Graduate Visa UK 2026: Requirements, Costs and How to Find Sponsorship

What the Graduate visa actually is

The Graduate visa (sometimes called the post-study work visa) lets international students stay in the UK to work, look for work or be self-employed after finishing an eligible course. It is unsponsored: no employer, no job offer, no minimum salary.

• Two years if you completed a bachelor's or master's degree.
• Three years if you completed a PhD or other doctoral qualification.
• No extensions. When it ends, you switch route or leave.
• Does not count towards settlement. Time on a Graduate visa does not build towards indefinite leave to remain.

Who qualifies

You can apply if all of the following are true:

• You are in the UK on a Student visa when you apply.
• You successfully completed an eligible course — a UK bachelor's, master's, doctorate or another qualifying professional programme.
• Your education provider has reported to the Home Office that you completed the course. This confirmation is the step most applicants wait on.
• You studied in the UK for the required minimum period of your course.

You apply from inside the UK, before your Student visa expires, and you can start the application as soon as your provider reports completion — you do not need to wait for graduation day or your certificate.

What it costs in 2026

• Application fee: £880.
• Immigration Health Surcharge: £1,035 per year of the visa, paid upfront.
• Two-year visa total: roughly £2,950.
• Three-year (PhD) total: roughly £3,985.

There is no maintenance funds requirement for the Graduate route, and you do not need to prove English again. Dependants already in the UK as your dependants can usually apply to stay with you; new dependants cannot be added on this route.

What you can and cannot do

The Graduate visa is one of the most flexible work permissions the UK offers. You can work in almost any job, at any skill level, for any employer, change jobs freely, work multiple roles, be self-employed, volunteer, and travel in and out of the UK. You cannot work as a professional sportsperson, claim most public funds, or extend the visa.

Switching to a Skilled Worker visa

This is the real purpose of the two years. To switch — from inside the UK, without leaving — you need three things:

1. A job offer from a licensed sponsor. The employer must hold a Skilled Worker sponsor licence. Many small firms do not, which is why targeting licensed sponsors matters more than targeting job titles.
2. A Certificate of Sponsorship issued by that employer for a role at the required skill level.
3. A salary meeting the threshold for your occupation code. New entrants — which includes most people switching from a Graduate visa within the eligibility window — benefit from a reduced threshold, so check the new-entrant rate for your specific code rather than assuming the general figure applies.

Crucially, switching from the Graduate route means the employer does not need to worry about your right to work in the interim — you are already working legally — which removes the biggest objection recruiters raise.

A realistic timeline that works

Two years sounds long. It is not: sponsored recruitment cycles, notice periods and Home Office processing eat it quickly. Work backwards from your expiry date.

• Months 1–3: get your CV into UK format, fix your LinkedIn, and identify the licensed sponsors in your sector rather than applying broadly.
• Months 3–12: apply consistently to sponsor-licensed employers. Take non-sponsored work in the meantime — UK experience makes you far easier to sponsor later.
• Months 12–18: push hard on internal moves and sponsor conversations at your current employer. Many sponsorships come from converting an existing role.
• At least 6 months before expiry: have offers in play. Sponsorship paperwork and switching applications take weeks, not days.

The mistake that costs people the UK

The most common failure is spending eighteen months applying to employers who cannot sponsor anyone, then discovering it with six months left. Before you apply anywhere, check whether the company appears on the Home Office register of licensed sponsors. If it does not, no amount of interview performance will produce a Skilled Worker visa.

ResumeSpark matches live UK vacancies against that register, so you can see which roles come from employers that are actually licensed to sponsor — and check how ready your own application is before your Graduate visa clock runs down.