VisaBuddy › UK routes › Graduate visa (United Kingdom)
Graduate visa (United Kingdom)
✓ Checked against GOV.UK on 2026-07-13According to gov.uk guidance, the Graduate visa lets international students who are in the UK on a Student visa or Tier 4 (General) student visa, and who have completed an eligible UK bachelor's, postgraduate or other qualifying course, stay in the UK after their studies. The official guidance states that applicants must apply online while still in the UK, before their current student visa expires. Permission to stay lasts for at least 18 months, with the exact duration depending on when the application is made and the level of qualification completed.
Key requirements, as officially published
Documents, as listed in the official guidance
- As part of your application, you'll need to prove your identity and provide your documents.
Process steps, as officially published
- You must apply online for a Graduate visa.
- You must apply before your Student visa or Tier 4 (General) student visa expires.
- You can apply after your education provider (such as your university or college) has told the Home Office that you've successfully completed the course you took with your Student or Tier 4 (General) student visa. You do not have to wait until you've graduated or have been given a certificate.
- Your application may take longer if you need an appointment to do this. You'll find out if you need one when you start your application.
Official sources
Information checked against the official pages linked above on 2026-07-13. Requirements can change. Check the official links for the current version.
Common questions
Are the Graduate visa requirements on this page official?
Yes. Every requirement here is taken from officially published GOV.UK guidance and links to the exact source page it came from, with the date it was last checked.
How current is this information?
VisaBuddy re-checks every route against the official GOV.UK pages each week, and every page shows the date it was last checked.
Is this immigration advice?
No. VisaBuddy provides general information from publicly available government sources only. It never assesses your eligibility, recommends a route or predicts an outcome, that requires a regulated adviser.
Do you actually need this visa?
Find out free, in under a minute, whether you need this visa at all, using the government's own published rules. Your appointment-ready PDF report (this page's requirements, document checklist and sources, plus your check result) is £3.99.