Training / Work Experience Scheme

People from abroad can be given permission to take up work placements with UK employers if the job or profession they are doing requires a period of work-based training before a professional or specialist qualification is issued. The medical professions, law, accountancy and architecture, for instance, all need on-the-job training of various sorts before a person is fully qualified. Permits can be issued for up to five years, depending on the training needed. Medical professionals can also qualify under a special scheme known as Medical Training Initiatives and there are also schemes for Working Holiday Makers, Students, and Graduate Employment.

Permits can also be given for a period of work experience, if it is clear that the experience could be valuable to the person in their career overseas. These permits are available for a maximum period of two years.

The Training and Work Experience scheme, commonly known as 'TWES', is run by Work Permits (UK), in the Home Office. Applications for TWES permits are made by employers, in the same way as other work permits, not directly by the individual who wants to stay. A permit will only be granted if the work to be done is additional, and not a part of the normal staffing requirements of the employer.

The worker will, in nearly all cases, need to apply for entry clearance (a visa) overseas before travelling here, and will be expected to show that he or she will leave the United Kingdom at the end of the period of work, and that the experience will help them in future when they return abroad. The spouse and any children under 18 can be admitted to stay for the same period as the worker. Whether the permit is for two or five years, the worker concerned will need to leave the UK at the end of that period, and will not be able to extend their stay, and will generally not be able to switch to another category of stay before spending time outside the UK.

Lawrence Lupin Solicitors can advise you on details of this scheme, and help you with applications for TWES Permits.

If you would like to take advantage of our expert immigration, asylum, or nationality law advice, then contact us now. Lawrence Lupin Solicitors 020 8733 7200