Working in the UK after your studies

The Graduate Visa is a new immigration route which allows international students to stay in the UK for two years (three years for PhD), for work experience, after successfully completing a degree programme.

The visa will cost £700 and applicants will have to pay an Immigration Health Surcharge of £624 per year of the visa.

You can do any type of work, including self-employment but you cannot be a professional sportsperson or coach.

The visa is not extendable and does not count towards settlement but it will be possible to switch into the Skilled Worker route, if a suitable job is identified.

Please note that you should not apply for the Graduate Visa until you have received an email from the Visa Compliance Team advising you that you can now apply

You are eligible to apply if you meet the requirements below:

• You are an international student who has successfully completed a degree at undergraduate level or above at a Higher Education Provider with a track record of compliance* and; 

• You have a valid Student/Tier 4 visa and are in the UK at the time you make your application and; 

• If you began a course of 12 months or less in 2020 or 2021 and have existing permission as a Student to study that course, and are already in the UK, you will be able to make a Graduate application before the end date of your visa;or 

• If you began a course of 12 months or less in 2020 or 2021 and have spent the whole course studying online at home, you are eligible to apply for the Grad Visa as long as you apply for a Student Visa first and have arrived in the UK by 27 September 2021 or by your Student Visa expiry date, whichever is sooner; or 

• If your course is longer than 12 months, you must be resident and studying in York by 6 April 2022 or by your visa expiry date, whichever is sooner. If, in the 12 months before you apply, you were sponsorship by a Government or Scholarship body, which covered both fees and living costs, or that financial sponsorship ended in the last 12 months,  you must provide written evidence from the provider, confirming that they are happy for you to remain in the UK. 

Dependents

• If you are accompanied by family members, who hold dependent visas, they can apply to extend their visa to remain with you.  However, new dependents are not allowed, with the exception of babies born in the UK, who have yet to apply for a dependent visa.

*Please note that the University of York is a Higher Education Provider with a track record of compliance.

For more details, please see UKCISA's guidance on the Graduate Visa.

The Visa Compliance Team will email you to notify you when you can make your graduate visa application

You should not apply until you receive this email.

Further information and the application can be found on the Government website

If you experience any problems completing the application or have any questions, please contact us using our self-referral form.

This is for current PhD students who require a visa for 12 months work experience on completion of their course. To apply:  

• You must have a current Tier 4/Student visa. If you have left the country and returned to the UK on a student visitor visa or a general visitor, you are not eligible to apply.
• You must apply after your viva and before you submit your final bound thesis. You cannot apply once your course has been completed, ie after you've handed in your final thesis. 
• You will require an updated course completion date. Once you have taken your viva, and know if you need major or minor corrections, you should email the Visa Compliance Team at tier4@york.ac.uk with this information so that a new course completion date can be calculated. The Visa Compliance Team will provide you with a new CAS, which is required for the application. 
• You should apply using the online Student Visa application form.
• You must apply in the UK. Applications outside the UK will not be accepted.
• You must show evidence of £2,046 for maintenance. This must be held in a bank account in your name (or in the name of a parent or guardian) for at least 28 days. The bank statement must be no more than one calendar month old on the date you post your application.
• You will continue to be sponsored by the University, and must meet certain ‘contact points’. 
• You must provide all documents as required for a Student Visa application form.

There are very few work restrictions on the Tier 4 Doctorate Extension Scheme visa. The only employment you are not permitted to take is as a professional sportsperson or coach, or as a doctor or dentist in training. Once you have applied for the Doctorate Scheme, and completed your course, you may start work on these conditions before your visa has been processed.  

The visa is for 12 months maximum, and will start on the course completion date given on the CAS. The starting date of the visa cannot be changed, even if your studies take longer than expected.  

You cannot study full time on this visa; only ‘supplementary study’ is permitted.  

Dependants can also apply, either from inside the UK or outside the UK.   

You can switch in the UK from the Tier 4 Doctorate Extension visa to Skilled Worker Visa, Global Talent, Tier 1 (Entrepreneur), or any other category of Tier 1 visa. 

There is information on the Tier 4 Doctorate Extension Scheme in the Student Route Caseworker Guidance. 

Most students use the Skilled Worker visa if they wish to stay and work in the UK after they have finished their studies. Students applying from within the UK with a Tier 4 / Student Visa are classed as ‘new entrants’. 

Students applying outside the UK whose last UK visa was a Tier 4 / Student Visa and are within 2 years of the visa expiry date, are also classed as ‘new entrants’. 

For Tier 4 (General)/Student visa holders wishing to switch into the Skilled Worker route the requirements are:

• The employer must be licensed by the Home Office and issue you with a Certificate of Sponsorship (CoS).
• The  job must qualify  as a Skilled Worker role; the employer should know if this is the case.
• The minimum salary requirement will vary with each job, but new entrants must meet the ‘70% of going rate’ requirement, or £20,480; whichever amount is higher.  This is a slight decrease on rates before 1 December 2020. 
• No financial evidence is required if you apply in the UK and have been studying here for at least 12 months. If this is not the case, you must have £1270 for at least 28 days in a bank account.  
• If you have been financially sponsored, then the sponsor must provide a letter consenting to your visa application.
• You must have a Bachelors, Masters or PhD degree, or have completed the first year of a PhD. Postgraduate diplomas (unless a PGCE or PGDE teaching qualification) will not be accepted.

