Interns on Mountbatten's London Programme qualify for work permits under the British Government's Training and Work Experience Scheme.  Interns will receive a 12 month work permit allowing them to carry out a work-placement at UBS for 12 months, after which they MUST depart the UK.

The British Government imposes severe penalties on anyone who breaks the country's immigration laws.

The following information is provided on the understanding that Mountbatten cannot take responsibility for the granting of visa and work-permits.  However, if procedures are followed and any problems referred promptly to our Regional Office in Bangkok, we will do our best to provide assistance.

Caution: This information is current as of November 20th, 2007.  Please note that this information is not exhaustive and is subject to change at a moment's notice.  You should check the embassy and the VFS website for up to date information on obtaining your visa.

As soon as you have received confirmation from the Asia/Pacific Regional Office that you have been successfully placed at UBS, the London Office will start processing of your work permit application online.  This process takes 2-3 weeks.  When we receive your TWES work permit, we will courier it to your home address.  You should at that point apply for a visa with the nearest visa application center.

To apply for a visa to the UK, intern should visit, or contact, one of the 11 Application Centres, operated by Visa Facilitation Services (VFS) located in New Delhi, Jalandhar, Chandigarh, Mumbai, Ahmedabad, Pune, Chennai, Hyderabad, Bangalore, Cochin and Kolkata.  You can also apply for your UK visa online, and then submit your passport, fee, and supporting documents to VFS.  VFS's staff will accept the applications at each centre, explain the latest visa rules and offer advice where necessary.  All applications will then be immediately forwarded to the High Commission in New Delhi, or to one of the Deputy High Commissions in Mumbai, Chennai or Kolkata. 

VFS are responsible only for accepting applications and providing advice and guidance where necessary.  All visa applications are assessed by Visa Officers at the British High Commission.

In many cases the application will be approved without the need for the intern to attend an interview.  In these cases, the intern's passport, endorsed with the appropriate UK visa, will be returned to the application centre by courier, or sent to the intern's home or office address.  If a Visa Officer cannot make a decision on your application on the basis of the papers submitted, VFS will contact you to book an interview appointment.  In cases of emergency, applications will of course still be accepted at the High Commission/Deputy High Commission (though you may have to pay extra for this service).

See VFS website for details: www.vfs-uk.co.in

To obtain your visa, you will need the following:

• Fill in the VAF2 November 2007: Visa Application Form for Employment
• Your passport or travel document.
• Your work permit.
• A recent passport-sized (45mm x 35mm) colour photograph of yourself.  Check specifications.
• The visa fee.
• Supporting documents as may be required by British High/Deputy High Commission.

* You can also choose to pick up your documents at the VFS center.

The decision to live abroad in a culturally different environment carries many risks.  Only you can evaluate how acceptable these risks are to you and the level of insurance you may wish to purchase to offset those risks.  The Mountbatten Programme conforms to generally acceptable UK standards for young adults, and accepts no liability whatsoever for medical or for personal security matters.

Medical
All of our London interns are entitled to receive full medical assistance and treatment under the British National Health Service, in common with all other UK residents.  The NHS does not typically accommodate non-mainstream medicine such as chiropractors.  Furthermore, the NHS, which is a socialized medicine service with budget constraints, may be quite different from the typical India norm, both in its priorities and its treatments and procedures.  Thus interns with pre-existing conditions that in their view demand high priority might wish to consider obtaining private medical insurance.  Generally speaking, the NHS' modus operandi is to provide standardized care designed to cover 95% - 98% of most medical problems.  If you are not comfortable with this philosophy, you should consider private insurance.  You may wish to visit the NHS website at www.nhs.uk

Interns will be required to register with a General Practitioner (local doctor) upon arrival in the UK.

Other Insurance
Personal possessions and personal liability are not covered by the Programme.  Interns wishing to take out private medical or travel insurance should make their own arrangements.

We maintain contact with interns and on-going contact with UBS staff throughout the internship year to ensure that everyone is deriving benefit from the Programme.  We also provide tax advice at the end of each year to assist interns with filing their returns.

See How to Apply.