This completely revised leaflet offers advice and guidance on the UK's points based immigration system, why law firms need international applicants and provides the list of the
top 50 firms in the UK and their stance on accepting applications from trainees who require a work permit - find out who you can and should apply to.
Who Needs a Work Permit?
The UK government says it wants to cut the number of workers coming to Britain from outside the European Economic Area and a new points based immigration system came into force at the end of 2008. These new rules along with global economic recession now make it harder to employ skilled workers from outside the EEA.
Anyone who wishes to complete a training contract and/or practice in the UK will require a work permit, except for:
UK nationals and their spouse
Spouse of a UK resident
EU citizens and their dependents
Resident of the UK (10 continuous years living in the UK)
Commonwealth nationals who have ancestral visas through a UK born grandparent
The UK's Points Based Immigration System
Under the new system, migrants need to pass a points-based assessment before they are given permission to work in the United Kingdom. The system consists of five tiers, these are:
tier 1 - highly skilled workers, for example scientists and entrepreneurs;
tier 2 - skilled workers with a job offer, for example teachers and engineers;
tier 3 - low skilled workers filling specific temporary labour shortages, for example construction workers for a particular project;
tier 4 - students;
tier 5 - youth mobility and temporary workers for example musicians coming to play in a concert.
Most applicants for training contracts will be applying under Tier 1 or Tier 2 and more information on these tiers is given in this publication. We strongly recommend that you contact firms prior to making your application to ensure that you match the firm's requirements and whether applicants under Tier 1 or Tier 2 (or both) are accepted.
Finding a Training Contract
Although officially Britain is out of recession unfortunately you will need to compete with other applicants and with the economic downturn as it is jobs in larger commercial firms are even more competitive today. A 2009 report by Sweet & Maxwell showed that on average there are 130 applicants for every training contract vacancy a 150% rise on 2008 figures.
Before applying for training contracts you should spend as much time as possible researching firms to maximize your chances of a successful application and also to find the best firm for you. Each firm may be looking for different qualities in their trainees but all firms will be looking for applicants who are highly motivated with well-thought and thorough reasons for pursuing a career in law and more particularly with their firm.
Ultimately it can only be your decision as to whether you have the time, money and patience that a training contract or job search would take; we would not recommend, however, that in the current market you pay for or come to the UK without an offer of employment unless you can absolutely afford to do so. All is not lost though, LawBritannia exists to help you fight and win against this competition.
This booklet will help you to assess what you can offer firms and help you to target your applications.
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