Applicants who wish to extend their stay under the Graduate Immigration Route must have a degree at UK undergraduate or postgraduate level, or have studied a professional course at UK undergraduate or postgraduate level in a profession with reserved activities that is regulated by UK law or public authority.

You can also apply for a UK Graduate Visa if you have been sponsored to work as a Student Union Sabbatical Officer following the completion of an eligible qualification in your most recent grant of permission to study. 

In order to qualify for a UK UK Graduate Visa, you must have held student permission in the UK for a minimum period of time, whilst studying the relevant qualification. The duration of your permission as a Student will depend on the length of your course. 

In order to complete a course lasting 12 months or less, you will need to hold Student permission during the entire course in the UK. 

It is required that you have studied in the UK for at least 12 months on the Student route if your course lasted more than 12 months. 

UK Graduate Visa applicants are not required to have a job offer or a Certificate of Sponsorship (CoS) to apply. 

The UK Graduate Visa provides you with the flexibility to explore your career options, work, or seek employment while you are in the UK. Self-employment or starting your own business is also permitted. 

You can pursue any type of work in the UK with a UK Graduate Visa, including: 

• Employment, whether paid or unpaid;
• Volunteering;
• Being self-employed;
• conducting business or other professional activities.

There is no restriction on a UK Graduate Visa holder’s ability to work except for the prohibition of working as a professional athlete. 

The UK Graduate Visa restricts the participation of UK Graduate Visa holders in professional sport (including coaching). However, amateur sports are permissible. The Immigration Rules define an amateur as someone who engages in a sport or creative activity solely for their own enjoyment and who is not seeking to earn a living from it.

Working is entirely optional.

A UK Graduate Visa does not require you to work. Graduating students who have successfully completed an eligible UK qualification can apply for, and apply for, work in the UK through the Graduate Immigration route. Therefore, you do not need a job offer or a Certificate of Sponsorship to apply, and you are not required to work while in the UK on a UK Graduate Visa. 

No maximum or minimum number of hours are specified in the conditions of the UK Graduate Visa. In other words, the route allows for complete flexibility when it comes to working arrangements and even allows you to work for more than one company. 

Choose not to work?

The UK Graduate Visa does not include any conditions that require you to work or find employment. UK Graduate Visas are not a pathway to permanent residency in the UK, and they cannot be extended after the two- (or three-) year period. Therefore, you will be required to leave the UK at the end of this grant of leave, or apply to switch to another immigration route, if you qualify to do so, before the grant of leave expires. 

Want to study?

It is possible to study on this route, but it is not permitted to study with an education provider that is a Student Sponsor and that meets the approved qualification and level of study requirements. In order to enroll in one of these courses, you must obtain a student’s leave. You can only take leave once in the Graduate route, so there is no benefit to doing so in any case. For this reason, it is beneficial to first apply to study in the UK as a student, then switch to the UK Graduate Visa at a later date if further study is desired. 

Unless your chosen course qualifies for a Student Visa, you can study. 

Can my accompanying family work whilst in the UK?

If a family member is already a dependent of a Student, then they can switch from being a dependant to a Graduate dependant when the Student extends their stay on the UK Graduate Visa Route. A dependent child born in the UK during a period of Student or Graduate leave does not qualify for a UK Graduate Visa, except in the case of a dependent child who had not previously been the dependant of a Student.

People who are granted leave as dependents of a UK Graduate Visa holder may work in the UK, except as professional sportspeople (including sports coaches). 

Can my accompanying family study whilst in the UK?

Those who are granted leave as dependents of a UK Graduate Visa holder are permitted to study in the UK (so long as they are older than 18 when they begin their studies, and the ATAS condition of Appendix ATAS applies).

UK Graduate Visa applicants with a bachelor’s or master’s degree can stay in the UK for up to two years after obtaining their visa. Doctoral students may stay for three years in the UK.

The Graduate Immigration Route does not allow extensions of stay.

Settlement or indefinite leave to remain cannot be obtained directly from the UK Graduate Visa. On the other hand, once you are on the Graduate Immigration Route, you will be able to extend your stay by switching to other work-based pathways, such as the Skilled Worker route, the Global Talent route, or the Innovator route, all of which can lead to settlement. Applicants must meet the requirements of the route.

When you apply to enter the UK Graduate Visa Route, family members living in the UK already have permission to remain in the UK as your dependents may extend their stay.  

Dependent children are not permitted on this route, except if they were born in the UK during a period of student or graduate leave.

Our expert legal team are highly experienced in assisting with the below services (where the option has been made available by UKVI and is considered appropriate)

New Applications – We can help you assess the merits, challenges and solutions to any issues arising whilst making a new application for a UK Graduate Visa

Dependents – We can help you make a successful application for your partner or children to join you as your dependents on your UK Graduate Visa.

Legal Representations – Where applicable, if you find yourself in an unusual or challenging situation and want the Home Office to take notice of your special circumstances to ensure that you are treated fairly and your rights are respected, our expert team can make both oral and written persuasive legal representations.

Challenge a Refusal – If your application has been refused, we can consider your refusal for free and advise on the best course of action.

Administrative Review – Home Office or Immigration Rules can be challenged if the decision-maker failed to follow them correctly.

Judicial Review – If your application was denied illegally, unreasonable or procedurally improperly, our immigration lawyers can apply for Judicial Review and represent you at the Judicial Review hearing.

Appeal an Unfair Decision – The decision to refuse your application may provide you with a right of appeal to the First Tier Tribunal. Our expert lawyers can advise you on and handle Appeals before the Immigration & Asylum Chamber (First Tier & Upper Tribunal)