The Graduate Route allows students who have completed a bachelor's or master's degree to stay for up to two years to work at any skill level, or to look for work. Those who have completed a PhD will be granted permission for three years.
Please read our detailed guidance in the sections below to help you understand the eligibility criteria and how and when to apply.
The Immigration Compliance Team at Queen Mary deal with the administrative side of reporting successful completion to UKVI. If you have any questions about how this works, you can contact them on: casinfo@qmul.ac.uk
International students who successfully complete an undergraduate degree or postgraduate degree at Queen Mary with Student immigration permission at the time of application would be eligible to apply for the Graduate Route.
If you complete a course with a lower award than the one stated on your CAS, such as a Postgraduate Certificate or Diploma, you would not be eligible for the Graduate visa (exception for those leaving an integrated Masters course with a Bachelors award). These awards are not eligible qualifications for the visa route.
We understand that certain programmes (normally leading to postgraduate taught awards) allow for the award of credit where a module is failed, subject to certain conditions. This is known as ‘condoned failure’. If despite the condoned failure, it is confirmed that you will be awarded the qualification you were studying for, you may still be eligible for the Graduate Route.
Normally if your total course length is 12 months or shorter, you should spend the full duration of your course in the UK with Student immigration permission, if your course is longer than 12 months you should spend at least 12 months in the UK with Student immigration permission (but note the concession in 2021 'Study in the UK (including Covid-19 concessions)').
The Graduate Route information on the Gov website states the following about absences and provides an example relating to leaving the UK after you have arrived. It says:
"Studying your course in the UK means that you were in the UK when your education provider needed you to be there – for example, to go to lectures or meet with a tutor."
And provides the following example:
Example
"If you were taking a 1 year master’s degree, but left the UK during term breaks or on weekends, that would still count as studying in the UK for 1 year."
If you are in a period where you have no study activity scheduled (eg: over the summer if you are an undergraduate student who has successfully completed one academic year and will start the next academic year in September), then you are considered to be out of term time and you are officially in a vacation period. Absence from the UK during that official vacation period should not affect your eligibility for the Graduate Route.
We understand from verbal discussions with UKVI that short periods of absence from the UK (other than during official vacations and weekends) should not impact on your eligibility for the Graduate Route as long as you remain engaged in your studies and QMUL continues sponsorship (your CAS).
However, unless the Home Office provide clarity and certainty in written form (ideally in the immigration rules, in the guidance or in published concessions to the rules), there will be an element of risk in terms of eligibility for the Graduate Route if you choose to undertake a period of study activity/ do your dissertation / project while outside the UK or if you take a period of authorised absence in a required study period – even if you are permitted to do so by your school and QMUL continue to sponsor you for your student visa.
QMUL along with other organisations continues to lobby for clarity and certainty on this issue and we will update these webpages if and when there is any update.
You will only be eligible to apply for the Graduate Route visa once, even if you undertake more than one eligible course in the UK. Therefore, if you are planning to do an undergraduate and postgraduate course in the UK, think about when the best time would be to apply depending on your career plans.
You will only meet the eligibility criteria for the qualification, after the exam board for your programme has taken place, and your results have been officially confirmed. You must have successfully completed your course and your successful completion reported to UKVI to be eligible.
Successful completion of your studies is when you have completed your programme and the Queen Mary programme boards have confirmed your award of qualification. Programme boards normally take place at Queen Mary one to two months after the end date of your course, however this may vary between Schools and Institutes
The Immigration Compliance Team at Queen Mary will report your successful completion to UKVI and inform you by email when this has been done. You can only apply after this.
Do not apply before you have received confirmation from the Immigration Compliance Team at Queen Mary that they have reported your successful completion of studies to UKVI.
You must apply before your current Student immigration permission expires, or on the day it expires at the very latest.
For further information about when to apply for the Graduate Route you can listen to our podcast 'When to apply for the Graduate Route'.
Please note you can only in the UK. There is no provision to apply in any other country other than the UK.
