Graduate visas  Eligibility and how to apply

You must be inside the UK on the date you apply for the Graduate visa. You cannot apply for a Graduate visa from outside the UK.

You must wait until after you have received an email notification from the University confirming that your successful course completion has been reported to the Home Office. If you apply before the University has reported your successful course completion to the Home Office, your application may be refused.

You cannot travel while your Graduate visa application is pending, so if you have travel plans after completing your course you should wait until you have returned to the UK before you start the application. You will be allowed to leave and re-enter the UK using your Student visa while it remains valid. However, if the University has withdrawn sponsorship from your Student visa because you have completed your course earlier than expected you will not be able to use your visa to travel back to the UK so you will need to wait until your Graduate visa has been granted before you travel.

You must submit the application before your Student visa expires. If you apply after your Student visa has expired your application will likely be refused.

1. Receive the email notification from the University confirming you can apply for the Graduate visa.
2. Collate all the documents you’ll need before you start your application:
   • Valid passport,
   • Your CAS number that you used to apply for your Student visa (the email notification from the University will also include this),
   • If you received financial sponsorship or a scholarship for your course fees and living costs from a Government or international scholarship agency, you will need a letter from that sponsor confirming they have given you their permission to stay in the UK and apply for the Graduate visa.
   • If your dependants are applying with you, you’ll need to provide evidence for the family relationship.
3. Complete the online Graduate visa application form.
4. Pay the visa application fee and Immigration Health Surcharge (IHS).
5. Submit your documents and biometric information.
   • If you have a Biometric Residence Permit (BRP) that expired less than 18 months ago, you will be able to apply using the ‘UK Immigration: ID Check’ app. If you apply using the app you will be able to fully complete the application from your own home and you will not need to attend an appointment.
   • If you cannot use the ID Check App to complete your application, you will be required to book an in-person appointment at a TLScontact UK Visa and Citizenship Application Services (UKVCAS) service point after submitting the online application form. The UKVCAS booking calendar shows 4 weeks of appointments with a new date added each day, 30 days in advance. Find more information about UKVCAS appointments.

Your dependants will need to apply separately.

The visa fee application fee is £880. The IHS is £1,035 per year.

• The total cost for a two-year Graduate visa for one person is £2,950.
• The total cost for a three-year Graduate visa for one person is £3,985.

You will also need to pay the visa application fee and IHS for any of your dependants.

These fees must be paid in full at the point of submitting the application. 

If you apply using the ID Check App you will also be given the option of purchasing the Priority Visa Service (£500) or Super Priority Visa Service (£1000) for a faster decision.

Your family members may be eligible to apply to extend their visas with you as long as they are inside the UK and already hold visas as the dependant partner or dependant child of a Student.

If you have dependant children in the UK, and wish for them to remain in the UK on the basis of your Graduate visa, in most cases both parents must be applying for permission to stay. If you give birth to a child whilst you are in the UK on a Student visa, they can apply for dependant status despite not being included on your Student visa. Find more information about Student visa dependants.

Visit the Home Office website for more information about applying for permission as the dependant of a Graduate.

The Home Office aim to process most Graduate visa applications within 8 weeks.

You will receive a faster decision if you apply using the Priority Visa Service or Super Priority Visa Service.

Find more information about visa processing times.

If you submit your Graduate visa application before your Student visa expires, you will be entitled to legally remain in the UK, on the same conditions as your Student visa, while the Home Office consider your application. This is called section 3C leave. Your section 3C leave will end if you leave the UK, so you should not leave the UK while you are waiting for your application to be processed.

You also must not travel outside the Common Travel Area (CTA) while you have a pending application, as if you do your application will be automatically withdrawn.

If your Graduate visa application is successful, you will be able to access and demonstrate your new immigration permission using an eVisa. If you already have a UKVI account it will be updated with the details of your new eVisa. If you do not have an UKVI account, you will told how to create one when your visa is granted.

Your Student visa or Tier 4 visa must still be valid on the date you apply for a Graduate visa.

You cannot apply for the Graduate visa if your Student visa has expired or if you have been granted a different type of visa.

This means that you may lose the opportunity to apply for the Graduate visa if you are not awarded your degree before your Student visa expires.

You must have received your final results and your degree award.

The University will be unable to confirm to the Home Office that you have successfully completed your course on the basis of provisional results, or results that are subject to a pending academic appeal.

Visit the pages below to find out when you will receive your final results and more information about the conditions for receiving your degree award:

• Taught students: Getting your results
• Postgraduate researchers (PGRs): Get your research degree award

You must have been awarded the qualification that your Student visa was issued for and for the course named on your CAS. The exceptions to this are:

• If you leave an Integrated Master's programme with a bachelor’s degree, this still counts as successful completion.
• If you were allowed you to change course without applying for a new Student visa, you only need to have completed the course you changed to.

If you are awarded a lower level qualification as a fallback award, you will normally not be eligible to apply for the Graduate visa.

You cannot apply for the Graduate visa on the basis of a different course that you completed before your current Student visa.

