UK Graduate visa
The Graduate route creates a period of unsponsored work after eligible UK study. Its value depends on what is done with that time: employment, sponsorship, evidence, business or family strategy.
Review the onward position ↗
The consolidated Rules presently provide 2 years for most applications made before 1 January 2027, 18 months for most applications from that date and 3 years for doctoral graduates.
For eligible non-doctoral applications made before the changeover date.
For eligible non-doctoral applications made on or after the changeover date.
The published grant remains 3 years for a PhD or other doctoral qualification.
HC 259 is due to correct a dependant gap. It is not yet reflected in the consolidated Appendix Graduate reviewed on this page.
The route in substance
The applicant must be in the UK, hold the required Student status and apply after the education provider has notified successful completion but before Student permission expires. The application date also determines the length of a non-doctoral grant.
The route permits most employment, self-employment and voluntary work without sponsorship. That flexibility can build experience, evidence or a venture; it should not obscure the fixed expiry date.
Dependant eligibility is deliberately limited. Present status, a child’s birth, future travel and the family’s intended next route should be considered as one sequence.
Sponsor readiness, endorsement evidence, business development or a personal-route application can take time. The onward case should be tested while options remain open, not in the final weeks of Graduate permission.
The planning sequence
A coherent plan connects the application date, the work undertaken, the evidence created and the position of every family member to the route that is expected to follow.
Confirm completion notification, qualifying study, present status, application timing and the effect of the 1 January 2027 grant change.
Define the likely onward routes, missing eligibility and the evidence or commercial milestones that must be created.
Review sponsorship, achievements, business progress, family status and any change capable of narrowing the available route.
Test the new route on its own terms, coordinate dependant applications and protect travel, status and settlement objectives.
What may come next
These are common onward categories, not an exhaustive list. Eligibility and consequence require separate analysis.
For an eligible sponsored role. Employer readiness, occupation code, salary and timing must align before the Certificate of Sponsorship is assigned.
Examine the route ↗02 · AchievementFor eligible leaders and potential leaders in specified fields. The case turns on field fit, recognition, individual contribution and the endorsement evidence.
Examine the route ↗03 · VentureFor a founder able to establish the route’s business and endorsement requirements. The venture, founder and evidence must support the same proposition.
Examine the route ↗04 · Personal positionFor some graduates, the correct next step arises from family life, residence or another personal circumstance rather than work or business.
Examine the route ↗Current analysis
HC 259 is due to close a specific dependant gap on 3 August 2026. The amendment aligns the child’s status with the parent’s existing grant; it does not extend the family’s immigration horizon.
Read the full analysis ↗Graduate visa questions
An applicant must ordinarily be in the UK, hold or have last held Student permission, have successfully completed an eligible qualification with a qualifying higher education provider and meet the study-in-the-UK requirement. The provider must have notified the Home Office of successful completion before the application is made.
A non-doctoral applicant receives 2 years where the application is made before 1 January 2027 and 18 months where it is made on or after that date. A PhD or other doctoral graduate receives 3 years under the Rules currently published.
No. The Graduate route cannot ordinarily be extended and is not itself a route to settlement. A person wishing to remain must qualify under another route before the Graduate permission expires.
The dependant rules are restricted. A partner or child who already held qualifying Student dependant permission may usually continue, subject to the Rules. New overseas dependants cannot generally join through this route. A specific amendment for a child born in the UK during Graduate permission is due to take effect on 3 August 2026.
Potentially. The person must meet the Skilled Worker requirements, including sponsorship, an eligible role and the applicable salary rules. The timing should allow the sponsor licence, occupation-code, salary and Certificate of Sponsorship issues to be resolved before Graduate permission expires.
The Graduate route is not a direct route to settlement. Time may be relevant to a qualifying long-residence application where all requirements are met, but it does not count towards the standard 5-year settlement period under Skilled Worker, Global Talent or Innovator Founder.
Primary sources
Reviewed 29 July 2026. The Rules, commencement provisions and official guidance should be checked again against the intended application date.
Graduate route briefing
Receive material developments affecting post-study work, dependants and the transition into a longer-term UK route.
Set your briefing preferences →Follow changes into force →Onward route review
Quastels can review the graduate’s present permission, intended work or venture, family position and settlement objective before the onward strategy is fixed.
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