Graduate visa
The course you studied
To be eligible for a Graduate visa, you need to have successfully completed the course you took with your current Student visa or Tier 4 (General) student visa.
Whether you can apply will also depend on:
- the education provider for your course, for example your university or college
- the kind of course you took
- how long you studied in the UK for
If your education provider allowed you to change course without applying for a new Student visa or Tier 4 (General) student visa, you only need to have completed the course you changed to.
Your education provider
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.
Your course
You usually must have one of the following to apply:
- a UK bachelor’s degree
- a UK master’s degree
- a UK PhD or doctorate
You can also apply if you completed any of the following:
- 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 foundation programme in medicine or dentistry
- 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 that’s regulated by UK law or a UK public authority. Your education provider can tell you if your course is eligible.
If you’re on a Student visa because you’re a Student Union Sabbatical Officer
You can apply for a Graduate visa if you’re on your current Student visa or Tier 4 (General) student visa because you’re a Student Union Sabbatical Officer.
To be eligible, you need to have successfully completed one of these courses in the UK just before you started your current visa.
How long you studied in the UK for
You need to have studied in the UK for either:
- at least 12 months, if your course’s total length is more than 12 months
- the total length of your course, if its total length is shorter than 12 months
You must also be in the UK when you apply for a Graduate visa.
What counts as time spent studying in the UK
Studying your course in the UK means that you were in the UK when your education provider needed you to be there - for example, to go to lectures or meet with a tutor.
Example
If you were taking a 1 year master’s degree, but left the UK during term breaks or on weekends, that would still count as studying in the UK for 1 year.
If you could not study in the UK because of coronavirus (COVID-19)
The rules on how long you need to have studied your course in the UK may not apply if you needed to study outside the UK because of COVID-19.
Your Student visa or Tier 4 visa was for more than 12 months
You can count any time spent studying outside the UK between 24 January 2020 and 30 June 2022 as time spent studying in the UK.
Your Student visa or Tier 4 visa was for 12 months or less
You can apply if either of the following are true:
- you started your course before 21 June 2021 and you entered the UK on a Student visa on or before 27 September 2021
- you started your course between 21 June 2021 and 30 June 2022 and you entered the UK on a Student visa on or before 30 June 2022