HSBC considers giving graduates jobs in China and India after UK offers pulled

Foreign graduates in the UK who had job offers revoked by HSBC after the government tightened visa rules have been told that they could be offered roles in mainland China, India and Poland.

HSBC told affected overseas graduates last week that it would “explore opportunities” to employ them on similar schemes in the three countries after blaming changes to visa rules for rescinding their UK offers, according to documents reviewed by the Financial Times.

The decision to withdraw the offers for roughly two dozen graduates highlights how employers are grappling with the government’s decision to raise the salary threshold for skilled worker visas. Big Four accounting firms KPMG and Deloitte have also revoked offers in recent weeks.

Potential offers would still depend on the ability of candidates to work in China, India and Poland. “We would support them as we do normally in the UK, giving advice through the visa process and covering costs,” said one person familiar with the matter.

The London-headquartered lender hired 720 graduates last year, according to its latest annual report, and employs about 33,000, 42,000 and 6,000 staff in China, India and Poland, respectively.

The affected graduates were set to join HSBC’s “digital innovation” graduate scheme in the UK, which covers roles in cyber security, software development and data.

Revoking the UK offers came after prime minister Rishi Sunak’s government in April raised the main salary threshold for skilled worker visas from £26,200 to £38,700, in an attempt to reduce levels of legal immigration. Immigration is set to be a significant issue in the UK general election campaign over the next six weeks.

HSBC angered some of the affected graduates in recent weeks after sending them an automated message saying the lender was “sorry to see [them] go” after they “decided to leave the selection process”.

The bank has since told affected graduates that consulting firm EY, which is acting as HSBC’s immigration adviser, would further explain the reasons behind the revocation and answer questions about their UK immigration position.

“Due to changes in the rules covering those seeking sponsored visas to work in the UK we are unable to take forward a small number of offers to candidates as part of our graduate scheme this year,” HSBC said. “We are currently in discussions with those impacted.”