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2021

International students supported to find work in the UK with a dedicated Visa Information Session

Careers, Employability and Skills gathered a panel of experts from International Student Support and Student Circus to deliver a session of practical visa advice for international students hoping to find work in the UK after graduation.

Over 145 international students at Queen’s registered for a Visa Information Session delivered in Semester 1 giving them the opportunity to find out about the different visa options available to students hoping to stay in the UK after graduation.

Emma Lennox, a Careers Consultant with Careers, Employability and Skills who is focussed on supporting the employability of international students at Queen’s said: “The aim of this session was to give students an overview of the different visa options available to them if they want to stay in the UK after their studies have ended.  Attendees were invited to ask questions and 66 queries were answered in just under the 90 minutes!”

Emma was joined by a panel of experts including Niamh Quigley, Head of International Worker Support) and Catharina Bartholomew, International Staff Support Officer) who discussed the Skilled Worker Visa (formerly Tier 2) and the Global Talent Visa.

Helen McBrinn, Senior Immigration Officer within International Student Support talked us through the new Graduate Route Visa and its implications for students, and also the Start Up Visa option.

Finally, Dhruv Krishnaraj, Director and Co-Founder of Student Circus took students through some practicalities of applying for work in the UK as an international student and gave an excellent demonstration of the Student Circus platform which is available to Queen’s students through MyFuture.

“The need to plan ahead if you want to work in the UK was underlined to students, as recruitment processes can be long and may have multiple steps,” said Emma. “You have to be motivated and resilient, only you can apply for vacancies and sell your skill set.”

She had this advice for job-seeking international students: “Research the options available to you and check the specifics of your individual visa parameters as these will differ. Make use of the Careers Service and International Student Support throughout your time at Queen’s.”

Students commented that the session was “very helpful” with one adding that it “cleared a lot of doubts.”

You can find more Careers information for International Students on the Careers, Employability and Skills websiteUKCISA Working After Studies and UKCISA Fest Graduate Route Webinar.

 

 

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