I am an international student that graduated from uni in London in 2023. Following graduation, I secured a Tier 4 Graduate Visa, which would allow me to work in the UK without sponsorship. However, I had no job lined up and moved back to my home country and secured a job there. I just got the graduate visa so that I would be able to secure vac schemes and attend them without any sort of restrictions. 2yrs later and still no vac scheme, and my grad visa is due to expire in nov 2025.
Since I have worked a full-time job at an international firm for the past 9 months, I'm in a much better position to apply for paralegal roles, but am now faced with the issue of my expiring visa. I will also not be able to apply for vac schemes this cycle as i wouldnt be able to attend any as I would not have a valid visa.
Has anyone faced a similar experience, and managed to secure a direct TC? That seems to be my only option to get a sponsored visa. Or, does anyone know of firms that sponsor visas for paralegals? I havent seem to come across this much tbh
Any advice anyone might have would be much appreciated!
Hi! Thanks so much for sharing your situation - I really empathise, as I know how hard the process can be given these considerations.
You're absolutely right that most paralegal roles aren’t eligible for visa sponsorship. I think that this is mainly due to salary thresholds, as many paralegal roles fall short of this, especially in smaller firms. Another issue is employer reluctance. Employers may often be hesitant to sponsor for short-term or junior roles like paralegal positions because of the administrative burden and costs involved, especially when they have domestic candidates available.
That said, there are exceptions. A few larger firms, may consider sponsorship for paralegal roles, especially where the role is long-term or the candidate has exceptional experience. However, these are the exception, not the norm - and often, the candidate was already known to the firm.
So you’re right to start thinking about direct training contract applications as your most realistic route. It might be worth targeting firms known to sponsor international applicants. You can check their graduate recruitment pages and look for statements like “we sponsor international applicants” or “we accept applications from those requiring visa sponsorship.” You could also consider applying this cycle (though I appreciate many firms have closed their applications by now, there should probably be a few open), even if your visa expires in November 2025. Since many firms recruit one to two years in advance, a training contract offer could be timed to begin around or just after that expiry. Reaching out directly to recruitment teams to clarify their sponsorship policies for paralegal roles could help as well.
In the meantime, you might want to consider legal operations or compliance roles, which sometimes have more flexibility around sponsorship. Lastly, don’t underestimate your nine months at an international firm - that’s very valuable experience. You can frame it as evidence that you're already working at the standard required of a TC candidate.
You’re not alone in this. Others have walked this path and made it through with a direct TC offer. It’s tougher, but not impossible, and you’re clearly already doing your research and putting in the work.
