Conditions
Important information you need to know before applying for a Graduate visa along with information you can share with potential employers.
After your application
You will receive an email to inform you of the outcome of your visa application. Read this carefully as it will list your visa expiry date and the conditions of your visa. All applicants will receive a digital immigration status.
You can access your eVisa by clicking on the link in your grant email or via the View and Prove service. You should sign in and check your details and expiry date are correct.
If there are errors, you should report it to UK Visas & Immigration as soon as possible. UKVI will contact you within 10 working days to either confirm the correction or ask for more detail.
You must add your passport as an identity document on your UK Visas & Immigration account and it is essential you do this before travelling overseas.
Studying on a Graduate visa
Study is restricted on the Graduate visa. If it is possible to apply for a Student visa for the course you wish to study, you will not be allowed to study it while you have a Graduate visa. In practice, this means that you cannot study most degree-level courses and will also be prevented from studying a significant number of courses below degree level.
If you are unsure whether you wish to seek employment or pursue future study, you need to make this decision before you apply for your Graduate visa.
If you are granted a Graduate visa and then wish to study a further degree course (for example, progressing from a BSc to an MSc), you will have to apply for a Student visa to study that course. Your Graduate visa will be cancelled and you will not be eligible to apply for another one after your new course as you can only hold a Graduate visa once.
Working on a Graduate visa
You are allowed to work full or part time, you can be self-employed or freelance or use the visa to do an internship or volunteer, or you can do a combination of all of these on your Graduate visa. The only restriction is that you cannot work as a professional sportsperson or coach.
Working while your application is pending
If your Student visa was applied for on or after 06 April 2022, you can start work on a full-time permanent contract while your application is pending.
If your Student visa was applied for before 06 April 2022, you need to stick to the Student visa conditions until your Graduate visa is granted.
In all cases, you must wait until you have the outcome of your application before starting any self-employment work or work as an entertainer.
Other conditions
You cannot access to public funds (benefits).
Information for employers
If you feel a prospective employer would benefit from further information on the working visa options for international students, you may want to share the following documents with them:
- International Student Employability Group guide for employers on Recruiting International Graduates which covers the Graduate and Skilled Worker routes
- UK Visas and Immigration Guide to the UK's points-based immigration system: an introduction for employers.