You will need to apply using an online application form which you can complete on your phone, laptop, PC or other device.
The Graduate Route visa is not automatic and requires you to make an application.
To make an application, you need to first check that you meet all of the eligibility requirements.
Read the Graduate Route guidance
Once you have checked you meet all the eligibility requirements, you should follow all the steps to make a successful application. The Graduate Route Application Process is outlined on the UK Government website: Graduate Route.
The application process has a number of steps that include:
The application fee is £822, and the Immigration Health Surcharge is £1,035 per year of permission granted. Your eligible dependants will also have to pay an application fee and the Immigration Health Surcharge.
You may pay an additional fee to receive a quicker decision on your Graduate Route application, if you prove your identity through the 'UK Immigration: ID Check'. You have the option to pay an additional £500 for a decision within 5 days of the day after you have finished uploading your documents. You can also choose to pay an additional £1000 to receive the decision the next working day after uploading your documents. See the UK government's information about optional priority services.
If you were sponsored by a government or international organisation for your studies or were sponsored during the 12 months before you make your application for the Graduate Route, then you will need to provide a letter of consent from your sponsor. The letter of consent should say that your sponsor agrees to you remaining in the UK. This is required if the scholarship covered both tuition fees and living expenses.
As Queen Mary is not a government or international scholarship agency, you will not require a letter of consent if you have been sponsored by Queen Mary.
We are aware that the visa application form currently asks you to provide a letter of consent if you have previously been sponsored by any official financial sponsor., however, this is not in accordance with the Immigration Rules which only requires the letter of consent if you were sponsored by a government or international scholarship agency. If you previously received a scholarship from Queen Mary, you can write a cover letter to submit with your supporting documents to explain that a letter of consent is not required because you were not sponsored by a government or international scholarship agency.
If you were sponsored by a government or international organisation for either your tuition fees or living expenses, or both, then please check if the terms and conditions of your sponsorship permit you to stay in the UK on completion of your course.
If you made your Student visa application before 6 April 2022 you will be able to work in line with the Graduate Route conditions once your Graduate Route visa has been issued. Until then, you should work in line with your Student conditions. This means that you should not work in a permanent job until your Graduate Route visa has been issued. This is different to full-time work, which you are permitted to undertake under your Student conditions after the end date of your course.
If you are a part-time student, you are not permitted to work until your Graduate Route permission is issued.
Once your Graduate Route visa has been issued, you can undertake most work, including employment and self-employment and you can also be looking for work. It is also permitted to start your own business. You are not permitted to work as a professional sportsperson or sports coach.
If you make your Student application on or after 6 April 2022, you will be able to start employment which is not usually allowed, including in a permanent job (with no end date) between making your Graduate route application and receiving a decision on it. However, you will not be allowed to start self-employment or work as an entertainer until you are granted Graduate permission.
You are not permitted to work as a professional sportsperson even after you have been granted Graduate permission. The date on which you applied for Student or Graduate permission makes no difference.
Existing dependants can extend, but you cannot bring new dependants under the Graduate Route.
The Graduate route caseworker guidance confirms that a dependant does not need to apply at the same time as the main applicant. Nonetheless, It is advisable to make the application at the same time. The reason for this is that if the main applicant has been granted permission under another category, the dependants could be consider as not meeting the requirements of the permission they were granted and could potentially result in their permission being withdrawn.
PhD students will be eligible to apply after they have been awarded their PhD, and received the confirmation from the Immigration Compliance Team that they have successfully completed. They will be granted three years to stay and work in the UK.
The Careers and Enterprise Service at Queen Mary can provide a range of support in helping you to find work or apply for a job or further study, including feedback on your job application, practice interviews, advice on making career choices and support with looking for work. See the Careers and Enterprise website for further details and follow their blog for useful information and case studies.
You can watch recorded webinars on the Careers and Enterprise Service web pages.
You can access Queen Mary's Careers and Enterprise Service for two years after you graduate.
