – Paragraph ST 27.3 applies; or

(b) They must have completed at least 24 months of study on their full-time course with a HEP (Higher Education Provider) if the course was leading to a PhD award 

Any application that does not satisfy all the validity criteria (listed above) as a GBM – Graduate Trainee may be rejected as invalid and not considered. 

Suitability requirements for the GBM – Graduate Trainee route

The applicant must not fall for refusal under the Immigration Rules - Part Suitability.

Those applying for permission to stay must not be:

(a) in breach of UK immigration laws, except that where the section called “Exceptions for overstayers” under the Immigration Rules - Part Suitability applies; or

(b) on immigration bail.

Eligibility requirements for the GBM – Graduate Trainee route

The applicant seeking permission to come to the UK as a Graduate Trainee must apply for and obtain entry clearance before arriving in the UK.

Further, the applicant will be required to get a CoS (Certificate of Sponsorship) from their employer, have done a job for their employer outside the UK, have been assigned to do an eligible job, and be paid the minimum eligible salary level required for their job.

1. Points requirement

The applicant must be awarded 60 points as follows.

• 20 points will be awarded for Sponsorship; and

• 20 points will be awarded for a job at an appropriate skill level; and

• 20 points will be awarded for the salary at the required level

2. Genuineness requirement

For an entry clearance or permission to stay application, the UKVI must be satisfied that the applicant genuinely intends to undertake the role described on the CoS (Certificate of Sponsorship) and is capable of undertaking this role described on the CoS. 

The applicant must also have no intention to undertake employment other than in the role their sponsor is sponsoring them for, or as otherwise permitted within the conditions of the grant.

On the other hand, the applicant will not be awarded 20 points for sponsorship if the decision makers have reasonable grounds to believe that the job role they are being sponsored for does not exist, is a sham, or has been created primarily so the worker can apply for this route.

Applicants who have been assigned a CoS for a role that is not genuine will have their application refused, and it is also likely that the employer’s sponsor licence may be revoked. 

3. Financial requirements for the Graduate Trainee visa 

The applicant must have £1,270 or more (held for a 28-day period) on the date of application, or their sponsor must confirm on the CoS that they will, if it is necessary, maintain and accommodate the applicant for the first month of their employment for the amount of £1,270 or more.

Those who, on the day they apply, have been residing in the UK with a valid UK visa for at least 12 months are not required to show proof of this fund.

4. Certificate of sponsorship requirement

The applicant must have obtained a Certificate of Sponsorship from their employer, who must be a licensed and A-rated sponsor, unless they were last given permission on the Graduate Trainee route, and are applying to continue working for the same sponsor as in their last permission.

The CoS must confirm the applicant’s name, their job details, salary offered to them, PAYE details, and other details. 

A CoS stays valid for 3 months starting from the date it is assigned to the applicant.

Length of time the applicant needs to have worked for their employer outside the UK 

The applicant must have worked for their sponsor/employer outside of the UK for 3 months immediately prior to the date they apply.

This means the applicant cannot extend their Graduate Trainee visa from inside the UK or switch to a Graduate Trainee visa from inside the UK.

5. Salary requirements

The applicant must generally be paid no less than £27,300 or 70% of the specified ‘going rate’ for their occupation if under SOC 2020 under table 2 or 2 b whichever is higher.

One can check the going rate for their job in the going rates table.

If the applicant works in healthcare or education

Different salary rules apply to those who work in some healthcare or education jobs. Their salary must be no less than £27,300 or the full ‘going rate’ of their job, whichever is higher.

One can check the list of eligible occupations to see if their job is eligible and what the going rate for their job is.

Documents Required

The applicant will be required to provide: 

• Their CoS reference number – this will be given by their sponsor 

• Their occupation's code, job title, and annual salary

• Their employer’s name and sponsor licence number, which will be mentioned on their CoS

• Their valid passport or other travel document showing their identity and nationality 

• Evidence such as bank statements that show the applicant has sufficient savings to support themselves in the UK

• Proof of their TB (Tuberculosis) test results if they are from a country where they have to take this test

Other documents the applicant might need 

The applicant may be asked to give details of their graduate training programme.

The applicant may be required to submit a valid ATAS (Academic Technology Approval Scheme) certificate if their employer tells them that they need one because their job involves researching a sensitive subject at PhD level or higher

The applicant might be asked, after they have applied, to show evidence that they have worked for their employer outside the UK for 3 months immediately prior to the day they apply. For example, printed payslips, online payslips supported by a letter from their sponsor and signed by a senior staff member, a building society passbook, or bank or building society statements

The UKVI may ask the applicant to provide additional documents. 

