Recruiting EU and international students in the UK and abroad
The University of Manchester is one of the largest and most prestigious Universities in the UK – we have over 40,000 students, offer 1,000 degree programmes and are ranked 33rd in the world for our teaching and research expertise.
Our 11,500 international and 4,000 EU students, postgraduates and researchers from over 160 countries possess a variety of highly desirable skills and have much to offer any organisation, including language skills and knowledge of foreign business practices, cultural adaptability, mobility and global networks.
Many of our students are keen to build experience during their time in the UK and seek to make connections with both local and global firms for graduate opportunities. We work with a broad range of international recruiters, employers and organisation both in the UK and from across the globe, to help you access our international talent pools.
Recruit EU and international students during their studies
Current EU & international students are available for short-term projects, part-time positions, vacation internships or year placements.
EU students who have successfully received EU settlement or pre-settlement status are eligible to work without any restrictions. Further guidance on hiring EU students who arrive in the UK after the settlement scheme closes on 30 June 2021 will be released in due course and in accordance with the government guidelines at the time.
Most international students are able to work during their degree as part of their international student visa (known as a Tier 4 visa) with no additional visa requirements. However, there are some restrictions such as the number of hours students can work during term-time (usually up to 20 hours during term-time but can work full time during vacations) and the type of work they can complete (further guidance on types of work can be found here). A more comprehensive summary of options for recruiters can also, be downloaded to the right.
If you would like to discuss offering a role to our current students, including recruiting students and graduates with language skills and country knowledge, please contact internationaltalent@manchester.ac.uk
Recruiting EU and international students for UK-based graduate roles
EU graduates who have successfully received EU settlement or pre-settlement status are eligible to work without any restrictions. Graduates won’t lose settled status if they moved out of the UK unless they spent more than 5 years outside the UK (2 years if they have pre-settled status). Further guidance on hiring EU graduates who arrive in the UK after the settlement scheme closes on 30 June 2021 will be released in due course and in accordance with the government guidelines at the time.
International students at undergraduate or postgraduate level have the right to work full time once they have completed their course and until expiry of their student visa (Tier 4 visa). International graduates will need to be sponsored for a work visa to stay on beyond the expiry of their student visa (more on sponsoring graduates below). Any role they undertake while working full-time as part of their international student visa cannot be a permanent one; it is therefore usual to offer a fixed term contract to coincide with expiry of the student visa before switching to an alternative work visa.
If you would like to discuss offering a role to our recent graduates, please contact recruitment@manchester.ac.uk
Post-study work visa
The UK Government is planning to introduce a new Graduate Immigration Route that will allow international students to stay in the UK for an additional period to work, or look for work, at any skill level.
This option will come into effect from summer 2021 and will allow international students to remain in the UK for up to 2 years (or 3 if PhD students) after graduation to work in any sector and at any level before needing to switch to an alternative work visa option.
This will give employers and recruiters access to a wider pool of candidates of high calibre in the future.
The Home Office has stated its intent that the Graduate Route passes into legislation in spring 2021. If you would like to see the full detail of the guidance from the Home Office you can find it here.
Recruiting for EU and international posts
Upon completion of their degree, many of our EU & international graduates choose to return to their home countries to look for employment opportunities, while we strongly encourage all our students to gain international exposure and pursue roles abroad throughout their degree and subsequent careers.
We have a number of ways to connect our students and graduates with employers and organisations offering opportunities outside the UK including
- advertising roles on our jobs portal
- hosting information webinars
- helping you raise the visibility of your organisation and any roles you are offering through direct emails to our students
Our University has a strong internationalisation agenda and we are keen to enhance our student’s employability hence most services to non-UK employers are offered on a complementary basis.
For further information about recruiting our EU and international students and graduates
Please contact the team via internationaltalent@manchester.ac.uk or recruitment@manchester.ac.uk
