The Graduate Visa enables international students who have successfully completed an eligible UK degree to remain in the country to pursue employment or job opportunities for a period of two years (three years for those who have been awarded doctorates) following the completion of their studies.

The Graduate Visa does not directly result in settlement; however, graduates who pursue this route have the option to transition to other work-based pathways that may lead to settlement.

Requirements for Graduate Visas

To be eligible for a Graduate Visa, you must meet the requirements of UK Visas & Immigration.:

• You have successfully completed a UK degree, or other eligible course.
• You have studied at a Higher Education Provider which is a student sponsor with a track record of compliance.
• You have held permission as a Student, which was granted to study the relevant qualification in the UK, for a minimum period of time.
• You are applying from within the UK and have valid leave as a Student or Tier 4 Student at the date of application.
• You have not previously held permission on the Doctorate Extension Scheme (DES), or the Graduate route.
• You do not fall for refusal on grounds of suitability.

The specific requirements that must be met will vary based on your specific circumstances. For expert guidance, it may be beneficial to consult with an immigration attorney.

Courses That Qualify for a Graduate Visa

For the purpose of extending your stay on the Graduate Immigration Route, you must have successfully completed a degree at the bachelor's or postgraduate level in the United Kingdom, or a professional course that necessitates study at the bachelor's degree level or higher in a profession with reserved activities that is regulated by UK law or UK public authority.

In addition, you will be eligible to apply for a Graduate Visa if you have been sponsored to serve as a Student Union Sabbatical Officer after completing an eligible qualification in your most recent grant of permission to study. 

Minimum Student Permission Period for Graduate Visas

To be eligible for a UK Graduate Visa, you must have been granted permission to pursue the relevant qualification in the UK as a student for a minimum period of time.

The duration of the course will determine the minimum period for which you must have held permission as a student.

Student permission must have been maintained throughout the duration of a course that lasts 12 months or less in the United Kingdom.

You must have been granted permission to study in the UK for a minimum of 12 months on the Student route if your course lasted more than 12 months.

Sponsorship for Graduate Visas

The Graduate Visa Route is an unsponsored route, which means that applicants are not required to have a job offer or a Certificate of Sponsorship (CoS) in order to be eligible.

Employment Opportunities and Job Searching on the Graduate Visa Route

Graduates on the Graduate Visa Route are permitted to seek employment and, upon securing employment, to work in a flexible manner.

They are not required to meet any minimum salary requirement and are capable of assuming positions that require any level of expertise.

The ability to change employment is also available to successful applicants.

Duration of residence in the United Kingdom under the Graduate Immigration Route

Applicants who have successfully completed a bachelor's or master's degree on the Graduate Visa Route are permitted to remain in the United Kingdom for a period of two years.

Doctoral scholars are permitted to remain in the United Kingdom for a period of three years.

Extensions of Stay for Graduates

Permission to remain on the Graduate Immigration Route cannot be extended.

ILR or Graduate Visa Settlement

Settlement or indefinite leave to remain are not explicitly facilitated by the Graduate Visa. Nevertheless, upon transitioning to the Graduate Immigration Route, you will have the option to extend your stay by transitioning to other work-based routes, including the Global Talent, Innovator Founder, and Skilled Worker routes, all of which have the potential to result in settlement. Applicants will, of course, be required to meet the route's requirements.

Dependants

You will be able to extend the stay of your family members in the UK who are already granted permission to remain in the country as your dependents when you petition to enter the Graduate Visa Route.

This route does not allow for the addition of new dependents, with the exception of a dependent child delivered in the United Kingdom during a period of Student or Graduate leave.

The Graduate Immigration Route and COVID-19

Concessions were previously implemented by the Home Office for international students who were unable to travel to the UK as a result of the coronavirus pandemic. The conclusion of these Covid concessions was on June 30, 2022.

Applicants were not impeded from fulfilling the requirement to spend the relevant period studying in the UK if distance learning was conducted outside the UK between 24 January 2020 and 6 April 2022 as a consequence of Covid-19.

• They commenced a 12-month course of study prior to June 21, 2021, and entered the United Kingdom with permission as a student on or before September 27, 2021; or
• They commenced a 12-month course of study between June 21, 2021, and April 6, 2022, and entered the United Kingdom as students with permission on or before April 6, 2022.

The applicant's ability to fulfil the requirement to spend the relevant period studying in the UK was not impeded by any period of distance learning between 24 January 2020 and 6 April 2022 as part of a course of study lasting more than 12 months while they held permission as a student.

Graduating students whose Tier 4 or student leave expired prior to July 1, 2021

International students who have completed their undergraduate studies at a UK higher education institution and whose Tier 4 (General) Student leave or Student leave expired prior to July 1, 2021, will not be eligible for a Graduate Visa. Nevertheless, if you are classified in this category, you may be eligible to transition to another immigration route, including the Global Talent, Innovator Founder, or Skilled Worker routes.