Introduction to the Graduate route

The Graduate route is a visa for international students in the UK who want to work or look for work following the successful completion of their degree at Undergraduate level or above at a Higher Education Provider with a track record of compliance. The University of Westminster is a Higher Education Provider with a track record of compliance

The Graduate route is an unsponsored route which means that the University is not required to sponsor you for your visa. There is also no requirement to have a job lined up at the time of applying. 

Applicants will be granted a visa for 2 years (Undergraduate and Masters students) or 3 years (PhD students).

There is no maintenance requirement which means that you are not required to have a set amount of money in your bank account like you did for your Student visa. Please read the section below: ‘Finding work in the UK’.

You will automatically satisfy the English language requirements as you will now hold a qualification taught in English.

Please note: If your completion date is delayed due to a deferral or a referral (including re-submission or a resit exam) your results may not be considered by the assessment board until after your Student visa expires, in which case you would not be eligible for the Graduate route visa. It is not possible to extend your Student visa for the purpose of waiting for results, and it is not always possible to extend your Student visa if the duration of your course changes. For more details, please see the information for students repeating a part of their course. The only way to ensure eligibility for the Graduate route visa is to successfully complete your studies on time.

Where can I apply for the Graduate route visa?

You can only apply for the Graduate route from inside UK. There is no provision to apply from outside the UK. If you are currently outside of the UK and you meet the eligibility requirements for the Graduate route, you will need to travel to the UK before your Student visa expires to apply.

You must not travel outside of the Common Travel Area after you submit your Graduate route visa application and while your application is pending as this will automatically withdraw your application.

When should I apply for the Graduate route?

You should only apply for the Graduate route:

  • once you have successfully completed and been awarded your degree (Bachelor's, Master's or PHD), and
  • once you have received confirmation that the University has reported your successful completion to the Home Office, and
  • before your student permission (Student visa) expires, and
  • while you are in the UK, and
  • if your Student visa was granted for a specified time during which all study took place in the UK – this is known as the Study in the UK rules, and
  • if you have not previously held a Graduate route visa or a Doctorate extension scheme visa, and
  • if you have a letter of consent for the application from your financial sponsor: this applies only if you have been sponsored (financially) by a government or International Scholarship Agency for your full fees and living costs within the past 12 months 

These key requirements are described below in more detail.

What does it mean to "successfully complete my degree"?

If you have studied and successfully completed one of the following courses, Bachelor's, Master's, PhD, the Legal Practice Course, the Graduate Diploma in Law or the Bar Practice Course, you will meet the course requirements for the Graduate route.

Please note that if you graduate with a lower qualification, for example, a Postgraduate Diploma, you will not be able to apply for the Graduate route visa.

Successful completion means that you must have been awarded your qualification. Your award is confirmed after your results are published and your Assessment Board has met and agreed your degree classification. Your award will then be published on your student profile.

Your date of award is the date your final results were published and emailed to you by the Library and Student Centre.

If you will be completing later than originally planned due to repeats, deferrals, referrals and/or resit modules then your award date may have been delayed. Some students may not successfully complete while holding a Student visa.

How and when will the University inform me that they have reported my successful completion to the Home Office?

You will only be eligible for the Graduate route visa once the University has reported your successful completion to the Home Office. It is important that you do not submit your Graduate route visa application until you have received confirmation via email from the University's Visa Compliance Team. The email will confirm that your successful course completion has been reported to the Home Office. You should expect to receive your confirmation between 2–4 weeks after your award date. Please check your junk email if you have not received it. Please do not email the Visa Compliance Team about your confirmation unless your visa is expiring within 2 weeks. The Visa Compliance Team will not respond to general enquiries about completion reports unless it is clear that the normal timeline of 1 month has passed or the Student visa will be expiring within the next 2 weeks.

