Professional support for international students applying to stay and work in the UK after successfully completing an eligible UK course, including eligibility checks, CAS and completion review, dependant planning, switching strategy and next-step visa advice.
The Graduate visa, often called the UK Post Study Work visa, allows eligible international students to stay in the UK after successfully completing an eligible course with a licensed higher education provider. It is an unsponsored work route, which means you do not need a job offer, sponsor licence or Certificate of Sponsorship to apply.
The route is designed for students who are already in the UK with Student visa or Tier 4 (General) student permission and want time to work, look for work, gain UK experience, become self-employed or plan their next immigration route after study. The application must be made from inside the UK before your current Student visa expires.
At Immigration Visa Expert, we help applicants check whether the route is available, confirm the course and sponsor requirements, review documents, prepare the online application and plan the next step before the Graduate visa period ends.
These short answers help you understand the route quickly before deciding whether to request a document check or full application support.
You may be able to apply if you are in the UK, you currently have or last had permission as a Student or Tier 4 (General) student, and your education provider has reported to the Home Office that you successfully completed the course linked to your Student visa. You do not usually need to wait for the formal graduation ceremony or certificate if the provider has already reported successful completion.
The education provider must be a licensed Student sponsor with a track record of compliance. The course must be a UK bachelor’s degree, UK postgraduate degree, UK PhD or doctorate, or another eligible qualification such as certain legal practice, teaching or regulated professional qualifications.
The application can be refused or rejected if the wrong CAS reference is used, the course completion has not been properly reported, the applicant applies after visa expiry without a valid exception, or they previously held permission under the Graduate route or Doctorate Extension Scheme.
The most common qualifying courses are a UK bachelor’s degree, master’s degree, PhD or other doctoral qualification. The route can also cover certain professional qualifications, including approved law conversion and legal practice courses, bar courses, PGCE, PGDE and some qualifications that allow entry into a UK-regulated profession.
You must normally have studied in the UK for the required period. If your course lasted more than 12 months, you usually need at least 12 months of Student permission during which you studied in the UK. If your course lasted 12 months or less, you usually need to have studied in the UK for the full course length. Historic COVID-19 distance learning concessions may still be relevant in limited cases linked to the period 24 January 2020 to 30 June 2022.
If you changed course, undertook a Student Union Sabbatical Officer role, or your CAS details do not clearly match the qualification completed, it is important to review the position before applying.
You must apply before your Student visa or Tier 4 (General) student visa expires. You can apply once your education provider has told the Home Office that you have successfully completed your eligible course. You do not need to wait until your graduation ceremony or until the certificate is issued if the Home Office notification has been made.
Applicants should avoid waiting until the final days of their Student visa. Timing issues can arise if the provider has not yet reported completion, the CAS reference is missing, dependants need to apply, identity checks require an appointment, or supporting documents need translation or sponsor consent.
The Graduate visa is usually document-light compared with sponsored work routes, but errors can still cause delay, rejection or refusal. The main applicant will usually need a valid passport or other identity document, the CAS reference from the Student visa application, and evidence of current immigration status through an eVisa share code or a BRP where relevant.
Additional evidence may be needed if dependants are applying, documents are not in English or Welsh, the applicant was financially sponsored by a government or international scholarship agency covering both course fees and living costs in the last 12 months, or there are immigration history issues to explain.
A professional document check is particularly useful where the CAS details, course completion reporting, Student visa expiry date, dependant evidence or scholarship consent letter is unclear.
We can review your CAS, course completion position, immigration status, dependant evidence and timing before you apply.
The current Home Office application fee for a Graduate visa is £937. Applicants must also pay the Immigration Health Surcharge, which GOV.UK currently states is usually £1,035 for each year of permission. You are told the exact amount payable when you apply.
The Graduate route does not normally require a separate savings or maintenance fund requirement, but the application will not be valid unless the required fee and Immigration Health Surcharge are paid. Professional fees for advice, document checking or full application support are separate from Home Office fees and third-party costs.
| Item | Current position |
|---|---|
| Application fee | £937 per applicant |
| Immigration Health Surcharge | Usually £1,035 for each year of permission; GOV.UK confirms the total during the application |
| 18-month Graduate visa (applications from 1 January 2027) | GOV.UK currently lists IHS as £1,552.50; re-check the total when applying |
| 2-year Graduate visa | GOV.UK currently lists IHS as £2,070 |
| 3-year doctoral Graduate visa | GOV.UK currently lists IHS as £3,105 |
| Legal/professional support | Separate from Home Office fees, IHS, biometrics, translations and other third-party costs |
A Graduate visa gives a high level of flexibility. You can work in most jobs, look for work, be self-employed, travel abroad and return to the UK, and do voluntary work within the route conditions. This is why many international graduates use the route to gain UK experience while looking for a longer-term sponsored or talent-based route.
There are restrictions. You cannot access most public funds or work as a professional sportsperson. Study is only permitted if the course is not one that would qualify for a Student visa. If you study or research in sensitive technology-related fields, you may need an ATAS certificate.
Your partner and children may be able to apply as dependants on your Graduate visa, but the rules are narrower than many applicants expect. In most cases, they must already have been dependants on your Student visa or Tier 4 (General) student visa. A child born in the UK during your current Student or Tier 4 permission may also be able to apply. A child born in the UK during your Graduate permission may also qualify where you already hold that permission.
A dependant’s permission will normally end on the same date as the main Graduate visa holder. Each dependant must submit a separate application, pay the relevant fees, prove identity and provide relationship evidence where required. New family members who were not already Student dependants usually need to consider another route or wait until the main applicant switches into a different visa category.
