New China Work Experience Scheme

The main purpose of this scheme is to allow Chinese graduates, up to age 30, to experience and develop a greater understanding of the UK during a working stay. The graduates will be on work placements with businesses in the United Kingdom. The programme will operate as a concession outside of the Immigration Rules. The scheme will be administered at Posts in China.A separate scheme exists outside the Rules for young Chinese graduates b/w the ages of 21-30 to spend up to one year in the United Kingdom to undertake work experience placements. The programme was piloted in 2006 and provided work placement chances for 120 Chinese graduates. The programme will commence in November 2007 and will give for a quota of 200 graduates. The Ministry of Education of China (MoE) and the United Kingdom Department for Innovation, Universities and Skills (DIUS) will be responsible for the design, operation and evaluation of the programme. Both parties will designate an organisation to take the responsibility of daily management of the programme. In China, this designated body is the China Scholarship Council (CSC) and in the UK, the designated body is Hobsons plc.

Graduates on this scheme must be nationals of China only. Graduates from Hong Kong are not eligible to participate, although they did so for the pilot. The Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) for the scheme was signed on 29-October-2007 by Zhou Jl, Minister of Education in China and John Denham, UK Secretary of State of Innovation, Universities and Skills. Separate arrangements may be made with Hong Kong under a new MoU in the future. Entry clearance applications can only be accepted at UK Entry Clearance Posts or Commercial Partners in China.

Prior entry clearance is mandatory.
Requirements
Entry clearance as a candidate of the China Graduate Work Experience Programme may be granted if you are satisfied that the candidate:

• Has been issued with a letter from the United Kingdom Department for Innovation, Universities and Skills (DIUS) stating that the candidate has been pre-selected for the China Work Experience Programme for a period of 12 months;
• Is not accompanied by dependants, unless that dependant also has Entry Clearance under the programme;
• Intends to leave the UK at the end of the work placement in the UK.

So as to be selected, the candidates will have undergone a pre-selection process by the Chinese Scholarship Council in China and Hobsons plc. The requirements for selection on the programme are that the candidate is:

• A national and permanent resident of mainland China and must not be working or studying out of mainland China at the time of the application;
• Intending to come to the UK to take a work placement under this Programme only;
• In possession of a valid passport and return travel ticket;
• Able to maintain and accommodate themselves without recourse to public funds;
• Has not previously visited the UK under these arrangements;
• Aged between 21-30 inclusive or so aged on the date the application for entry clearance is formally submitted;
• A graduate or graduand from a Chinese university. A graduand means a student who has completed their studies and are about to graduate.
• Able to speak English at a standard consistent with scale C1 on the Council of Europe Common European Framework for language learning (equivalent to IELTS level 6).