Graduate Visa

A Graduate visa gives you permission to stay in the UK for at least 2 years after successfully completing a course in the UK.

You must be in the UK when you apply.

Eligibility

You can apply for a Graduate visa if all of the following are true:

If you’re not eligible for a Graduate visa, you may be eligible for another type of visa to stay in the UK.

​A Graduate visa lasts for 2 years. If you have a PHD or other doctoral qualification, it will last for 3 years.

Your visa will start from the day your application is approved. You cannot extend your Graduate visa. However, you may be able to switch to a different visa, for example a Skilled Worker visa.

What you can and cannot do

With a Graduate visa you can:
You cannot:

If your application is successful, you’ll get a full list of what you can and cannot do with a Graduate visa.

You can only study with a Graduate visa if your chosen course is not eligible for a Student visa. If your course is eligible for a Student visa, you can extend your Student visa instead.

You may need an Academic Technology Approval Scheme (ATAS) certificate if you’re studying or researching sensitive topics.

The education provider for your course must be a licensed sponsor with a ‘track record of compliance’.

Check if your education provider has a track record of compliance – it will have ‘Student Sponsor – Track Record’ in the ‘Status’ column.

You usually must have one of the following to apply:

You can also apply if you completed any of the following:

When you apply you’ll need to provide: