HomeOffice: International ITT trainees – questions around visas
Summary
A summary of answers from the Home Office around recent questions from international ITT trainees, visas and their families. The questions has been anonymised.
International ITT trainees – questions around visas
January 11, 2024
Question 1:
Currently I’m in a student visa sponsored by the University of Manchester which expires end of August 2024. To extend my stay in the UK I need a graduate visa or a Tier 2 (skilled worker) visa.
For a Tier 2 (skilled worker) visa, I need to be sponsored by a school and most schools are not willing or rather they do not provide sponsorships for teachers. This is the only route that I can bring in dependents into the country.
In case of graduate visa (for 2 years), I will be able to secure a job in any school without a sponsorship but when I need to change the graduate to a Tier 2 visa before the 2-year period, do I need a sponsor to get my Tier 2 visa? Although graduate visa does not allow me to bring in dependents.
Answer:
Yes – when your graduate visa runs out after 2 years, to continue working in the UK you will need to switch to a suitable visa that gives you the right to work. This will most likely be the Skilled Worker visa (formerly known as a Tier 2 visa), which will require sponsorship from your employing school. You will not be able to extend the graduate visa beyond the 2-year period.
Question 2:
We now know that teachers on national pay scale are exempted from the new immigration income hike. What will be the case if I get an appointment in an independent school? Will I be exempted, or do I have to meet the new income of £38,700?
Answer: To be sponsored for a skilled worker visa a teacher needs to earn at least the minimum of the relevant teacher pay range, not the Home Office’s salary threshold. This applies to all teachers regardless of the type of school they teach in or whether they are paid on national pay ranges or not, i.e., if they are employed in an independent school. This will not change when the new £38,700 threshold is introduced in the Spring.
Question 3:
According to the existing immigration rules, we cannot bring in dependents from January 2024, but I have already applied for my dependent (my wife from Nigeria) on October 25,2023. But the application wait time in Nigeria is 12 weeks and still awaiting response. Will I be affected by the rules or older applications will still be accepted?
Answer: Those starting study before 1 January 2024 will still be able to bring dependants, and dependants already in the UK as a Student dependant will be able to extend their permission if the student sponsor meets the current requirements of the student route.
Question 4:
I’m a UK/ROI citizen but my partner is not and is currently holding a graduate visa which expires in July 2024. I will not be in a job until September 2024 and my partner does not meet the new income requirement. What are the options for bringing in a non-UK partner into the country in if he exits the country? Will I be exempted by the new immigration income requirement as a teacher, or do I need to be earning £38,700 to apply for a family visa to bring him back?
Answer: The Home Office has recently published further information on the change to the family visa minimum income requirement, and set out details about how this will be phased in over time. Please see https://www.gov.uk/government/news/fact-sheet-on-net-migration-measures-further-detail#_ftn1 for more information. The new family visa minimum income requirements listed here will apply to you and your partner; there are no exemptions for particular professions. However, the income requirement can be met through salary from both partners or other forms of income. More information on the types of income that can be included can be found at https://www.gov.uk/uk-family-visa/proof-income