The Graduate Route is an unsponsored, post-study work visa.

Successful applicants will receive a two-year visa (for those who have completed a Bachelors or Masters degree), or a three-year visa (for those who have completed a PhD).

You can only apply for the Graduate Route visa once. Therefore, if you are considering further studies in the UK, you may wish to postpone applying for the Graduate Route visa until you have completed all the desired academic studies.

This scheme doesn't lead to settlement (permanent residency in the UK).

Therefore, if your aim is to remain in the UK longer term, holding this visa will give you a period of two or three years (depending on your level of study) to look for and secure a job which attracts Skilled Worker sponsorship, at which point you can switch to the work visa. You may also be able to switch to the Innovator Founder Visa if you are interested in setting up your own business or the Global Talent Visa if you are a leader or potential leader in an eligible field.

Examples of the type of study which may be permitted under this route can be:

• Part-time undergraduate course
• Some English language courses
• Some professional courses
• Any study at a college or university that is not a Student route visa sponsor
• Online study
• Evening classes
• Recreational courses

The restrictions on study do not apply to Dependants of Graduate Route Visa holders, with the exception of working as a professional sportsperson or studying as a doctor/dentist in training.

You must check with any course provider in advance whether you have the Right to Study on a course with them using a Graduate Visa. This is not possible for the majority of courses at Warwick.

If you have secured a job offer which lasts for 2 years or longer and your employer can sponsor you with a Skilled Worker Visa, in most cases a Skilled Worker visa is a better option than the Graduate Route visa as it leads to settlement (permanent residency in the UK).

However, Skilled Worker visas are tied to an employer and the job, which means you need to switch visas if you wish to switch jobs. The Graduate Route visa is an unsponsored route so you are free to change jobs whilst holding this visa.

You must meet the following 3 requirements to apply under this route:

There is no requirement to show you have a certain amount of money (known as the 'maintenance requirement').

You can only apply under the Graduate Route from within the UK.

You must submit the application via the UK government websiteLink opens in a new window.

Please see our step-by-step guide to completing the application formLink opens in a new window.

You cannot apply for the Graduate Route until you have received specific email confirmation from the University that your successful completion has been reported to the UKVI.

Once you have received the above confirmation from the University, and you have met the application requirements, you will need to do the following to make your application:

• You must complete and submit your application via the online GOV.UK form. A link to this will be provided in your confirmation email from the University. Take a look at our step-by-step guide to help you do this.
• You must pay the relevant Immigration Health SurchargeLink opens in a new window.
• You must pay the application feeLink opens in a new window.
• You must provide any required Biometric Data for all applicants.
• You must provide a clear scan or photo of your passport or other travel document as proof of nationality and identity.
• You must provide a clear scan or photo of your current valid and in-date Student Visa BRP, as well as the BRPs of any dependant applicants, if applicable.
• If, within the previous 12 months of the application date, you were sponsored by a Government or an international scholarship agency covering both fees and living costs for study in the UK, they must provide written consent to the application from that Government or agency. This does not apply if your scholarship was awarded by the University of Warwick.
• If your dependents are applying, they may be required to provide additional documents to meet the relationship requirements.

The Home Office also provides detailed information on its own webpages regarding making an applicationLink opens in a new window, and using the UK Immigration ID Check AppLink opens in a new window.

To apply as a Dependent under the Graduate Route, your dependant(s) must already be your dependant on your current Student Visa, and meet the following requirements:

If you have been awarded your degree, you will also receive confirmation that we have notified UKVI about your award and that you can now apply for the Graduate Route Visa provided you meet all the requirements.

However, if you are planning to take the resit option given by the exam board, you should not apply for the Graduate Route Visa just yet.

This is because the immigration rules for the Graduate VisaLink opens in a new window at GR 8.2 do not allow study with a student sponsor (Warwick) on a course for which a CAS can be issued. Therefore, you should not apply for the Graduate Route visa until after you have completed your resits and you are no longer studying your course at Warwick.

After you have completed the resits, you will not need to wait for another email from us, as the successful completion of your award will still stand regardless of the grade you achieve in your resits. Therefore, you can apply for the Graduate Route visa after completing the resits and before your student visa expires.

You have until your current Student Visa expiry date to submit (complete the online form and pay for) a Graduate Visa application within the UK. You do not need to receive the visa by your existing visa expiry date and can stay in the UK legally whilst the application is in progress.

The University cannot report your successful completion to UKVI until you have been officially awarded your degree. This will be significantly after your CAS course end date, and significantly after the date of your academic department's local exam board. Your academic department may choose to share the recommendation of this exam board with you, however, this result is provisional and must be later approved by the University Senate.

Students completing their course on the normal schedule (if you do not have resits or an extension) can expect their degree to be awarded and the report to be made to UKVI in line with the following:

If you have reviewed the above information and believe you have not received an email in error, or if your Student Visa is expiring within the next 2 weeks and you have not received an email, please contact us.

Once you have submitted your application, paid your fees and provided your Biometric Data for each applicant, the UKVI will assess your application and provide you with an application decision within 8 weeks.

You must not leave the UK until you receive your new BRP card if you are a Visa National.

If you are not a Visa NationalLink opens in a new window, you must not leave the UK until you receive notification of the decision.

If successful, you should receive confirmation of your new visa. Most applicants will receive a "Digital Status", however, if you are a Visa National, you cannot travel and re-enter the UK without a BRP card. If you obtain a new passport whilst you have a Graduate Visa, you must update this using your UKVI account.

This is an 'unsponsored route', which means the University is no longer your sponsor and you do not need to provide the University with a copy of your new visa.

Whilst holding a Graduate route visa, if you wish to study a further course in the UK which can be sponsored under the Student visa (for example, a Master's degree), you may switch back to a Student visa. However, you can only apply for the Graduate Route visa once. Therefore, if you are considering further studies in the UK, you may wish to postpone applying for the Graduate Route visa until you have completed all the desired academic studies.

You cannot:

• work as a professional sportsperson
• apply for most benefits (public fundsLink opens in a new window), or the State Pension