Next steps · 5 min read
How does the UK Graduate visa work?
How the UK Graduate visa works: two years now and 18 months from 2027, what it costs, what you can do on it, and how to switch to a Skilled Worker visa.
The short answer
The Graduate visa lets international students who have completed a UK degree stay and work, or look for work, at any skill level without a sponsor. It currently lasts two years, or three for PhD graduates. For applications made from 1 January 2027 it will be 18 months, following the 2025 immigration white paper. You apply from inside the UK before your Student visa expires, pay the application fee and the Immigration Health Surcharge for the full period, and can work for any employer, be self-employed, or switch to a Skilled Worker visa when you find a sponsored job that meets the salary rules.
Key takeaways
- Two years now (three for PhDs); 18 months for applications from 1 January 2027. Apply before your Student visa ends, from within the UK.
- Costs in 2026: an application fee of £880 and the Immigration Health Surcharge of £1,035 a year, paid up front for the whole visa.
- You can do almost any work, including self-employment, but not as a professional sportsperson, and time on it doesn't count towards settlement.
- The exit route is the Skilled Worker visa: a sponsored job at degree level, with new entrant salary discounts for recent graduates under 26.
On this pageWhat the visa gives you
What the visa gives you
| Feature | Position |
|---|---|
| Length | 2 years, or 3 for a PhD; 18 months for applications from 1 January 2027 |
| Who | Completed an eligible UK degree on a Student visa, applying from within the UK before it expires |
| Sponsor needed | No |
| Work | Any job at any level, self-employment, voluntary work; not professional sport |
| Study | Allowed, except courses that would qualify for a Student visa |
| Dependants | Only those already in the UK as your dependants on the Student route |
| Cost | £880 application plus £1,035 a year Immigration Health Surcharge |
| Counts to settlement | No |
| Extendable | No; switch to another route before it ends |
The 2027 change
The May 2025 immigration white paper announced that the Graduate route would shorten to 18 months, and the rules change applies to applications made on or after 1 January 2027. If your course finishes in 2026 and you apply before that date, you get the current length. Students finishing in summer 2027 will get 18 months. Universities are also being held to tighter compliance thresholds, so check that your institution still qualifies before you rely on the route.
Using the time well
- Month one: apply. You can't start the Graduate visa after the Student visa lapses.
- Months one to six: take any graduate-level work you can get. Employers can hire you with no paperwork, and UK experience makes sponsorship far more likely later.
- From month six: target employers with a sponsor licence, which is a public register, and roles paying at or above the new entrant threshold.
- Three months before expiry: have a sponsorship conversation with your employer or have an offer elsewhere. Switching takes weeks and must happen before the visa ends.
Switching to Skilled Worker
A Skilled Worker visa needs a job offer from a licensed sponsor, in an occupation at RQF level 6 or above, paying at least the general threshold or the occupation's going rate. Recent graduates benefit from the new entrant rules, which cut the threshold to £33,400 or 70% of the going rate for up to four years, provided you're switching from the Graduate route or are under 26. Your employer pays the Immigration Skills Charge; you pay the visa fee and health surcharge, though many employers reimburse these for graduates they want to keep.
Illustrative example: the register
An engineering master's graduate on a Graduate visa takes a junior design role at a 40-person consultancy that has never sponsored anyone. After a year, with eight months left, she downloads the public sponsor register, finds that none of her firm's competitors are on it either, and brings her manager the government guidance on applying for a licence and the new entrant salary rules. The firm applies, is licensed in ten weeks, and sponsors her two months before her visa ends.
Questions people ask
- Can I extend a Graduate visa?
- No. It can't be extended and you can only hold it once. Before it ends you need to switch to another route, usually Skilled Worker, or leave the UK. Start the job search early, because sponsored roles take longer to secure than unsponsored ones.
- Does the Graduate visa count towards indefinite leave to remain?
- No. Time on the Graduate visa doesn't count towards the qualifying period for settlement. The clock starts when you switch to a route that does, such as Skilled Worker. Under current proposals that qualifying period is set to lengthen for many routes, so check the latest rules.
- What salary do I need to switch to a Skilled Worker visa?
- The general threshold rose to £41,700 in July 2025, or the going rate for the occupation if higher, and the job must be at degree level (RQF 6). New entrants, which includes most recent graduates switching from the Graduate route and anyone under 26, get a discounted threshold of £33,400 or 70% of the going rate for up to four years.
- Can my employer hire me on a Graduate visa without sponsoring me?
- Yes. That's the point of the route: any UK employer can hire you with no sponsor licence and no extra cost for the visa's duration. Many employers don't know this, so say it plainly in applications: "I hold a Graduate visa valid until [date] and need no sponsorship until then."
Exercises are practice, not evidence of career fit or a qualification. How to read our guides and report a correction.
Sources
- Graduate visa · GOV.UK
- Skilled Worker visa · GOV.UK
How this page is written
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