Some countries prioritize certain sectors, such as science and technology, but also impose certain requirements such as age or the location of applicants’ education institution.
Below is a list of some countries that offer post-graduate work permits to international students, including Vietnamese.
Asian countries
The Malaysia’s Education Malaysia Global Services recently added Vietnam and some other Southeast Asian countries to the list eligible for a Graduate Pass, allowing a stay of up to 1 year post-graduation. This program, announced in late 2023, is part of Malaysia’s visa liberalization plan to attract more tourists and international students.
Among other Southeast Asian countries, Thailand has introduced the Non-ED Plus visa in late 2024, allowing international students pursuing bachelor’s degrees or higher to stay for an additional year after graduation to seek employment, according to the Office of the Prime Minister.
In Singapore, students can apply for a work holiday pass or internship work permit issued by the Ministry of Manpower to stay for 6 months.
In South Korea, the Ministry of Justice announced new policies in late 2024 to attract talent, extending the job-seeking visa (D-10-1) duration by one year to a maximum of 3 years.
Additionally, the post-graduation internship period at a company was increased from 6 months to up to 1 year. This visa applies to international students who have studied in South Korea for the past 3 years.
Other popular study destinations like China and Japan currently lack independent post-graduation work policies or have limited rights, reported Thanh Nien newspaper.
For instance, in Japan, students without a job offer after graduation must switch to another visa type, allowing a maximum stay of 12 months, and require a recommendation letter from their school to continue job hunting, according to the Study in Japan website.
United States
The U.S. offers the Optional Practical Training for students to stay and work for one year in a job directly related to their field of study.
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Student study at the University of Texas in Austin, Texas on Feb. 22, 2024. Photo by Getty Images via AFP |
This period can be extended by an additional two years for students in STEM fields (science, technology, engineering, mathematics), according to the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services’s website.’
Students can apply for the program one year before the end of their studies.
Currently, the program applies to international students with an F-1 student visa. The visa, however, has to be filed by the employer and not the employee, which can be challenging for applicants with limited professional connections, according to the website Study International.
Australia and New Zealand
In Australia, Vietnamese students can stay and work post-graduation in two streams: post-vocational education work or post-higher education work, with durations ranging from 18 months to 3 years.
Applicants are required to be under 35 years old to qualify for a post-graduation work visa.
Regulations, however, have been tightened in recent years. Doctoral and applied master’s graduates are now limited to 3 and 2 years of post-graduation stay, respectively, a reduction of one year compared to previous policies.
Meanwhile, bachelor’s and research master’s graduates can stay for 2 and 3 years, respectively.
Additional 1-2 years may be granted based on the location of the applicant’s educational institution, according to the Australian Department of Home Affairs.
In New Zealand, students can apply for a Post-Study Work visa to work for up to 3 years.
United Kingdom
In the U.K., Vietnamese students can apply for the Graduate Route visa to stay and work for 2-3 years. However, this duration may be shortened, as the U.K. government proposed in May to reduce it to 18 months for all academic levels, pending parliamentary review.
Germany
Students studying at German universities can remain in the country post-graduation by extending their residence permit for up to 18 months after completing their studies.
The 18 months begin as soon as a student finishes their final exams. During those 18 months, applicants can work whatever job they can in order to support themselves until a full-time employment is secured. The job does not necessarily have to be related to your field of study, according to the website Study in Germany.
Canada
In Canada, Vietnamese students can apply for a Post-Graduation Work Permit to stay for up to 3 years, applicable to bachelor’s, master’s, and doctoral graduates.
For vocational program graduates, eligibility for a work permit requires studying one of the 989 long-term in-demand occupations in Canada, with the permit duration matching the program length, as detailed in the Canada government website.
A new requirement mandates applicants to submit an English or French language proficiency certificate at Canadian Language Benchmark level 7 for university graduates or level 5 for college/polytechnic graduates, according to the Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada.
