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Dstl: does its 1 year industrial placement sponsor a UK visa?

No1 year industrial placement

No. Dstl does not sponsor its 1 year industrial placement for international students who need a visa. The Defence Science and Technology Laboratory says it occasionally offers undergraduates a summer scheme or a 1 year industrial placement, working in its teams on lab-based tasks, trials or IT, based at Porton Down near Salisbury or Portsdown West near Fareham with at least 70% of time on site. All successful candidates must be security cleared, and Dstl says this means being a UK national and having lived in the UK for the past 5 years, so international students cannot take these placements.

Sponsors grads?
No
Pay vs threshold
Not published
Opportunity
placement
2027 cycle
No published date as of 12 October 2026. Dstl's page says its last graduate and student placement roles expired on 13 April 2026.
Confidence
medium

Dstl 1 year industrial placement: at a glance

Dstl occasionally offers undergraduates a summer scheme or a one-year industrial placement. Students join one of Dstl's teams and are assigned tasks, which depending on the placement area can include practical lab-based work or working in IT to support research. Dstl mainly looks for STEM students and asks people to spend at least 70% of their time on site. Source

Duration
1 year“We occasionally have opportunities for undergraduates to join a summer scheme or 1 year industrial placement.”Source
Who can apply
Undergraduates“We occasionally have opportunities for undergraduates to join a summer scheme or 1 year industrial placement.”Source
Locations
Porton Down, near Salisbury, Portsdown West, near Fareham“You’ll be based at Porton Down near Salisbury, or Portsdown West near Fareham, spending at least 70% of your time on site.”Source
“be a UK national. Our work in defence, security and intelligence requires our employees to be British citizens.”
Dstl, from its own careers pages
The catch: Even British citizens need 5 years of UK residence for clearance, and some roles need Developed Vetting with 10 years of residence. Placements are only offered occasionally and are advertised on Civil Service Jobs.
Dstl early careersVerify on gov.uk

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What Dstl publishes about this programme

Checked against Dstl's own careers pages on 2026-10-12. Anything not published is worth asking the early careers team before you apply.

  • Visa sponsorship policy: published
  • Application dates: not published
  • Programme description: published
  • Duration and start date: published
  • Who can apply: published
  • Pay: not published
  • Locations: published
  • Degree requirement: not published
  • Recruitment stages: not published

More early careers programmes at Dstl

Sources

Verdict last checked 2026-10-12. How we check programme verdicts

Common questions

Does Dstl sponsor visas for its 1 year industrial placement?

No. Dstl does not sponsor its 1 year industrial placement for international students who need a visa. The Defence Science and Technology Laboratory says it occasionally offers undergraduates a summer scheme or a 1 year industrial placement, working in its teams on lab-based tasks, trials or IT, based at Porton Down near Salisbury or Portsdown West near Fareham with at least 70% of time on site. All successful candidates must be security cleared, and Dstl says this means being a UK national and having lived in the UK for the past 5 years, so international students cannot take these placements.

What is the Dstl 1 year industrial placement?

Dstl occasionally offers undergraduates a summer scheme or a one-year industrial placement. Students join one of Dstl's teams and are assigned tasks, which depending on the placement area can include practical lab-based work or working in IT to support research. Dstl mainly looks for STEM students and asks people to spend at least 70% of their time on site.

Does the pay clear the UK Skilled Worker salary threshold?

The pay for this scheme is not published clearly enough to judge against the threshold.

What is the catch international students miss with Dstl?

Even British citizens need 5 years of UK residence for clearance, and some roles need Developed Vetting with 10 years of residence. Placements are only offered occasionally and are advertised on Civil Service Jobs.

When do applications open for the Dstl 1 year industrial placement?

No published date as of 12 October 2026. Dstl's page says its last graduate and student placement roles expired on 13 April 2026.. Checked on 2026-10-12 against Dstl's own site.

How long is the Dstl 1 year industrial placement?

1 year, according to Dstl's own careers information.

Who can apply for the Dstl 1 year industrial placement?

Undergraduates, according to Dstl's own careers information.

Where is the Dstl 1 year industrial placement based?

Porton Down, near Salisbury, Portsdown West, near Fareham, according to Dstl's own careers information.

How should I confirm Dstl's sponsorship before applying?

Read the specific vacancy on Dstl'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.

Related guides

All visa and sponsorship guides

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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. How we check this data.