The Graduate route lets you stay and work in the United Kingdom after completing an eligible degree, without needing a sponsor. It is applied for from inside the UK, and the timing is unforgiving — NELA VISA makes sure you file inside the window.
Start Your UK Graduate Visa
You need to have completed an eligible course with a licensed sponsor, and to hold valid Student permission when you apply. We check the course, the sponsor's reporting to the Home Office and your immigration history so that nothing surfaces as a surprise at the application stage.
The application must be made from inside the UK, after your provider confirms completion to the Home Office and before your Student permission expires. Miss either end and the route closes — so we work backwards from your results date and file with room to spare.
The Graduate visa is time-limited and cannot be extended, so it is worth planning the next step while it runs. We look at what comes after with you — most often a sponsored work route — rather than leaving it until the permission is nearly spent.
Two years for bachelor's and master's graduates, and three years for doctoral graduates. Recent policy changes have affected the length for some cohorts, so we confirm the current duration against your completion date rather than a figure from an older guide.
No — the application has to be made while you are in the United Kingdom and still hold valid Student permission. If you have already left or your permission has expired, this route is closed and we would look at a sponsored alternative instead.
No. That is the point of it: you may work, look for work, or be self-employed without a sponsor. Because it cannot be extended, though, the sensible approach is to treat it as a runway to a sponsored route rather than as an end in itself.