Graduate Route Visa

To be eligible for this route you must meet the following requirements:

• Hold a current valid Tier 4 (General) or Student visa at the date you submit your visa application;
• To successfully complete a course which you were last granted a visa for to study;
• Your course must be at UK Bachelor degree level or above at a Higher Education provider with a track record of Home Office student sponsor licence compliance; and
• You have successfully completed your course in the UK - this is through receiving a notification email from the University:
• If the course is 12 months or less the entire course must be completed in the UK;  OR
• If the course is longer than 12 months you must have spent at least 12 months under your current permission as a student in the UK. For example if you are a University of Birmingham student studying a 3 year undergraduate programme at the Dubai campus and you decide to transfer your location and study at the Edgbaston campus then you must spend a minimum of 12 months studying in the UK on a student route visa.

The qualifications which meet the requirements are:

• UK bachelor’s degree;
• UK postgraduate degree;
• A law conversion course validated by the Joint Academic Stage board in England and Wales;
• The Legal practice course in England and Wales, or the Bar courses in Northern Ireland;
• A foundation programme in Medicine or Dentistry;
• A Postgraduate certificate in Education (PGCE) course or;
• A professional course requiring study at UK bachelor’s degree level or above in a profession with reserved activities that is regulated by UK law or UK public authority.

PLEASE NOTE: The COVID-19 concessions have now ended. However, the rules on how long you need to have studied your course in the UK may not apply if you needed to study outside the UK because of COVID-19.​

If your Student visa or Tier 4 visa was for more than 12 months: You can count any time spent studying outside the UK between 24 January 2020 and 30 June 2022 as time spent studying in the UK. 

If your Student visa or Tier 4 visa was for 12 months or less: You can apply if either of the following are true:

1. you started your course before 21 June 2021 and you entered the UK on a Student visa on or before 27 September 2021
2. you started your course between 21 June 2021 and 30 June 2022 and you entered the UK on a Student visa on or before 30 June 2022

You can only submit a visa application after you have successfully completed your course and you have been officially notified by email through the University.  If you make your visa application before successful completion of your course, it will be refused by UKVI.

You will need to make sure you meet the full visa eligibility criteria before you make an application.

Please note, you can only apply for the Graduate Route visa once.

Generally, to be eligible for the Graduate Route visa, you must have successfully completed a qualifying course for which your CAS (for your current visa) was assigned, and you must hold a valid Student visa, and you must make your Graduate Route visa application from inside the UK, as well as meeting other criteria. 

If your Student visa has expired and you have returned to the UK to resit exams on a Standard Visitor visa as an external student, you will not hold the correct visa permissions to make a Graduate Route visa application, even if you have successfully completed your programme as an external student.

No, there is no maintenance requirement to be met as part of the Graduate route visa application process. However, if you have been sponsored or awarded a scholarship in the 12 months before the date of your application for the Graduate visa, by a Government or international scholarship agency covering both your fees and living costs for study in the UK, you must provide a letter from that Government or agency to consent to the application. 

No, the successful completion of your course will demonstrate you have sufficient English language skills.  

No. The Graduate visa route is an unsponsored route which means you will not require a Confirmation of Acceptance for Studies (CAS) or Certificate of Sponsorship (CoS). 

Yes, the University is required to confirm to Home Office at the date of your Graduate route visa application that you have successfully completed your course. This email notification is normally automatically sent to you by the University. 

If you think you should have received the email notification about Graduate Route from the University following your successful course results but haven't then please get in touch with the Graduate Notifications Team via e-mail:

Gradroutenotifications@contacts.bham.ac.uk

Please note, the Graduate Route email notification is not related to your graduation ceremony which comes later normally. 

With the exception of the below question, there are no restrictions on the type of work or number of hours you can work.  Voluntary work and self-employment are permitted. 

It not possible to be employed as a professional sportsperson under this category.

Undergraduates, Postgraduate taught and PhD students will be granted leave depending on the level of study completed:

• PhD or other doctoral qualification - 3 years duration
• All other qualifications (e.g. BA degree) - 2 years duration

Yes. The amount you have to pay will be dependent on whether you will be granted a visa for two or three years. The yearly amount for the Immigration Health Surcharge is £1,035. 

Yes, supplementary study is permitted but you cannot use a Graduate route visa if you want to undertake a full-time course at an institution which holds a Sponsorship license, you will require a Student visa and will need a new CAS.  

You will be required to obtain an ATAS certificate if it is applicable to the course you want to study and you are not an exempt national. 

Yes, you will be eligible if your last grant of permission was a Student visa and obtained your qualification under this permission. 

No, you cannot access public funds whilst on a Graduate Route visa. The visa would state condition of (NRPF) No Recourse to Public Funds. You cannot apply for benefits if they are classed as public funds. The main purpose of this visa route is for a graduate to look for work. This means you need to make sure you can support yourself during the duration of the visa. 

The visa conditions are detailed on the UKCISA visa guide and on the UKVI application website.

 

Yes.  You will be permitted to switch into another visa category. For example, you can switch into Skilled Worker if your employer wants to sponsor you. 

No.  The Graduate Route does not permit a person to apply for indefinite leave to remain upon completion of the Graduate visa.  However, whilst on the graduate route visa if you switch to a Skilled Worker visa this will lead to settlement.

No.  The Graduate Route replaces the Doctorate Extension Scheme. If you currently hold visa permission under the Doctorate Extension Scheme you will not be eligible to apply for the Graduate visa.   

If your Graduate Route visa application has been refused then you will need to speak to an immigration specialist. The Graduate Route is an unsponsored route, meaning the University cannot advise.

You can find a solicitor from the Law Society: Find a Solicitor - The Law Society or from the Adviser Finder: Find an immigration adviser: Search for an adviser - GOV.UK.

 

 

If your partner or children hold permission as a dependent of a Student they will be eligible to apply as your dependents under the Graduate Route. 

If your dependants do not hold a dependant visa and are not in the UK with you, then they will not be eligible to apply as your dependant under the Graduate Route.

Police registration ended on 5 August 2022. Please see our webpage on police registration for more information. 

No. You cannot extend the Graduate Route visa. You can only apply once for the Graduate Route.

The maximum time permitted on this route is:

• Two years for undergraduates and postgraduates taught (Bachelors or Masters degree) students
• Three years for postgraduate research (PhD degree) students. 

The International Student Team have pre-recorded the Graduate Route visa workshop.

You can view this by visiting: Visa workshops

The IST can only guide students on the Home Office Graduate Route visa criteria and visa document requirements.  This information will be covered in a workshop setting. 

IST will not be offering visa document checking sessions or go through a student’s online visa application as this is an unsponsored visa route. See UKCISA for the full advice that is really detailed and contains a recent webinar. 

For any students who would like their visa documents or online visa application checked are advised to seek the services of an independent Immigration Specialist. 

You can search for your nearest Immigration Specialist by using the Law Society online search tool find a Solicitor.  Please note independent Immigration Specialists charge a fee for their service, therefore it is important that you ask about any fees associated with the advice you require.

Please understand that the Graduate Route is unsponsored visa for the University which means we are only able to give you guidance, not specialist advice. 

You may wish to contact independent legal experts. Whilst IST does not offer any recommendations, we have prepared some information on Solicitors and Regulated Immigration Advisors.

If you have a specific question regarding the Graduate Route and you would like further advice and guidance then you can first check the following before contacting the IST or an independant legal expert:

• Register and attend an online IST Graduate Route workshop;
• Check the UKCISA Graduate Route guidance and watch their recent webinar
• Check the UKVI visa application webpage
• Check the UKVI Graduate Route Caseworker Guidance