The Graduate Route visa lets international students who complete an eligible UK degree stay on and work without a sponsor, and from 1 January 2027 most new grants will last 18 months instead of two years. Officially called the Graduate route in the Immigration Rules and the Graduate visa on GOV.UK, it is the UK’s post-study work visa for graduates of UK universities.
This guide sets out the rules as they stand in November 2026, drawing on the Immigration Rules, Home Office guidance and the latest official statistics. It covers eligibility, length of stay, costs, family members, the 2027 change and what the numbers show.
What the Graduate Route visa is
The route opened in July 2021, according to a Home Office analysis of migrants’ use of the Graduate route. GOV.UK says holders can work in most jobs, look for work and be self-employed, and the points test in Appendix Graduate turns entirely on successful course completion rather than on a job offer.
Appendix Graduate of the Immigration Rules states plainly that “The Graduate route is not a route to settlement.” Time spent on a Graduate Route visa does not by itself lead to indefinite leave to remain. Holders who want to stay longer must qualify for another route, such as the Skilled Worker route, before their permission ends.
The rules also say an applicant must not previously have been granted permission as a Graduate or under the Doctorate Extension Scheme. In practice, each person gets one Graduate Route visa, and GOV.UK confirms that the visa cannot be extended.
Who is eligible for a Graduate Route visa
The applicant must be in the UK, must have, or have last had, permission as a Student, and must have successfully completed the course studied under that last grant. The Student sponsor must be a higher education provider “with a track record of compliance”, and it must have notified the Home Office of successful completion by the date of application.
Eligible qualifications are a UK bachelor’s degree, a UK postgraduate degree, or one of a list of professional courses. The list includes a law conversion course validated by the Solicitors Regulation Authority, the Legal Practice Course, Bar courses, and a Postgraduate Certificate or Diploma in Education.
There is also a study in the UK requirement. Under paragraph GR 6.1, a student on a course of 12 months or less must have held Student permission for the full duration of the course, with all study in the UK. For longer courses the minimum is 12 months.
Students whose course fees and living costs were paid by a government or international scholarship agency in the previous 12 months need written consent from that sponsor. The GOV.UK course eligibility page adds that students do not need to wait for graduation or a certificate, only for the provider’s report.
How to apply for a Graduate Route visa
Applications are made online on GOV.UK using the specified form, “Graduate”. Under paragraph GR 1.2 the fee and Immigration Health Charge must be paid, biometrics provided when required, and a passport or other document establishing identity and nationality supplied. The applicant must be in the UK on the date of application.
Timing matters. GOV.UK says the application must be made before the Student visa expires, and that a Graduate Route visa application can be made once the university has reported successful completion. An application that fails the validity requirements “may be rejected as invalid and not considered”, according to paragraph GR 1.6.
GOV.UK says a decision usually takes about 8 weeks after the online application and identity checks, and applicants can stay in the UK while they wait. Permission starts on the day the application is approved. Family members applying at the same time must not travel outside the UK, Ireland, the Channel Islands or the Isle of Man until they receive a decision, or their applications will be withdrawn.
How long the Graduate Route visa lasts: the 2027 change
The length of a Graduate Route visa depends on the qualification and the date of application, and it runs from the date of the decision, not the date of graduation.
| Qualification | Application made before 1 January 2027 | Application made on or after 1 January 2027 |
|---|---|---|
| PhD or other doctoral qualification | 3 years | 3 years |
| Bachelor’s, master’s or other eligible qualification | 2 years | 18 months |
The change was announced in the May 2025 immigration white paper. In her oral statement of 12 May 2025, Home Secretary Yvette Cooper told the Commons that “too many people on the Graduate Visa are not doing graduate jobs”, and said those who wished to stay longer would need a graduate-level job on a Skilled Worker visa.
It was then written into the rules by Statement of Changes HC 1333, published on 14 October 2025. Its explanatory memorandum says the shorter period applies to applications submitted on or after 1 January 2027, with PhD graduates continuing to receive three years.
