Tier 4 Visa work after thesis submission

[tier1o]

Hi All,

one of my student is from India and he is about to submit his thesis (PhD).

Question is: can he work full time after he submitted the thesis

Advise needed on the following - is that the case?

called home office and asked them regarding my visa status and 20hours work per week limit. They said, to work full time in the UK, I have to finish my viva and submit the final version and my university will let the home office know that I completed and they will give me 2 months time to get Tier 2 visa (where I can work full time) or Leave the UK.

Comment on this please?

I thought I can work after submitting my thesis. But its only allowed for Europeans and not for Non-Europeans. This means, If I submit my thesis by 27st of this month, 1 month for review , then 1 month for corrections, then 2 months to get Tier 2 visa. This gives a timeline of 4 months and I can only work legally from 27tht February of 2018 the least. Its hard situation for me now. This visa restriction for Non-Europeans completely messed up my plans. I am stuck and don’t know what to do.

Thanks

[sah10406]

one of my student is from India and he is about to submit his thesis (PhD).

What do you mean "one of my student(s)"? What is your role?

[SamTiger]

I think Home Office reply is clear enough which says all.

A PhD student CANNOT work full time after submitting PhD thesis (soft bound). Visa restrictions for work (20 hrs) remain the same till he switches to DES which entitles one to take full time work.

Say you submit your thesis for viva by end of Oct. You may have your viva by Nov or Dec, based on chosen external's availability. Let's say you have your viva by Dec. You will be knowing time required for corrections then. If minor corrections, Univ will let you submit application for DES during Jan. Say you submit application by mid-Jan. I think you will be allowed to work full time thereon. Confirm this with your univ visa team as this a tricky period before receiving visa outcome.

I understand the financials are quite tough being a non-EU PhD student (I had been through this before), but no other go. Get your viva done with minor corrections. Good luck!!

[it91]

As far as I know after submission PhD students cannot work. Rüght after viva your university can sponsor for your visa through “Doctoral extension scheme”. But it can be done right after passing the viva and about 60 days before being granted your PhD (from a UK university), then you can work.

The best is to search for the doctoral extension scheme of the university and get a clear information from the graduate office, as each university might have slightly different visa application time window.