Graduate Visa UK

You must have successfully completed an eligible course during the relevant Student permission, normally with the higher education provider that last sponsored you. That provider must have a track record of compliance. Eligible qualifications include UK bachelor’s and postgraduate degrees and specified professional qualifications; not every certificate or short course qualifies.

The education provider must have notified the Home Office of successful completion by the date you apply. You do not need to wait for a graduation ceremony or a printed certificate, but you should confirm the reporting position with the provider before submitting.

Someone previously granted Graduate permission or permission under the Doctorate Extension Scheme cannot obtain another Graduate grant. Special provisions cover course changes and Student Union Sabbatical Officers; those situations need checking against the course and permission history.

• Graduate qualifying courses and UK study

For a course lasting twelve months or less, the required period normally covers the whole course. For a longer course, at least twelve months of study in the UK with the relevant Student permission is required. Permitted study-abroad programmes and specific historic pandemic concessions have their own provisions.

The Graduate application must be made in the UK. GOV.UK advises applying while your Student or Tier 4 (General) permission is still valid and before it expires. Do not assume an overseas application, an unfinished course or an expired visa can be remedied by selecting the Graduate route.

Check the course end date, completion report and immigration expiry date together. If those dates do not allow a straightforward application, obtain advice promptly rather than waiting for a ceremony or travelling overseas.

For eligible non-doctoral qualifications, applications made on or before 31 December 2026 lead to two years of Graduate permission. Applications made on or after 1 January 2027 lead to eighteen months. Eligible PhD or other doctoral qualifications continue to lead to three years.

The period runs from the date the application is approved, but the non-doctoral duration depends on when the application was made. You must still meet all requirements, including successful completion and sponsor reporting, at the required time; applying early solely to secure the longer period is not an alternative to eligibility.

The Graduate route cannot be extended. It is a temporary post-study route, not an automatic continuation of Student permission or a direct route to settlement.

• Immigration Rules: Appendix Graduate

You will need a valid passport or other accepted identity document and the CAS reference associated with the relevant Student application. Check the education provider’s completion notification and keep course and immigration records available if the Home Office requests information.

If a government or international scholarship agency paid both course fees and living costs for studies completed in the twelve months before applying, written consent from that organisation is required under the relevant rule. Family applications need their own evidence and fees.

Graduate applicants are not required to meet a separate maintenance requirement or submit a new English-language test under this route. The application fee and Immigration Health Surcharge still apply. Use current official guidance to budget for the relevant permission length rather than copying an old total.

Complete the online application and the required identity steps. Do not travel outside the UK, Ireland, the Channel Islands or the Isle of Man while the in-country application is pending: doing so withdraws the application.

The Graduate route is unsponsored: a job offer or employer Certificate of Sponsorship is not required. Most employment, self-employment and voluntary work are permitted, but professional sportsperson work is excluded. Further study is restricted where the course and provider meet the Student route requirements; ATAS conditions can also apply.

Existing qualifying Student dependants can apply to stay with the Graduate. Children born in the UK during the relevant Student permission or during the parent’s Graduate permission can also fall within the provisions. This is not a general route for a new partner or children overseas to join you.

Each dependant must satisfy the applicable relationship, age, care and other requirements and apply from the UK. A child who is now 18 or over needs the required previous dependant permission. Successful dependant permission normally ends with the Graduate’s permission.

• Graduate partners and children

Graduate permission does not itself provide a settlement application. If you intend to remain longer, consider another route in good time and check its current requirements. Switching to Skilled Worker permission, for example, requires an eligible sponsored role and the applicable salary and other conditions; employment alone is insufficient.

Do not assume time on Graduate permission counts towards a work route’s settlement period. It may be relevant to a separate long-residence assessment, subject to that route’s rules and your full immigration history.

An enquiry to Highfin can identify the qualification, completion-reporting position, visa expiry date, previous Graduate or Doctorate Extension permission and any dependant applications. The scope of advice should be agreed before submission; no outcome or future settlement entitlement is promised.

• Skilled Worker visas
• Long residence
• Student visa options