The Graduate visa: staying to work after your UK degree

The Graduate visa is the UK's post-study work route. It does not need a job offer or a sponsor: you apply from inside the UK once your university confirms you have completed the course, and you can work at any skill level, be self-employed, or look for work.

Who qualifies

• You are in the UK on a Student visa when you apply.
• You have successfully completed a UK bachelor's degree, master's degree or PhD (or certain other qualifications) with a licensed sponsor.
• Your university has reported your completion to the Home Office. Apply after that report, before your Student visa expires.

You must apply from inside the UK; you cannot apply from abroad.

How long it lasts

• Applications before 1 January 2027: two years after a bachelor's or master's, three years after a PhD.
• Applications from 1 January 2027: 18 months after a bachelor's or master's, as set out in the 2025 immigration white paper. PhD graduates keep three years.

If your course finishes in 2026, applying before the change keeps the two-year period.

What it costs

• Application fee: £880
• Immigration Health Surcharge: £1,035 per year (the general rate, not the student rate), paid upfront for the full length

What you can do

• Work in any job, at any skill level, for any employer, or run your own business
• Volunteer, study (except on a course that would qualify for a Student visa)
• Travel in and out of the UK

What you cannot do

• Extend it. The Graduate visa is a one-off.
• Claim most public funds.
• Count the time towards settlement (indefinite leave to remain). Time on a Skilled Worker visa does count.

Switching to a Skilled Worker visa

Most graduates who stay do so by switching from the Graduate visa to a Skilled Worker visa before it ends. The employer must hold a sponsor licence and the job must:

• be at RQF level 6 (graduate level) or above for most occupations, following the July 2025 changes;
• pay at least the general threshold (£41,700 a year in 2026) or the occupation's going rate, whichever is higher; graduates under 26 and recent UK graduates qualify for a reduced "new entrant" threshold.

Start conversations with employers at least six months before the Graduate visa expires: a sponsor licence application takes around eight weeks if the employer does not already hold one. AnyRoot's employer services exist for exactly this handover.

Timing checklist

1. Final results published and completion reported by the university.
2. Apply for the Graduate visa online while the Student visa is still valid.
3. Keep working on the Student visa conditions until the decision (usually within eight weeks).
4. Once granted, update your eVisa share code for your employer's right-to-work check.