What if I have not received a confirmation? The Visa Compliance Team can only confirm successful completion for students whose immigration records have been kept up to date. If you have received requests for immigration/travel documents from the Visa Compliance Team and you have not provided your updated documentation, then the University is not able to confirm completion.

Must I apply for the Graduate route before my Student or Tier 4 visa expires?

When you apply for the Graduate route, you must have a valid Tier 4 or Student visa for the course you have just completed.

If you must repeat an element of your course, for example, you have deferred modules, repeat modules or re-sit assessments, your results and award date may be after your Student visa expires.

If your Student visa expires before you complete your course, the University will only sponsor a further Student visa application if you are required to attend classes. If you will be completing your course without any official class attendance, then you will not be able to extend your Student visa to reach the end of the course or the award date and therefore you will not be eligible for the Graduate route visa. An example of completing without a valid Student visa would be submitting a later dissertation. As you would not be attending classes for a deferred or referred dissertation, you would be advised to submit remotely. If your Student visa expires before you are awarded your degree, you will not be eligible for the Graduate route visa.

If you do not successfully complete your course with a valid Student visa and you are not issued with a new CAS for a Student visa extension, you may want to ask about other immigration options that may be available to you. University immigration advisers are not regulated to give complex immigration advice and will suggest you see an Immigration specialist (see www.ilpa.org.uk).

What are the Study in the UK Rules?

You must meet the ‘Study in the UK requirement’ which specifies the minimum period that you must hold a valid Tier 4 or valid Student visa during which all study must have taken place in the UK.

The Study in the UK rules are different depending on the length of your course.

Most University of Westminster courses are longer than 12 months, this includes Master’s courses that are usually 12 months and two or three days long. The course start and end date are on your CAS.

For courses longer than 12 months you should have held Student permission (a Student visa) for at least 12 months, during which time all study must take place in the UK.

If, since starting your course, you have held permission under a different immigration category, and this led to your course being completed using a combination of immigration routes, your most recent visa must be a Student visa and you must have spent a minimum of 12 months in the UK studying on your Student visa.

For courses of 12 months or less you must hold a Tier 4 or Student visa for the duration of your course.

However, guidance states that if you applied for Student permission (your Student visa) before you started the course, but it was not granted until after you started, you will be treated as having Student permission (Student visa) from the start date of the course.

If I travel outside the UK will this affect the Study in the UK requirement?

If you would like to travel outside the UK and want to know if this will affect your eligibility for the Graduate route visa, then short trips during weekends and vacation periods should not affect your Graduate route visa application.

If you intend on travelling for a lengthier period, then assess whether you have already met the Study in the UK rules as described above. Lengthy travel can also jeopardise your Student visa – you may need an agreed absence from the Visa Compliance Team.

A student studying a 3-year undergraduate course will find it easier to meet the 12 month requirement and may do this after the first 12 months of their course. A Master's student whose course is only 12 months and whose visa will be 16 months long should do all their study in the UK.

The Study in the UK rules are complex to interpret, and universities wait for clarification from the UKVI on a number of points. We suspect over time we will see a relaxation of these rules with a greater focus on holding a Student visa rather than being in the UK, however at present we can only advise caution about travel outside designated holiday periods and weekends.

I have already held a Graduate route visa or a Doctorate extension scheme visa, can I apply for the Graduate route?

If you have previously held a Graduate route visa or a doctorate extension scheme visa then you would not meet the validity criteria for the Graduate route visa and should not apply.

I have been sponsored by a government or International Scholarship Agency

If you have been sponsored for your fees and living costs by a government or International Scholarship Agency in the 12 months before you submit your application for the Graduate route, you must submit a letter of consent from your sponsor organisation to support your application. Failure to submit a consent letter could mean that your Graduate route visa application will be invalid which has serious consequences including the possibility of overstaying your visa. Contact Student Advice for further advice before you apply for the Graduate route if you are unable to obtain a consent letter from your sponsor

How can I apply for the Graduate route?

