Must-Read for Studying and Job Hunting in the UK in 2022! The PSW Work Visa Allows You to Stay in the UK for Two Years | UP-STUDY Educational Center

For those considering studying and working in the UK, this is a must-read! Since the UK left the European Union in 2019, many regulations related to international students have been adjusted in recent years. Now, the UK has introduced a new visa that allows international graduates to stay for two years to find a job, greatly increasing the benefits of studying in the UK! This crucial visa for international students is called the Post Study Work (PSW) visa, which is also known as PSW.

UK Post-Graduation Work Visa: PSW

This is not the first time the UK has given international students two years to find a job. However, the PSW visa was suspended in April 2012 and was only reopened in 2021 under the name Graduate Route. If you are looking for information on the UK government’s official website, please use "Graduate Route" in your search. For convenience, and to distinguish it from the policy before 2012, we will refer to this as PSW 2.0 below.

PSW Visa: Applicable to Undergraduates and Postgraduates

PSW 2.0 has been implemented since July 1, 2021, and applies to undergraduate, master’s, and doctoral students. Graduates who have completed their studies can stay in the UK to live and work for a maximum of two years, and for doctoral students, the period extends to three years. With PSW 2.0, graduates can continue to do the following in the UK:

1. Job search

2. Full-time work

3. Self-employment

4. Stay in the UK with legally residing family members

5. Volunteer work

6. Re-enter the UK after traveling abroad

The work that PSW 2.0 visa holders cannot engage in includes being a professional athlete. Additionally, PSW 2.0 cannot be used to apply for non-work-related benefits or pensions.

PSW Visa Application Requirements

PSW 2.0 offers a wide range of employment opportunities, and its application requirements are not strict. Most students who enrolled after the fall of 2020 will be able to use PSW 2.0 to stay in the UK after graduation. According to official UK government information, applicants must meet the following qualifications to apply:

50. 1. The applicant must have a valid student visa (or Tier 4 visa)
50. 2. The applicant must complete their studies after July 1, 2021
50. 3. The applicant must have enrolled in a UK university after September 2020. If they participated in remote learning due to Covid-19, they must return to the UK by June 21, 2021, to apply
50. 4. The applicant must have enrolled in a UK university after January 2021. If they participated in remote learning due to Covid-19, they must return to the UK by September 27, 2021, to apply

PSW 2.0 is an online application, and applicants must pay a £700 visa fee and an annual health insurance fee of £624, which is approximately NT$26,703 and NT$23,804, respectively.

Finding a Job After Graduating in the UK

After solving the visa issue, the next question is where the job will come from. However, international students should be mentally prepared for this. In 2021, the UK was impacted by Covid-19, leading to long periods of remote work. Many companies downsized or laid off employees, and it became difficult for locals to find jobs, let alone foreigners who face additional hiring procedures. Therefore, those considering finding a job in the UK in the coming years should prepare for a long battle.

However, with vaccines now available, the UK is working to return to normal, and the UK job market post-2022 remains promising. Below are some common job search channels in the UK. We wish you the best of luck in finding your dream job!

Job Search Websites

In the UK, students and graduates can rely on several job search websites to find opportunities. The most popular ones include:

• Reed.co.uk
• Indeed
• Monster
• Glassdoor

Recruitment Agencies

Many UK recruitment agencies offer a wide range of job opportunities for international students. Some popular ones include:

• Adecco
• Hays
• Michael Page
• Robert Half

School Career Counseling Center (Career Center)

If you don’t know where to start, the closest career counseling office to your life is a great place to begin your career in a foreign country. The school’s career center can help you revise your resume, conduct mock interviews, and is an excellent aid for international students. Some job openings may even be offered to students and alumni on a priority basis. It’s definitely worth asking the school about the resources available to you.

Additionally, here are some tips for job searching in the UK. The recruitment period in the UK usually stretches out for quite a while, with two to three months being common. If you’re sure you want to stay in the UK after graduation, it’s best to start preparing your resume and CV early. It’s recommended to look for jobs around March and April each year, when near-graduates begin their job search, and major companies start posting job openings. Alternatively, November and December, just before Christmas, is also a good time, as companies complete recruitment and prepare for new hires to start in the beginning of the following year.

UK Salary Levels

Whether or not to stay in the UK to find a job after graduation is surely something many people consider, with salary being a key factor. According to data released by the UK Office for National Statistics, the median annual salary in the UK in 2020 was £31,461, approximately 1.2 million NTD. The median annual salaries of the top ten industries are as follows:

Seeing these industries with annual salaries over a million, don't you think spending money and time studying abroad in the UK is worth it? With the PSW visa back in action, international students heading to the UK have no worries. If studying abroad is aimed at working overseas, then the UK is an even better choice for you!