Hi there, Jack here from Cardiff Met International and in this video I'm
going to give you an update about what the coronavirus pandemic means for the
reintroduction of the UK post study work visa.
Welcome to my latest video on the UK post study work visa. If you haven't
watched any of my videos before, my name is Jack and I'm a part of the international
team at Cardiff Metropolitan University here in the UK. I'm currently on a
mission to help international students better understand the UK university
system. In autumn 2019 the UK government announced that they would be
reintroducing the post study work graduate visa route for all
international students. Earlier this year I released a video sharing all of the
information that we know so far, including which students will be
eligible and roughly when the new graduate visa route will be starting. Make sure
you give this video a watch if you haven't done so already. Since my last
PSW video the world has had to react to the coronavirus pandemic. This has
meant the UK government has been focusing on policies responding to the COVID-19
pandemic, which has been affecting all areas of life here in the UK and across
the globe. It is also meant that all UK universities have
had to adapt their teaching, and courses are being delivered as a combination of
online and on-campus learning. Many international students are still
planning to start their studies in the UK this year, however the fact that many
courses will be beginning as blended learning has led to questions about the
PSW. As the graduate visa route isn't
available for distance learning courses these have been important questions.
Students want to know if they'll be eligible for the PSW
if they start their course this September 2020 intake. Well the good news
is that the UK government has now announced a series of updates about the
PSW in response to the coronavirus pandemic. This update was part of further
guidance about the Tier 4 visa policy which I'll link to below. However to make it as
clear as possible, I'm going to run through the updates that were given and
clarify exactly what they mean for international students. Update 1: 'The
Graduate route is still scheduled to be launched in summer 2021 as previously
announced. Further information about the route will be published in due course'.
This means that everything we know about the
reintroduction of the post study work visa is still true. The launch is still
planned the summer 2021. Update 2: 'Students will normally be expected to
undertake their studies in the UK to be eligible for the graduate route. However
if students are required to either continue their current studies or
commence a new course by distance or blended learning due to COVID-19 they
will still be eligible to switch into the graduate route on a concessionary
basis if they have spent some time studying outside the UK.' This means if
you have to study some of your course by distance learning or online teaching you
will still be eligible for the post study work visa. Even if you spent some
of this time studying outside of the UK. Update 3: 'Students will benefit from
this concession if they enter the UK before the 6th of April 2021
and complete the final semester of their studies in the UK.' This means if you
start your course online you will still be eligible for the post study work visa
as long as you were in the UK by the 6th of April and that you complete your
studies in the UK. If you are starting your course in September 2020 or
January 2021 via online learning before you travel to the UK, you'll still be
eligible for PSW. Update 4: 'Such students will still need
to have extant leave as a Tier 4 student or Student when the new route
launches in 2021 and meet other eligibility criteria to be eligible for the route.'
This is the last update and it just means you will need to meet all of the other
requirements of the graduate route. This includes still having a valid visa when
you apply in summer 2021. At the moment we are still waiting on a further
announcement to give full details of the scheme. The exact date it will commence in
summer 2021 and the fees for the visa have not yet been released
by the UK government. As soon as they are I'll be sure to release an update. But
for now the main takeaway from this update is that however you start your
studies in the UK this autumn you can be confident that you will be eligible
for the post study work visa when you graduate. As always it's important to
remember that visa regulations can change at any time, and that individual
circumstances may be relevant. Make sure to follow public announcements for
any future changes. Please do give me a like if this has been helpful and if you
have any questions just let me know in the comments below. Make sure you
subscribe to our channel for updates about the PSW and click on the bell and
select all to receive notifications. But for now thanks for watching and
hopefully we'll welcome you to Cardiff Met one day Soon. Bye bye.