  • You are required to apply online on the GOV.UK website. The application will cost £822 and you will have to pay the Immigration Health Surcharge (IHS) of £624 per year. The total IHS for the 2-year visa will be £1,248 and the 3-year visa for PhD students will be £1,872. The Immigration Health Surcharge will increase from £624 to £1,035 for any Graduate Route applications made on or after 6 February 2024. After this date, the total fee for the 2-year visa will be £2,070, and the 3-year visa for PhD students will be £3,105.
  • You should receive a decision on your visa application within 8 weeks. You will be contacted if your application is likely to take longer, for example, if documents need to be verified or if the Home Office needs to undertake further checks
  • You will need to know the Confirmation of Acceptance for Studies (CAS) number that you used for your Student visa application when you apply for the Graduate route. Your CAS would have been emailed to you before the start of your course at the University of Westminster and it will also be quoted in the email confirming that your successful course completion was reported to the Home Office

The Graduate route application process has been designed to be straightforward and simple. As part of the application, you will need to prove your identity using the UK Immigration: ID check app.

If you are a national of the EU, Switzerland, Norway, Iceland or Liechtenstein you will usually be required to scan your passport using the ID check app. All other nationals will be required to scan their BRP using the app.

You'll then be able to use the digital process and will need to upload your own documents, complete a live scan which is like a ‘selfie’ and will receive a digital status if your application is successful. If you cannot scan your passport or BRP with the app, you will be asked to attend an appointment at a UK Visas and Citizenship Application Services (UKVCAS) Service point. You will be told what to do when you apply.

You will normally receive the decision on your application via email. It will explain how to view your visa. The digital visa will be accessible via the gov.uk ‘view and prove’ service.

If you are a visa national, you will also receive a BRP.

Working under the Graduate route

There is no restriction on the type of work you can do, except work as a professional sportsperson or coach. The work can be in any sector and at any level without minimum salary requirements. You can be employed or self-employed.

A recent change to the Student visa work rules allows you to start work by taking a permanent full-time vacancy while you are waiting for a decision on your Graduate route visa application. This does not include starting self-employment or types of work restricted under the Student rules and applies only to students who made their Student application on or after 6 April 2022. The rule will also not benefit you if you do not hold Student permission when you apply for the Graduate Route.

If you applied for the Graduate Route before 6 April 2022 you must stick to the normal Student visa work conditions until you have your Graduate route visa.

Conditions of the Graduate route visa

If you are issued with a Graduate route visa, your visa will be subject to the following conditions:

  • No access to public funds
  • Work, including self-employment and voluntary work, is permitted. You will not be able to work as a professional sportsperson
  • You cannot study a course that would usually require sponsorship under the Student route. Study is subject to the ATAS requirements

Options after the Graduate route

You will be issued with one Graduate route visa which means that you cannot extend your visa under the Graduate route. You can switch to other work visa categories to continue working in the UK, for example, the Skilled worker route.

You can also switch back to a Student visa, if you wish to study another course and if you meet the requirements of the Student route including meeting academic progression rules. In most cases you will need to hold your Student visa before you can start the course and will not be able to study while waiting for your application to be decided. When you complete your new course, you will not be able to apply for a second Graduate route visa.

Important information for current students

Dependants

Dependants include your partner and/or child under the age of 18. If your dependents are already in the UK with you as your Student dependants, they can apply to extend their stay under the Graduate route. They can only apply for their visa from inside the UK.

If you are not permitted to have dependants with you under your Student visa, for example, you are studying an Undergraduate course, your dependents will be unable to apply to be your dependant under the Graduate route.

Finding work in the UK

It is important you think about how you are going to support yourself while you are on the Graduate route. You may not find a job immediately, so it is important you have access to enough funds to pay for your living costs while you are looking for work.

The University’s Careers and Employability service offers support and guidance to students even after they have completed their course.

Useful sources of information

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