The UKVI has expanded the number of jobs eligible for Skilled Worker visas, to include lower level RQF 3 jobs (it used to include RQF 6 as the lowest level job).  

There is no longer a restriction on the number of workers per employer. 

Once you have submitted a Skilled Worker application, you can take a permanent full time job while waiting for the visa to be processed, unless your T4 visa was issued before 1st October 2019.

Depending on the Certificate of Sponsorship (CoS) from your employer, you may apply for a visa for a period of 3 or 5 years.  If you apply for a 3 year visa, you will have the option later to apply for a further 3 years, provided you stay in employment.  

After 5 years of continuous residence, you can apply to settle in the UK provided your salary meets the requirements outlined in Appendix Skilled Worker (SW 24.3) (you’ll usually need to be paid at least £25,600 per year unless the ‘going rate’ for your job is higher than this) and your employer wants you to remain. Please find more details on the requirements of switching from Skilled Worker to settled status in the government guidance.

Please note that the University’s Immigration Advice Service is not able to advise extensively on work visas, so questions should be directed to the HR (Human Resources) department of your potential employer. If you are applying for a job at the University of York, then please direct your visa related work queries to hr-compliance@york.ac.uk.

Reading Recruiting International Graduates 2020 (PDF , 333kb) may be useful. It's aimed at employers, but it highlights some of the concessions made for new graduates switching into this category and looks at misconceptions employers have. Make sure your prospective employer understands the rules, as applicable to you as a current Tier 4 visa holder switching in the UK. 

The Start-up visa scheme is aimed at people who wish to establish a business in the UK, and who have a business plan endorsed by a Home Office-approved endorsing body. It has replaced Tier 1 Graduate Entrepreneur. You can find out more information on the Gov.uk website, and the UKCISA website.

You can switch in the UK from a Tier 4 / Student Visa if your Visa Sponsor is a publicly-funded higher education institution (the University of York meets this criteria).

To apply to be endorsed (sponsored) by the University of York you must have a business plan, and be a current student or have graduated within the last two years.   

You do not have to be endorsed by the University of York. There is a list of endorsing bodies on the GOV.UK website.

You can apply inside or outside the UK. 

There are no financial requirements provided you have been in the UK for at least 12 months when applying. 

You may work at the same time as setting up your business (but you cannot work as a doctor or dentist in training or as a professional sportsperson or sports coach).

The Start-up Visa is valid for two years. 

To apply:

Applications will be considered three times a year in September, December and March.

• Book an appointment via the Careers guidance webpage.
• Go to Careers for an interview to discuss the eligibility of the business idea.
• Produce a business case, a two year cash flow forecast and a ‘personal survival income budget’.
• Provide a reference from your academic supervisor.

This visa route is aimed at graduates who require work experience, internships or professional training for their field of work, or for postdoctoral research projects but is limited to organisations offering these schemes and/or research projects.  Find out more about Temporary Worker - Government Authorised Exchange (T5) visa.

You can switch to Temporary Worker - Government Authorised Exchange in the UK if:

You have current Tier 4 / Student Visa leave
You have completed a UK degree with this Tier 4 / Student Visa  leave
You will be sponsored under Government Authorised Exchange for professional training, research or an internship directly related to your degree
Your employer does not intend to offer you full time permanent employment

The visa is for a maximum of 12 months or 24 months depending on the scheme you’re applying for.

Requirements are:

Funds of £1270 in a bank account for at least 28 days, unless you have been in the UK for at least 2 months

If switching from Tier 4 / Student Visa, successful completion of a Bachelor’s or Masters degree

A certificate of sponsorship from the employer/sponsoring body/institution

You can apply for this visa while studying provided you have already successfully completed a degree.

If the scheme you are applying for is postdoctoral research, the university employing you should hold a Temporary Worker - Government Authorised Exchange (T5) licence and therefore sponsor you to apply for the visa. 

The Youth Mobility Scheme visa is completely separate from the Tier 5 Government Authorised Exchange visa. The Youth Mobility visa allows nationals of the countries listed below to work in the UK for up to two years:

• Australia
• Canada
• Hong Kong
• Japan
• Monaco
• New Zealand
• Republic of Korea
• San Marino
• Taiwan
• British Overseas Citizens, British Overseas Territories and British Nationals (Overseas) can also apply.

Places are limited annually and once the quota for the year has been reached you have to wait and try again later. There are four key eligibility criteria:

• you are not allowed to apply from within the UK, so must go home to make the application; 
• you must be aged between 18 and 30;
• you cannot have a dependent child under the age of 18; and
• £2530 is required in your bank account for at least 28 day. You can work and study on this scheme (subject to the restrictions specified on the Gov.UK website).