Graduate visa: who can apply, what it costs and how long it lasts

The Graduate visa lets you stay in the UK after you finish an eligible UK course. GOV.UK says you must apply from inside the UK while you hold a Student visa. It lists no job offer or sponsor. The visa lasts 2 years if you apply on or before 31 December 2026, and 3 years with a doctorate.

Who is this visa for?

It is for people who have finished an eligible course in the UK and hold a Student visa.

Can I apply?

You can apply if all of these are true:

• you are in the UK
• your current visa is a Student visa or Tier 4 (General) student visa
• you studied a UK bachelor’s degree, postgraduate degree or another eligible course for a minimum amount of time on that visa
• your education provider has told the Home Office that you finished your course

You must apply before your Student visa or Tier 4 (General) student visa expires. You can apply once your education provider has told the Home Office that you finished the course. You do not have to wait until you have graduated or have a certificate.

Your education provider

Your provider must be a licensed sponsor with a “track record of compliance”. On the register of licensed sponsors for students, these providers show “Student Sponsor - Track Record” in the Status column.

Courses that count

You usually need one of these:

• a UK bachelor’s degree
• a UK master’s degree
• a UK PhD or doctorate

You can also apply if you finished any of these:

• a law conversion course approved by the Solicitors Regulation Authority
• the Legal Practice Course in England and Wales, the Solicitors Course in Northern Ireland, or a Diploma in Professional Legal Practice in Scotland
• the Bar Practice Course in England and Wales, or the Bar Course in Northern Ireland
• a Postgraduate Certificate in Education (PGCE)
• a Postgraduate Diploma in Education (PGDE)

You may also be able to apply if passing your course made you eligible for a job regulated by UK law or a UK public authority. GOV.UK says your education provider can tell you whether your course is eligible.

If your provider let you change course without a new Student visa, you only need to have finished the course you changed to.

Student Union Sabbatical Officers can apply if they finished one of these courses in the UK just before they started their current visa.

How long you must have studied in the UK

You need to have studied in the UK for either:

• at least 12 months, if your course is longer than 12 months in total
• the whole length of your course, if it is shorter than 12 months

Studying in the UK means you were in the UK when your education provider needed you to be there, for example to go to lectures or meet a tutor.

GOV.UK gives separate rules for people who studied outside the UK because of coronavirus (COVID-19). If you had a Student visa of more than 12 months, time you studied outside the UK between 24 January 2020 and 30 June 2022 counts as time in the UK.

What do I need?

GOV.UK’s Graduate visa pages do not set a job, a sponsor or a salary. They do not set an English language requirement either.

How much does it cost?

Cost	Amount
Application fee	£937
Healthcare surcharge, usual rate	£1,035 for each year
Healthcare surcharge for an 18-month visa	£1,552.50
Healthcare surcharge for a 2-year visa	£2,070
Healthcare surcharge for a 3-year visa	£3,105

Each family member makes a separate application and pays the visa fee.

GOV.UK says you may be able to get a refund of the healthcare surcharge if you get a job in public sector healthcare after paying it.

GOV.UK also says the Health and Care Worker visa is cheaper to apply for and has no annual immigration health surcharge. It says doctors, nurses and people who work in health or adult social care can check that visa.

How long can I stay?

Your situation	Length of Graduate visa
You apply on or before 31 December 2026	2 years
You apply on or after 1 January 2027	18 months
You have a PhD or other doctoral qualification	3 years

The visa starts from the day your application is approved.

You can stay in the UK while you wait for a decision. GOV.UK says it usually comes within 8 weeks. You must not travel outside the UK, Ireland, the Channel Islands or the Isle of Man until you get a decision. If you do, your application will be withdrawn.

With a Graduate visa you can:

• work in most jobs
• look for work
• be self-employed
• do unpaid voluntary work for a registered charity, voluntary organisation, associated fundraising body or statutory body
• travel abroad and return

You cannot:

• apply for most benefits (public funds) or the State Pension
• work as a professional sportsperson

Can I bring my family?

A dependant is:

• your husband, wife, civil partner or unmarried partner
• your child under 18
• your child over 18, if they currently have permission to be in the UK as your dependant

Your partner and children can apply to stay as dependants on your Graduate visa only if they joined you as dependants on your current Student visa or Tier 4 (General) student visa.

Your child can also apply if they were born in the UK during your current Student visa, Tier 4 (General) student visa or Graduate visa.

A dependant’s visa ends on the same date as yours.

To count as your partner, you must be able to prove one of these:

• you are in a marriage or civil partnership that the UK recognises
• you have lived together in a relationship for at least 2 years when you apply
• you have been in a relationship for at least 2 years when you apply but cannot live together, for example because you work or study in different places, or your culture does not accept it

Your child must live with you, unless they live away from home in full-time education. Your child must not be married or in a civil partnership.

GOV.UK says new dependants may be able to join you from outside the UK if you switch to a different visa, for example a Skilled Worker visa.

Can I extend or switch?

You cannot extend a Graduate visa.

GOV.UK says you may be able to switch to a different visa, for example a Skilled Worker visa. GOV.UK has a service to check whether you can apply for another type of visa to stay in the UK.