Any documents not in English or Welsh must be submitted with a certified translation.

Applying for an entry clearance on the Graduate Trainee route

The applicant must apply online, and no more than 3 months before the day they are due to start work in the UK. This date is listed on their Certificate of Sponsorship(COS).

Those who have a Graduate Trainee visa and whose job changes as part of their graduate training programme are not required to apply again. Their employer will notify UKVI about this.

They will have to prove their identity as part of their Graduate Trainee visa application. Depending on where they are from and what type of passport they hold they will have their biometric information (fingerprints and facial photograph) taken at a VAC (Visa Application Centre) or they can use the ‘UK Immigration: ID Check’ app to scan their identity document – they will also create their UKVI (UK Visas and Immigration) account or sign into their existing UKVI account.

On the appointment date, the applicant will need to carry their passport to the VAC. They will be able to collect it the same day.

Pay the visa fee and the IHS (Immigration Health Surcharge)

The applicant will need to pay the visa application fee of £319 plus an immigration health charge, which is usually £1,035 per year.

Provide the documents

The applicant can upload their documents along with their online application or have them scanned at the VAC (if attending an appointment to enrol their biometrics). 

Applying to switch to (permission to stay) the Graduate Trainee route

One cannot apply to change (‘switch’) to or extend a Graduate Trainee visa from within the UK because they need to have worked for their employer outside the UK for 3 months immediately prior to the day they apply.

Such people must leave the UK and apply for a UK Graduate Trainee visa from overseas.

Getting a decision on an application for a Graduate Trainee visa

After having applied online, proving identity, and providing the documents, the applicant will normally get a decision on their Graduate Trainee visa application within 3 weeks.

If the application is complex and will take longer, they will be contacted, for example, because:

• UKVI needs to verify the documents of the applicant

• The applicant is required to attend an interview

• Of the applicant’s personal circumstances (for example, if they have a criminal conviction)

If the decision maker is completely satisfied that the applicant has fulfilled all the suitability and eligibility criteria for the Graduate Trainee route, the application will be approved; otherwise, the application will be refused. 

With a Graduate Trainee visa, a person is permitted to stay in the UK for 12 months or the time given on their CoS plus 14 days, whichever is shorter.

Applying for family members (partner and children)

The Graduate Trainee’s partner (husband/wife or civil partner) and children (aged under 18 - including if they were born in the UK during the worker’s stay in the UK or children aged over 18 if they currently have permission (‘leave to enter’ or ‘remain’) to be in the UK as the lead applicant’s dependant), can apply to join them (entry clearance) or stay (permission to stay) in the UK as their ‘dependants’. They must be eligible to apply as dependents.  

The lead applicant must give documentary evidence of their relationship with their dependent partner and dependent children. For example, a marriage/civil partnership certificate for the partner and a birth certificate for a child.

Once the visa application as a dependent partner and dependent child is approved, their visa will usually end on the same date as the primary applicant. A child’s visa will end on the earlier date if their parents' visa expiry dates are different. 

The partner and children applying as dependents must also have a required amount of money to support themselves in the UK.

The applicant - or their partner or child - will need:

• £285 for their partner

• £315 for one child

• £200 for each additional child

How can Visa and Migration help?

Our expert business immigration lawyers offer their valuable service in helping businesses looking to assign Graduate Trainees to the UK for temporary work assignments, as well as the Graduate Trainee visa applicants. 

If you are a business looking to employ graduate trainee, our lawyers can help you with ensuring that you are an eligible organisation for this route, applying for and obtaining a sponsor licence for employing/sponsoring a overseas worker on this route, and if you are already an approved sponsor, we make sure that you offer and eligible job at the required skill level, pay the required salary, conduct the right-to-work check before starting the employment, and fulfil your other sponsor duties before, during, and after sponsoring a Graduate Trainee to maintain your sponsor status, A-rating, and ability to assign further CoSs.

On the other hand, if you are an applicant, we help you in assessing if you are in a genuine Graduate Trainee program that would lead to a senior management or specialist position, and ensuring you have worked for your employer outside the UK for 3 months immediately prior to the day you apply, fulfil the eligibility and suitability requirements for this visa, have a valid CoS, will be paid the required salary, make a valid application, provide the necessary documents, and ensure that any visa refusal is handled appropriately.

For expert advice and queries, you can call us at +44 (0)20 3411 1261 or write to info@visaandmigration.com