Hosting international Internships and Externships

Following Brexit, the recruitment of interns or the hosting of a resident for an external placement from outside the UK has become more complex. We have sought advise to help our members recruit interns from outside the UK and to facilitate the delivery of resident placements .

1. Professional registration and English Language requirements
   • Internships: The RCVS have indicated that they will consider temporary registration for graduates from outside undertaking internships. This may avoid the need for completion of an additional English Langauage Qualification
   • Residency rotations: If residents are undertaking veterinary activity these should also be registered using temporary registration. That might not apply to a taught module or summer school
2. Visa requirement
   • If you are hosting a visiting resident to gain experience in your clinic to meet part of their residency requirements, then they cannot work (paid or unpaid) using a visitor visa.
   • Internships would normally require individuals to have a skilled worker Visa.
   • The Government Authorised Exchange Scheme is a low cost (£300 approx) alternative to the skilled workers visa that might be appropriate for both internships and resident clinical rotations. The GAE scheme requires
     • A certificate of sponsorship
       • GTI are an authorised sponsor with some experience in the veterinary sector
       • GTI refer to all of these placements as ‘internships’
       • Individuals must be paid under the scheme. We expect that the resident’s normal employer would continue to pay them during the period in another centre.
       • Employers/Hosts need to be assessed through an onboarding process (£250)
       • The costs of the GAE sponsorship can be made the responsibility of the resident
       • GAEs are valid for up to 12 months, so may be suitable for overseas interns
       • Further details can be found at https://www.internvisa.com/interns
     • Contributions to the NHS healthcare levy

We would welcome any feedback that members have in using either of these schemes