Summer London internship visa process for US citizens

Hello everyone,

I am curious as to how the Visa process works for US undergraduates looking for a junior summer internship in IB may work, and what my chances may be for attaining an internship. I would seriously consider living in London for two years after graduation.

I currently have a 3.72 GPA and double major in economics and Spanish, and I have completed a double minor in Phil, and urban studies at Trinity College. I have lived in Spain for 9 months and Buenos Aires for 6 weeks and am highly proficient in written, and spoken Spanish. I currently am interning my sophomore summer at Marsh USA in their TRAC summer 10-week program in NYC to get some good experience in the office place.

I have read that international experience and being bilingual is highly valued to banks in London. I have also read that having experience in NYC is helpful, along with having a history of playing team sports. I was the captain of St. Paul's school ice hockey team, and play club in college. I also have a quick quibbit on my resume for winning a national championship in Spain (yes there is actually hockey there...)

I am first interested in M&A, but would love to be based in London and focus on Latin America so I could utilize my "Spanish brand" however it is not absolutely necessary unless it might help my chances of obtaining an internship. I am also open to other options than M&A however such as equities, or global market analysis, however M&A is my primary interest.

Does anybody have any insight as to what the Visa process may be, and what my chances may be at obtaining a summer internship in London?

Thanks,

 

Bulge brackets in London do recruit US undergrads for summer internship programs. But from what I have noticed pretty much all of these come from target schools (i.e Ivy League/top 10 UG). You have got all the right stats in terms of strong GPA, sports and language skills.

Only potential issue would be I have not heard of Trinity College, so not sure how it ranks against likes of Harvard/Yale/Columbia. Your best bet would be apply early from summer 2016 (online app opens around mid/late August for most banks).

 

Hey man - I'm studying in London for the fall semester and just had to do my Visa process since I got an internship. You need a tier 4 general student Visa, you do the app through the online government portal, and the application fee is $502.00. Once you fill out the online application, you have to go to your nearest application center (I'm in NYC, so there's one on Varick Street), get your biometrics taken, and then the confirmation process takes about 4-8 weeks (you'll need a current passport to send to the UK for approval). All BB firms will require that you're eligible to work abroad, thus you'll need a Visa. Some firms will pay for the application fee, if you can secure an internship before you do the Visa process - which places pay for it really vary, so it's best to ask HR when you receive your offer. Best of luck - PM with any questions.

-Brandon "Don" Dempster
 

Bradon what you have described is a Tier 4 student Visa. OP is a student in the US and will only be coming to UK for work. Hence he will most likely need a Tier 5 (short term work Visa). I can confirm that generally all bulge bracket banks pay Visa and legal fee for overseas students. Some of the banks even pay for your flights from university to internship location. Hope it helps!

 
Best Response

As a further clarification, getting a Tier 5 for an internship is one thing (and very easy), but getting a Tier 2 for full-time is another as the hiring company has to perform the labour market test. I know at the MBA level, BBs won't care about your Visa status (ie. they'll take care of everything if you are not an EU passport holder and didn't do your MBA in the UK), but boutiques care and will generally restrict their hiring to EU nations or UK MBA grads (the labour market test is waived for UK grads so it's a straightforward and cheap process). Not sure what it is at the undergrad level.

I would also point out that it's 100x easier to transfer from a NYC BB / boutique to London, than to directly get a job in London from undergrad (especially given you don't necessary go to a well-known school).

A few more things: -LatAm is generally covered from NYC -Bilingualism is definitely highly valued and in many case essential in London. However, in practice, it means you need native or near native ability so I would expect for your to be able to fully complete your interviews in spanish / produce written materials of the same quality as a native speaker.

 

Wow! This is great feedback, I really appreciate it. I figured the insight was so good the first time around that I would ask way more!

  1. Concerning approaching contacts: I have heard that without "soft contacts" it is hard to get picked from the pile for an interview. I have some connections to London via my prep school, school year abroad program, and Trinity alum - do you know how I might best approach them? Is email best? LinkedIn? And should I mention a specific interest in potentially working Latin American M&A (based in London) in the future, or should I just demonstrate my general interest in the M&A industry? I can see my resume fitting nicely with those kind of goals(living abroad in Spain and Argentina and double majoring in Econ and Spanish, with two internships in business), however I can see it also being slightly presumptous to think I would be able to choose the sector I like most, In the end I'd love to just work at the top M&A bank I am able to. Lastly, should I include my resume in the original email? Transcripts too?

    1. Off that same note, I have done some research, but does anyone know what bulge bracket bank may have the best Latin America M&A focus (based in London or based in NYC)? Do you think this could potentially be my best option for the long route because I would have a language advantage?

    2. Are my future prospects better if I start out in London vs. New York? I have many contacts in NYC, and am thinking that it may be easier to return than to break into London in the future. Plus, I could see having more and more international experience as an added bonus in future job markets - could I be totally off?

    3. Also, given the GPA, international/bilingual, sport, and two previous internships (marsh, and before that a 10 week equity research assistant, would I have more luck getting an internship at a more prestigious bank in London or in NYC (because I have read the international piece is more valued in London)

    4. In terms of references, is it better to get them from people higher up, or people more immediately above you? And will being referred by people higher up hurt or better my chances in NYC/London? How many should I have?

Thanks so much!

 

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