Graduate Route visa

The Graduate visa is now open for applications on this Home Office webpage.

You can apply for the GR visa after:

1. You have successfully completed your course

For taught courses (Bachelors and Masters) this will be after the Assessment Board and your final results are published, confirming you have successfully completed your course.

For research courses (MRes, MPhil & PhD) this will be after your final award letter is published by the Doctoral College.

and

2. BU has confirmed your successful course completion to the Home Office

You must not make your GR visa application before BU has confirmed this with the Home Office. It may take up to a week from successfully completing your course for this report to be submitted.

We will email you to confirm the report has been done from [email protected], with a reminder of your CAS number (you will need this in your GR visa application).

You can only apply in the UK. You are not allowed to apply from your home country or in any other country other than the UK.

Your deadline for applying is the expiry date of your Tier 4 or Student visa. As long as you apply by this date, your current permission is automatically extended until the Home Office has made a decision about your Graduate Route application, even if this is after your Student visa expires while they are assessing your Graduate Route application. This allowance is called 3C leave.

The visa application will cost £822. 

You will also have to pay £1035 Immigration Health Surcharge (IHS) for each year of your Graduate Route visa.

If you have successfully completed an undergraduate (Bachelors) or postgraduate (Masters) degree you will be granted a 2 year Graduate Route visa. 

If you have successfully completed a PhD you will be granted a 3 year Graduate Route visa. 

You must:  

• Be inside the UK
• Have a valid Student (including Tier 4) visa
• Have successfully completed the course BU assigned your CAS for and your Student visa was granted for (e.g. if Master's was on the Student CAS, Master's degree needs to be achieved)
• Have already received an email notification from the BU Immigration Advice and Compliance Team that the successful completion of your course has been reported to the UKVI and which CAS number you need to use (this is sent to students within about 10 working days after the faculty publishes results).

No, this is an unsponsored route to allow you to work or look for work. 

While your Graduate Route application is being processed by the Home Office, you can continue to work under the conditions of your Student visa. 

When your Graduate Route visa is granted, you can do any work, either employed or self-employed, except working as a professional sportsperson or sports coach. 

This visa is granted to enable you to work in the UK. You are allowed to undertake ‘supplementary study’ to only on a course that could not be studied under a Student visa. If you want to do another degree course, you will need to apply for a Student visa. 

Which dependants are eligible? 

If your partner/child under 18 is already in the UK with you as a PBS dependant, they can apply to extend their visa to stay as your Graduate Route dependant. 

If they are not in the UK on a PBS Dependant visa when you make your Graduate Route application, they cannot apply for a Graduate Route Dependant visa from outside the UK to join you here. 

What will dependants visa expiry date be? 

Graduate Route dependants will be granted a visa with the same expiry date as your Graduate Route visa. 

What work can dependants do? 

Dependants can work full time on the Graduate Route Dependant visa; the only work they cannot do is working as a professional sportsperson or sports coach. 

What study can dependants do? 

Graduate Route dependants will have no restriction on doing any study in the UK. 

Check the following websites:

• UKCISA  
• Home Office Graduate Route Factsheet 
• Home Office Student Covid Guidance