You cannot extend a Graduate visa. Once it is granted, the main planning issue is what you will do before it expires. Many graduates use the route to look for sponsored employment, build experience, assess Skilled Worker eligibility, consider Global Talent or other work routes, or move into a family or study route where appropriate.
If you want to remain in the UK long term, the best time to plan is well before the Graduate visa expires. Skilled Worker applications require an eligible sponsor, correct occupation code and salary. Other routes, such as Global Talent, Innovator Founder, Family Visa or further Student permission, have separate requirements and should be assessed before your deadline becomes urgent.
We can review your switching options, employer sponsor position, salary, family circumstances and long-term settlement strategy before time becomes tight.
The Graduate route is not a direct route to settlement and does not by itself lead to Indefinite Leave to Remain. If your goal is ILR, you should plan how and when to move into a route that can lead to settlement, such as Skilled Worker, certain family routes, Global Talent or another qualifying route depending on your circumstances.
Graduate permission may still be relevant to your wider UK immigration history, especially where long residence, lawful residence timelines, dependants and future switching are involved. However, settlement rules are technical and can change, so applicants should not assume that simply holding a Graduate visa is enough for ILR.
A Graduate visa application can look simple, but timing, course completion reporting, CAS details, dependant rules and future switching strategy can create avoidable problems. We help you submit the correct application and plan the next stage before your permission runs out.
We can provide a focused document check or full Graduate visa application support, with additional advice on switching and long-term UK immigration planning.
We provide practical support for students and dependants who want to apply for Graduate permission without mistakes in timing, course completion, identity evidence or dependant applications. Our support can be limited to a document check or expanded into full application guidance.
We also help graduates think beyond the first application. Because the Graduate visa cannot be extended and is not a direct ILR route, early planning for Skilled Worker sponsorship, Global Talent, family routes, further study or settlement strategy can make a significant difference.
The UK Graduate visa is a post-study work route for eligible international students who have successfully completed an eligible UK course while holding Student or Tier 4 permission. It allows the applicant to stay in the UK after study to work, look for work or be self-employed, subject to the route conditions.
People often call it the Post Study Work visa, but the current route is formally known as the Graduate visa or Graduate route. It is an unsponsored route and does not require a job offer or Certificate of Sponsorship.
You can usually apply if you are in the UK, have current or recent Student or Tier 4 permission, successfully completed an eligible course, and your education provider has reported completion to the Home Office. You must apply before your current permission expires unless a limited exception applies.
No. You do not need to wait for the graduation ceremony or certificate if your education provider has already told the Home Office that you successfully completed the course linked to your Student visa.
For non-doctoral graduates, the visa is usually granted for 2 years if you apply on or before 31 December 2026, and 18 months if you apply on or after 1 January 2027. PhD or other doctoral graduates are granted 3 years.
No. You must be in the UK when you apply for a Graduate visa. You must also avoid travel outside the UK, Ireland, the Channel Islands or the Isle of Man after applying and before the decision, because the application may be treated as withdrawn.
Common documents include a valid passport or identity document, CAS reference number, proof of current immigration status through an eVisa share code or BRP where relevant, dependant relationship evidence if family members apply, certified translations and scholarship consent where required.
The current application fee is £937. Applicants also pay the Immigration Health Surcharge, which GOV.UK currently states is usually £1,035 for each year of permission. The exact amount payable is confirmed during the online application.
The Graduate route does not normally require a separate savings or maintenance funds test for the main applicant. However, the application fee and Immigration Health Surcharge must be paid, and scholarship consent may be needed if a government or international scholarship agency funded both course fees and living costs in the last 12 months.
Yes. Graduate visa holders can work in most jobs, look for work, change jobs and be self-employed. You cannot work as a professional sportsperson and you cannot access most public funds.
You can only study if the course is not eligible for Student visa sponsorship. If the course is eligible for the Student route, you may need to apply for Student permission instead. Some sensitive study or research may require an ATAS certificate.
Your partner and children may be able to apply as dependants if they already held dependant permission on your Student or Tier 4 visa. A child can also qualify where they were born in the UK during your current Student or Tier 4 permission or, where you already hold Graduate permission, during your Graduate permission. New partners and other new dependants generally cannot be added directly under the Graduate route.
No. The Graduate visa cannot be extended. You should plan your next route before it expires, such as Skilled Worker, Global Talent, Family Visa, Student or another suitable route.
No. The Graduate route is not a direct route to settlement. If you want to qualify for Indefinite Leave to Remain, you will normally need to switch into another settlement-facing route or take advice on whether any wider lawful residence strategy is relevant.
You may be able to switch to Skilled Worker if you have an eligible job offer from a licensed sponsor, the job is at the required skill level and the salary meets the relevant threshold and going rate. This should be checked before your Graduate visa expires.
Problems often arise where the course completion has not been reported, the CAS reference is missing, the applicant applies too late, dependants do not qualify, scholarship consent is missing, or the applicant travels before the decision.
Yes. We can provide a focused Graduate visa document check if you have prepared your own application. We can also provide full application support and advice on switching or long-term UK immigration planning.
These related guides can help Graduate visa applicants plan their next step in the UK.
Check Student visa options if you need further study or a new sponsored course.
Plan your next step if you receive a sponsored job offer after graduation.
Employers may need a sponsor licence before hiring graduates into Skilled Worker roles.
Explore Global Talent if your profile fits an eligible leadership or promise route.
Compare HPI only before choosing Graduate permission and if you meet its separate eligibility rules. Any previous Graduate visa grant makes you ineligible for HPI.
Plan long-term UK residence and settlement strategy beyond the Graduate route.
If you have completed, or are about to complete, an eligible UK course, our team can review your Graduate visa eligibility, CAS details, documents, dependants and next-stage UK immigration plan before you submit.