Your previous Student conditions continue whilst you are waiting for a decision on your Graduate Route application, if you submit (pay for) your Graduate Route application by the date that your Student visa expires at the very latest. Even if your application is still pending after the date that your Student visa expires, you are still in the UK legally as long as you have submitted your Graduate Route application before that date.
If you travel outside the UK before you receive a decision on your application, your application will be automatically withdrawn.
As long as it is confirmed that you have successfully completed your course while you still hold valid Student immigration permission, you will be in time to apply for the Graduate Route (subject to meeting all of the other qualifying criteria).
If you are an Undergraduate student who has resits during the late summer resit period, we understand that your results should be released in September following the August resit and this should be before your student visa expires.
If you are a Postgraduate Taught student who has to resit exams, or you need to resubmit your dissertation, you may only be eligible for the Graduate Route if the resit/resubmission takes place AND official results are released before your Student immigration permission expires.
If you are undertaking an exam or submitting work in the relevant re-sit period, the university will consider sponsorship of your Student Visa (issuing a CAS) for the applicable re-sit period only. Your visa should cover the re-sit period. The Home Office should permit you to stay in the UK for up to another four months (depending), allowing your work to be marked and the following applicable board to consider your eligibility for an award.
When applying for a new student visa, you should be issued with additional time based on the overall length of your course (and not just for the new sponsorship period). Please see our website pages entitled Student Visa "Check your Visa"
If your School or Institute schedules a different submission or assessment date (e.g., an earlier date), QMUL will not be able to sponsor your Student Visa as it is not within the formal re-sit period. This usually means that you will not be eligible for the Graduate Visa. Your School or Institute may be trying to help you by allowing you to submit earlier, but if it is not possible for your work to be marked and your degree to be awarded before your current immigration permission expires, you would not be eligible for the Graduate Visa.
Where there are relevant extenuating circumstances, your School or Institute may agree to grant you a short extension, provided it would still be possible for your work to be marked in time to be considered at the degree board and before your current student visa expires. However, your School or Institute should carefully consider whether they have the resources to support such a request.
If it will not be possible to mark your work in time and the extenuating circumstances are sufficient, you may be able to apply for a first-sit instead. You should then submit your work during the next applicable re-sit period and you may request a CAS for that period.
Please see the Immigration Compliance pages of the QMUL website for information on requesting a CAS to extend your student visa.
For further information about the exceptional circumstances in which you request a CAS for a dissertation resubmission after your visa expiry date, see our guidance on resitting a project or dissertation.
Interruption of study and eligibility for the Graduate Route visa
The university can only sponsor Student Visas for those undertaking exams or re-submitting work during these formal re-sit periods. In some cases this may mean that it will be possible for you to extend your student visa in the UK, but in other cases you may need to apply for a new student visa in your home country in order to return to the UK for the resit period.
For example, if you will be re-sitting out of attendance in order to complete your studies and there is a substantial gap between the expiry date of your current student visa and the assessment period, you may need to apply for a new student visa from outside the UK. You should seek advice on this.
Even if there is a break in your studies and time in the UK as a result of this, you may still meet the Graduate Route requirement for study in the UK (minimum time required to be in the UK) because all the periods of student visa that you have held should count toward this requirement.
The Graduate Route caseworker guidance states "For the purposes of assessing the Study in the UK requirement, the caseworker must consider all periods of Student permission which were granted to study the eligible qualification that the applicant subsequently successfully completed. This means that an applicant who was unable to complete their studies in one period of Student permission, for reasons such as maternity leave or sickness, and who consequently deferred their studies and completed the course of studies at a later date with Student permission, will have all those periods counted."
If your application is successful, you will get either:
You will be able to generate a share code to prove your right to work in the UK.
Students on part-time courses with Student permission at the time of application will be eligible for the Graduate Route, provided they meet all of the other eligibility criteria.
Please note, the UKCISA information confirms that you cannot start work until your Graduate Route permission is granted.
Contact the UKCISA Student advice line
For detailed information including money and fees, travelling in and outside the UK and starting work
Find out how to look for a regulated immigration adviser.