If you have an outstanding debt to the University, you must pay any outstanding fees before your degree will be awarded.

Not all qualifications are eligible for the Graduate visa. You usually must have been awarded one of the following qualifications:

• UK Bachelor’s degree 
• UK Masters degree 
• UK PhD or other doctorate-level qualification

Find a full list of eligible qualifications in the ‘Qualification requirement’ section of the Graduate visa immigration rules

After you have received your final results and been officially awarded your degree classification or after you have been awarded your research degree, the University will inform the Home Office that you have succesfully completed your course and are therefore eligible to apply for the Graduate visa route. We cannot confirm your successful completion based on provisional results.

Please note that your successful completion will only be reported to the Home Office if the following conditions are met:

• If you have completed an undergraduate or taught postgraduate degree, you must have received your final results and your degree award.
• If you have completed a research degree, you must have received your research degree award and been added to a pass list.
• Your qualification must match the course that your most recent CAS was issued for, unless you were permitted to change your programme without applying for a new visa or left an Integrated Masters programme with a bacherlor’s degree.
• You must have no unpaid tuition fees or other outstanding debts to the University, as these will prevent you from receiving the award.
• The Student visa that was issued for your course must not have expired.

The successful completion will be reported shortly after your award status is confirmed.

After your successful completion has been reported you will receive a confirmation email letting you know that you can start your Graduate visa application. You must not submit your application before you receive this email.

The email will also include the Confirmation of Acceptance for Studies (CAS) number that was issued for your course. You will need to include this CAS number in your visa application form.

You can only be granted a Graduate visa once, even if you study multiple eligible courses.

You must have studied your course in the UK with a valid Student or Tier 4 visa for a minimum period:

• If you are studying a course that is 12 months long or less you must have held a Student visa for the full duration of your course, during which all study took place in the UK.
• If you are studying a course that is longer than 12 months you must have held a Student visa for at least 12 months, during which all study took place in the UK.

If you are currently studying at the University on a different type of visa (such as a Skilled Worker or Dependant visa), then you must switch to a Student visa at least 12 months before the end of your course to meet this requirement.

Time spent outside the UK during period when you were not required to be in Leeds, such as term breaks or weekends, will not prevent you from meeting this requirement.

Any period of study abroad that was part of your course will also not prevent you from meeting this requirement.

If you have completed a UK course in the last 12 months for which you were financially sponsored by a Government or international scholarship agency (covering both fees and living costs), you must have that sponsor's written permission to apply for the Graduate visa. You will be required to submit a letter from your financial sponsor with your application.

This requirement also applies to your dependants if they have received a financial sponsorship or scholarship to study in the UK.

Financial sponsor’s consent is not required if the University of Leeds was your financial sponsor. You do not need our written permission to apply for the Graduate visa.

You will lose the opportunity to apply for the Graduate visa if you are not awarded your degree before your Student visa expires.

You cannot extend your Student visa to give you more time to wait for the outcome of an academic appeal.

If your award is delayed because you have a pending appeal, there is a risk that you will run out of time to apply for the Graduate visa.

If you are granted an extension, or need to resit an examination or part of your course resit modules, your Graduate visa application depends on whether you’ll be resitting your modules as an ‘internal’ or as an ‘external’ candidate. 

You will need to discuss with your academic school about whether you need to resit as an ‘internal’ or an ‘external’ candidate after the exam board has taken place and tell you what next steps you need to take. If you have any general questions about assessment, contact the Student Information Service.

Resitting as an internal student

If you are allowed to resit or repeat part of your course internally, then you will need to request a new CAS and use this to apply for a new Student visa. You will then be able to apply for the Graduate visa only if your degree can be awarded prior to your new visa expiry date. Award timings will vary so you should check with your school to confirm when your resit results will be released.

Resitting as an external student

If you are granted an extension, or need to resit an examination or part of your modules as an ‘external student’, you cannot extend your Student visa to cover the resit period. This means you will not receive your results before the expiry of your Student visa and you will not be able to apply for a Graduate visa.

If you are told that you must resit as an external candidate, you will not be allowed to change to an internal candidate for the purposes of extending your Student visa and applying for the Graduate visa.

If you are studying a full-time Masters course, you are expected to remain in Leeds over the summer period to complete your dissertation. You are not permitted to complete your dissertation remotely while holding a Student visa.

To be eligible for the Graduate visa route, you must meet the Study in the UK requirement. If you are studying a one-year Masters course you are expected to study in the UK for the full duration of your course, including the dissertation period.

If you decide to complete your dissertation from home, the University may withdraw sponsorship of your Student visa and you will not be eligible to apply for the Graduate visa.

Dissertation extensions

Students who are granted an extension to their dissertation deadline, and become registered as an external student, may not receive their results before the expiry of their Student visa. In that circumstance you would not be eligible to apply for a Graduate visa.

If you are issued a CAS to return to the UK and complete an MPhil, you will be eligible for the Graduate visa provided you complete the rest of your studies from within the UK.