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Met Office: does its graduate development scheme sponsor a UK visa?

Only some tracksGraduate Development Scheme

Only in part. Met Office sponsors its graduate development scheme for some tracks or offices, not all. Met Office's own recruitment approach page states sponsorship is role by role, not a blanket policy, and that roles requiring security clearance need 3 of the last 5 years of UK residency, with 2 of those years immediately preceding the application. The Graduate Development Scheme page itself does not mention visa sponsorship at all, and separately states there is currently no Graduate scheme intake planned for 2027, so there is no live advert right now to check whether this specific scheme is one of the roles that sponsors. Treat as conditional, not guaranteed.

Sponsors grads?
Some tracks
Pay vs threshold
Not published
Opportunity
graduate scheme
2027 cycle
No 2027 graduate scheme intake is planned
Confidence
medium

What is covered: unspecified, role dependent, disclosed per individual job advert

“We can sponsor Skilled Worker visas on some of our roles, we will always make this clear on each of our adverts. For those living outside of the UK, there are some roles where we can sponsor Skilled Worker visas. However, you will need to pass security clearance which requires you to have resided in the UK for at least 3 of the last 5 years and 2 of these years must be immediately preceding the point of your application.”
Met Office, from its own careers pages
Met Office early careersVerify on gov.ukSee the licence record

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About the graduate development scheme

Locations
Exeter (headquarters)Source
Degree requirement
degree“Candidates must be educated to a degree level”Source
Recruitment stages
  1. values-based application form (may include psychometric testing)
  2. interview focusing on Met Office values
  3. offer stage
  4. onboarding support
“The recruitment process involves four steps: A values-based application form (may include psychometric testing), Interview focusing on Met Office values and scheme expectations, Offer stage with formal letter, Onboarding support”Source

What Met Office publishes about this programme

Checked against Met Office's own careers pages on 2026-09-22. Anything not published is worth asking the early careers team before you apply.

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

More early careers programmes at Met Office

Sources

Verdict last checked 2026-08-11. Application dates last checked 2026-09-22.

Common questions

Does Met Office sponsor visas for its graduate development scheme?

Only in part. Met Office sponsors its graduate development scheme for some tracks or offices, not all. Met Office's own recruitment approach page states sponsorship is role by role, not a blanket policy, and that roles requiring security clearance need 3 of the last 5 years of UK residency, with 2 of those years immediately preceding the application. The Graduate Development Scheme page itself does not mention visa sponsorship at all, and separately states there is currently no Graduate scheme intake planned for 2027, so there is no live advert right now to check whether this specific scheme is one of the roles that sponsors. Treat as conditional, not guaranteed.

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.

When do applications open for the Met Office graduate development scheme?

No 2027 graduate scheme intake is planned. Checked on 2026-09-22 against Met Office's own site.

Where is the Met Office graduate development scheme based?

Exeter (headquarters), according to Met Office's own careers information.

What degree do you need for the Met Office graduate development scheme?

degree, according to Met Office's own careers information.

What are the recruitment stages for the Met Office graduate development scheme?

values-based application form (may include psychometric testing), interview focusing on Met Office values, offer stage, onboarding support, according to Met Office's own careers information.

How should I confirm Met Office's sponsorship before applying?

Read the specific vacancy on Met Office'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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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.