Graduate visas Further information about Graduate visas
Read more information about Graduate visas and what you can and cannot do on a Graduate visa.
Length of stay
The Graduate visa is a post-study work visa that allows you to stay in the UK to work or look for work, for two years after completing your degree. Students awarded a PhD will be granted three years of permission to stay under the Graduate route.
Visa start date
Your two or three years of permission to stay in the UK under the Graduate route will start on the date that your application is granted. This means that it can overlap with the time remaining on your Student visa.
Extensions
The Graduate visa cannot be extended and does not count towards the qualifying timescales for settlement in the UK. During the period of your Graduate visa, you can switch into the Skilled Worker route which can be extended and does count towards settlement in the UK. Only employers with a Skilled Worker sponsor license can sponsor staff for a Skilled Worker visa.
Work restrictions
With a Graduate visa you can work in most jobs and you can be self-employed, but you cannot work as a professional sportsperson. No visa sponsorship is required by the employer. You do not need a job offer in place to apply for a Graduate visa.
When you can start work
The work conditions attached to your Student visa will continue to apply while your Graduate route visa application is pending.
There are some types of work that you cannot do with a Student visa, including:
- becoming self-employed or engaging in business activity
- working as an entertainer
- working in a position which would fill a permanent full-time vacancy.
If you applied for your most recent Student visa before 6 April 2022, then you must wait until your Graduate visa application has been granted before you can take up a full-time permanent position.
If you applied for your Student visa on or after 6 April 2022, then you can fill a permanent full-time vacancy while your Graduate visa application is pending.
You cannot be self-employed, engage in business activity, or work as an entertainer until your Graduate route visa application has been decided.
Travelling on a Graduate visa
If you submit your Graduate visa application before your Student visa expires, you will be entitled to remain in the UK, on the same conditions as your Student visa, while UKVI consider your application. This is called section 3C leave. Your section 3C leave will end if you leave the UK, so you must 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.
Once your Graduate visa has been granted, you can use it to travel in and out of the UK as much as you like until it expires. There is no requirement to stay in the UK once you have received your Graduate visa.
However, please note that you can only apply for the Graduate visa once. The Graduate visa cannot be extended and you cannot get it again. If you choose to spend most of the visa outside the UK, you cannot get the time you spent outside the UK back.
Restrictions on further study
Study is restricted on Graduate visas. You can only study with a Graduate visa if your chosen course is not eligible for a Student visa.
A course is eligible for a Student visa if it is taught by an institution with a Student sponsor license and the course meets the Student visa requirements.
If you are unsure whether you can study a specific course with a Graduate visa, check with the course provider whether they offer Student visa sponsorship for it. If they do, you cannot study the course.
If you have a Graduate visa and want to study a course that is eligible for a Student visa, you must switch to a new Student visa before you can commence the new course. You will not be able to switch back to the Graduate visa even if you successfully complete the new course. This means you will lose the time you had remaining on your Graduate visa.
Therefore, if you are intending to do further study in the UK after completing your degree, you should check to see if you can extend your Student visa instead of applying for a Graduate visa.
Graduate route dependants do not have any restriction on what they can study.
Receiving your visa
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.
Learn more about Graduate visas
Learn more about Graduate visas and working in the UK after your studies with this presentation by the Student Visa Advice team.