Requirements for UK Graduate Visa

Table Of Contents:

1. What is a UK Graduate Visa
2. What are the Requirements for a UK Graduate Visa
3. Present in the UK and Current Visa Requirement
4. Course Completion Requirement
5. Bachelor’s Degree, Postgraduate Degree, or Other Professional Course Qualification
6. Studying in the UK Requirement
7. Conclusion

International students contribute a huge sum to the UK’s colleges and universities through living expenditure and tuition fees. Those who further take up jobs in the UK also play a crucial role in the growth of the country’s economy. The UK recognizes the importance of international students as they are important to the country, to its colleges and universities, and economy. International students allow the UK to export its world-class higher-education sector and make up an important pillar of growth in the UK.

International students can apply for a UK student visa to study in the UK. But there is another visa known as the UK graduate visa that allows these students who have completed an eligible course on a UK student visa or Tier 4 (General) student visa to stay further in the UK for 2 or 3 years. During this period, they can plan their career in the UK and work, or look for work.

What is a UK Graduate Visa?

The UK Graduate visa route was launched in July 2021 as an unsponsored route. An unsponsored route means you don’t need a job sponsorship to work in the UK during your stay in the UK on a graduate visa. This visa allows international students to stay in the UK for two years (or three years for PhD students) after completing their course. Students on the Graduate Visa can work or look for work, following the successful completion of an eligible course.

Graduate visa holders can work in any job role or spend time in the UK looking for work. They can earn an income and gain work experience in many jobs across a wide range of UK businesses.

The UK Graduate visa does not allow you to apply for its extension. However, you may be able to switch to a different visa, such as a UK Skilled Worker Visa.

Please note that in the White Paper released on 12 May 2025, the government has stated that they will reduce the ability for Graduates to remain in the UK after their studies to a period of 18 months. However, the government has yet to release details and timelines.

What are the Requirements for a UK Graduate Visa?

The Graduate visa route does not require you to prove a job offer, as it is an unsponsored route. You are also not required to meet any financial or maintenance requirements or demonstrate knowledge of the English language, as you have already, under the student visa route, satisfied these requirements.

However, you will still need to meet various other requirements. Meeting these requirements is necessary in order to apply for permission to stay in the UK under the Graduate route. The graduate visa route falls under the points-based system of the UK’s Immigration Rules; therefore, you must earn a minimum of 70 points to apply. You will be awarded these points for completing successfully an eligible course in the UK, earning an eligible qualification, and studying in the UK.

Here are the requirements for a UK graduate visa.

1. Present in the UK and Current Visa Requirement

At the time of application for a UK graduate visa, you must be physically present in the UK. You cannot leave the UK and apply for it from outside the UK.

You must be in the UK currently on a UK Student Visa or Tier 4 (General) Student Visa. This means you have studied your course in the UK on a student visa or Tier 4 (General) student visa.

2. Course Completion Requirement

You must meet the successful completion of an eligible course requirement for a Graduate Visa. This also means that you must have, on the date of application, last been sponsored by an approved UK higher education provider (a university or college) with a track record of complying with their sponsor duties.

You must have successfully completed the course you had undertaken during your last grant of permission to study on the Student visa or Tier 4 (General) student visa, and, by the date of application, your sponsor must have told the Home Office that you have successfully completed your course.

This means that you will potentially qualify for a Graduate Visa if you have successfully completed the course specified on the Confirmation of Acceptance for Studies (CAS) you took with your current student visa or Tier 4 (General) student visa.

If you changed your course with the permission of your education provider without applying for a new Student visa or Tier 4 (General) student visa, you must have only completed the course you changed to.

3. Bachelor’s Degree, Postgraduate Degree, or Other Professional Course Qualification
Requirement

Your course provider must have, or is due to, award you a UK bachelor’s degree, master’s degree, or postgraduate or doctorate, or one of a number of professional qualifications at degree level or above. These qualifications include the following:

• A law conversion course approved by the Solicitors Regulation Authority.
• The Bar Practice Course in England and Wales, or the Bar Course in Northern Ireland.
• The Legal Practice Course in England and Wales, the Solicitors Course in Northern Ireland, or a Diploma in Professional Legal Practice in Scotland.
• A Postgraduate Diploma in Education (PGDE).
• A Postgraduate Certificate in Education (PGCE).

You may also be able to apply for a graduate visa if you passed a course that made you eligible for a job regulated by UK law or a UK public authority. You can ask your education provider if your course is eligible.

If you are on a Student visa or Tier 4 (General) Student Visa because you are a Student Union Sabbatical Officer.

You can also apply for a UK Graduate visa if you are in the UK currently on a UK Student visa or UK Tier 4 (General) student visa because you’re a Student Union Sabbatical Officer.

To be eligible as a Student Union Sabbatical Officer, you need to have successfully completed one of the courses mentioned above in the UK just before you started your current visa.

4. Studying in the UK Requirement

You must have had permission to study the relevant qualification in the UK for a minimum period of time as a Student visa or Tier 4 (General) student visa holder.

You must have studied an eligible course in the UK for:

• The full length of your course, if its total length is less than 12 months; or
• At least 12 months, if the total length of your course is more than 12 months.

You must also be in the UK when you apply for a Graduate visa.

Conclusion

UK graduate visa allows international students to stay further in the UK for at least 2 years (or three years for PhD students) to work, or look for work in the UK after you have finished your course on a student visa or Tier 4 (General) student visa. You can work in the UK for an employer without having a sponsorship. The visa allows you to explore career options, earn income, and gain work experience that can help you in the growth of your future career.

Under current rules, your (primary applicant) partner and dependent children may be able to apply to stay on in the UK. However, for this, they must already be in the UK as your dependant on the Student route and meet the eligibility requirements.

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