The memorandum gives the government’s reasoning: “too many graduates” were not moving into the graduate-level roles the route was created to give access to. It provisionally estimates a long-term reduction of about 12,000 Student visa applications a year as a result of the shorter post-study work visa.
What you can do on a Graduate Route visa
Under paragraph GR 8.2, permission carries no access to public funds. Work is permitted, including self-employment and voluntary work, apart from work as a professional sportsperson. The conditions on a Graduate Route visa set no salary level or job type beyond that exclusion.
Study is allowed, except at a Student sponsor on a course that would qualify for the Student route, and it is subject to the Academic Technology Approval Scheme condition for sensitive subjects. GOV.UK adds that holders can travel abroad and return, but cannot claim most benefits or the State Pension.
A refused applicant can apply for administrative review under Appendix AR.
Because a Graduate Route visa cannot be extended, holders who want to remain must switch. GOV.UK names the Skilled Worker visa as one option for those who qualify. The May 2024 Home Office analysis found that, of 25,469 Graduate visas that had expired by the end of 2023, 63% of holders had moved to another immigration route.
Fees and the Immigration Health Surcharge
As of November 2026, GOV.UK lists an application fee of £937 for the Graduate visa. Applicants also pay the Immigration Health Surcharge, which the page says “is usually £1,035 for each year you’ll be in the UK”.
GOV.UK points health workers to the Health and Care Worker visa, which does not carry the annual surcharge, and says a refund may be possible for holders who later take a public sector healthcare job.
Partners and children on the Graduate visa
Dependants cannot be brought in fresh from overseas. GOV.UK’s partner and children page says a partner “needs to have been a dependant on your Student visa or Tier 4 (General) student visa to apply”, and must be in the UK. Children must normally have been dependants on the Student permission too.
The exception covers children born in the UK while a parent held Student, Tier 4 or Graduate permission, who GOV.UK says do not need to have been dependants. Statement of Changes HC 259, published on 9 July 2026, amended Appendix Graduate so that a child born in the UK during a parent’s Graduate permission can apply as a dependant and be granted permission in line with the parent. The memorandum says this closes a gap without “expanding dependant eligibility from overseas or creating a route to settlement”.
Each family member applies separately and pays the visa fee, and paragraph GR 9.2 requires the Immigration Health Charge to be paid for dependants too. The statistics below show how sharply dependant grants have fallen.
What the Graduate Route visa numbers show
The Home Office’s immigration statistics for the year ending June 2026, published on 27 August 2026, record 157,356 Graduate route extension grants, down 39% on the previous year. Dependant grants fell by 81%. Indian nationals received the most grants (64,495), followed by Pakistani (22,383) and Nigerian (20,604) nationals.
The same release recorded 383,455 sponsored study visa grants, 11% fewer than a year earlier. For context on the student pipeline, see our report on UK study visa applications falling 19% in the year to September 2026.
Earlier analysis gives a sense of outcomes. The May 2024 Home Office study found that 213,250 main applicants and 45,836 dependants were granted permission on the post-study work visa from launch to the end of 2023, with India accounting for 42% of main applicant grants. The Migrant journey 2025 report found that, of students arriving in 2022, 19% were on the Skilled Worker route and 17% on the Graduate route three years later.
What the Graduate Route visa change means for universities
For admissions and international offices, the main date is 1 January 2027. A student who completes a master’s degree and whose provider reports completion in late 2026 can still receive two years if the application is made before that date. Applications made on or after it receive 18 months, whatever the course start date. Course pages and offer materials that describe the post-study work visa as two years will be out of date for anyone applying from 1 January 2027.
Compliance teams carry part of the load. The sponsor must report successful completion before the student can apply, and only a higher education provider with a track record of compliance can sponsor students who later qualify. Paragraph GR 4.1 tests that status on the date of application, so a sponsor’s standing affects its graduates, not only its current recruitment.
The government’s technical annex to the white paper treats its estimates as “illustrative”, and records a separate commitment to explore a levy on provider income from international students. As of November 2026 the 18-month rule is in the Immigration Rules and applies to applications from 1 January 2027. Universities with large overseas intakes, including those building transnational education as an alternative, will be watching how applicants respond.
