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Bristows: does its training contract sponsor a UK visa?

No published policyTraining Contract

Unconfirmed. Bristows publishes no sponsorship policy for its training contract, so we cannot state a firm answer. Prior research pass found Bristows holds an active sponsor licence and year-1 trainee pay around £48,000, which clears the general £41,700 salary threshold but sits below the £51,600 SOC-specific 'going rate' for solicitors that can apply under Skilled Worker rules. This was not independently re-verified this session; the firm's own careers page returned HTTP 403 to automated fetch on this session's attempts.

Sponsors grads?
Not published
Pay vs threshold
Borderline
Opportunity
training contract
Pay
Year 1 approx £48,000 (per prior research pass)
Confidence
medium

What is covered: Training contract (unconfirmed by direct firm statement this session)

The catch: The only "sponsorship" Bristows publishes is study funding: "All of our future trainees receive sponsorship through the PGDL if needed and the SQE 1 and SQE 2." That is an employer paying course fees, not a visa. The trainee FAQ says nothing about immigration.
Bristows early careersVerify on gov.ukSee the licence record

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About the training contract

Locations
Bristol, Edinburgh, LondonSource
Degree requirement
2:1 minimum expected“Minimum 2:1 degree expected, though we do consider all applications”Source
Recruitment stages
  1. Emerging Talent Assessment
  2. Critical Reasoning Assessment
  3. Application Question
  4. Assessment Centre
“Emerging Talent Assessment - Online, untimed (~45 minutes recommended). Critical Reasoning Assessment - Online evaluation of logical thinking. Application Question - Short written response. Assessment Centre - Group exercise, written exercise, one-to-one interview”Source

What Bristows publishes about this programme

Checked against Bristows's own careers pages on 2026-09-24. Anything not published is worth asking the early careers team before you apply.

  • Visa sponsorship policy: not published
  • Application dates: not published
  • Pay: published
  • Locations: published
  • Degree requirement: published
  • Recruitment stages: published

Sources

Verdict last checked 2026-09-24. Application dates last checked 2026-09-09.

Common questions

Does Bristows sponsor visas for its training contract?

Unconfirmed. Bristows publishes no sponsorship policy for its training contract, so we cannot state a firm answer. Prior research pass found Bristows holds an active sponsor licence and year-1 trainee pay around £48,000, which clears the general £41,700 salary threshold but sits below the £51,600 SOC-specific 'going rate' for solicitors that can apply under Skilled Worker rules. This was not independently re-verified this session; the firm's own careers page returned HTTP 403 to automated fetch on this session's attempts.

Does the pay clear the UK Skilled Worker salary threshold?

The pay for this scheme sits close to the threshold, so it can depend on the office, the occupation going rate, or the new-entrant discount.

What is the catch international students miss with Bristows?

The only "sponsorship" Bristows publishes is study funding: "All of our future trainees receive sponsorship through the PGDL if needed and the SQE 1 and SQE 2." That is an employer paying course fees, not a visa. The trainee FAQ says nothing about immigration.

Where is the Bristows training contract based?

Bristol, Edinburgh, London, according to Bristows's own careers information.

What degree do you need for the Bristows training contract?

2:1 minimum expected, according to Bristows's own careers information.

What are the recruitment stages for the Bristows training contract?

Emerging Talent Assessment, Critical Reasoning Assessment, Application Question, Assessment Centre, according to Bristows's own careers information.

How should I confirm Bristows's sponsorship before applying?

Read the specific vacancy on Bristows's careers site, ask its early-careers team directly, and check the employer on the gov.uk Register of Licensed Sponsors. Policies and thresholds change, so treat this page as a starting point and confirm for the exact role and cycle.

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Before you apply

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Other law schemes we track

Sponsorship data: Home Office register + job ad wording. Not immigration advice, verify on gov.uk. Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.