Graduate Visa Glasgow: Stay in the UK After Your Degree

What is the UK Graduate Visa?

The UK Graduate Visa is a post-study work permission that allows students who have successfully completed an eligible degree at a licensed UK university to remain in the UK after graduation. You do not need a job offer or employer sponsor to apply. Standard graduates receive two years of leave; PhD and doctoral graduates receive three years. You can work in most roles, switch employers freely, and be self-employed for the duration.

The Graduate Visa is popular among students who graduated from Glasgow institutions, including the University of Glasgow, the University of Strathclyde, Glasgow Caledonian University, and Glasgow School of Art. It gives graduates from these and all other eligible UK universities time to find skilled employment in the Glasgow and wider Scottish labour market before committing to a sponsored immigration route.

There is one critical constraint: the Graduate Visa cannot be extended, and it does not lead directly to Indefinite Leave to Remain. Glasgow graduates who want to build a long-term life here need to plan their switch into a qualifying route, such as the Skilled Worker Visa, well before the Graduate Visa expires.

Who can apply for the Graduate Visa

To be eligible for the Graduate Visa you must meet all of the following conditions:

• You currently hold, or were last granted, a Student visa or Tier 4 (General) leave.
• You have successfully completed an eligible degree at a bachelor’s, master’s, or PhD level at a UK higher education provider that holds a track record or probationary sponsor licence on the Home Office register.
• You are applying from inside the UK, before your current Student leave expires.
• Your sponsoring institution was on the approved register at the time you studied and at the time you apply.

Students at smaller private colleges that are not on the approved register, or institutions whose licences were revoked before or during your studies, may not qualify. This is an area where our Glasgow advisers check carefully before you pay a Home Office fee.

If you hold a Student Visa for a course at a Glasgow institution and are approaching your expected graduation date, an eligibility check is the sensible first step.

How long the Graduate Visa lasts

Standard graduates, including those who completed a bachelor’s or master’s degree, receive two years of leave. PhD and doctoral graduates receive three years. These are fixed limits. The Graduate Visa cannot be extended under any circumstances, and no further leave on this route is available once it expires.

Glasgow graduates should factor this timeline into their job search and wider immigration planning from the moment they apply. Two years is enough time to find skilled employment, but it is not enough time to recover if the Skilled Worker switch is left too late and an employer delays sponsorship paperwork.

Applying from inside the UK

The Graduate Visa must be applied for from inside the UK, before your current Student visa or Student leave expires. There is no out-of-country Graduate Visa and no grace period. If you leave the UK without applying, you lose access to the route entirely and would need to apply for a different visa category from abroad.

Glasgow graduates whose Student visa expiry is approaching should begin the process at least six to eight weeks before the expiry date, to allow time for evidence gathering, form completion, and biometrics. You remain in lawful leave while the application is pending once it is submitted before expiry, but submitting early removes the pressure of a hard deadline.

No employer sponsor required

Unlike the Skilled Worker Visa, the Graduate Visa does not require a job offer, a Certificate of Sponsorship, or an employer on the Home Office sponsorship register. You apply on the strength of your completed degree, not on the basis of employment. Once granted, you can take up any role with any employer in Glasgow or elsewhere in the UK, switch jobs freely, take on multiple roles, and work as self-employed.

This flexibility is the main practical value of the Graduate Visa for Glasgow graduates who are still finalising their career direction or exploring opportunities in the Glasgow job market. It gives a period of unrestricted work without the constraints of being tied to a single licensed sponsor.

What you can do on the Graduate Visa

On the Graduate Visa you can work in most roles, study, and travel freely. You can work for any employer, switch jobs without notifying the Home Office, hold more than one job simultaneously, and be self-employed. There are restrictions on a small number of activities, including working as a professional sportsperson or coach. If you plan to work in a regulated profession such as medicine, you should confirm the specific conditions that apply.

You can bring dependants who were already named as dependants on your Student visa in some circumstances. You cannot bring new dependants who were not previously on your Student visa leave. We advise on your family’s specific situation at the eligibility assessment.

Graduate Visa fees and costs in 2026

The Home Office application fee for the Graduate Visa is around £880 (see gov.uk for the current rate). The Graduate Visa is not exempt from the Immigration Health Surcharge, which is charged at £1,035 per year of leave granted. For a standard two-year grant, the IHS charge is around £2,070, making the total Home Office cost around £2,950 before any adviser fee.

We provide a full written cost breakdown at the eligibility assessment, so Glasgow graduates know the total outlay before committing. There are no hidden extras in our fixed-fee service.

The application process

The Graduate Visa is applied for online. The main steps are:

1. Eligibility check – confirm your institution, course, Student visa history, and timing before you start.
2. Online application form – complete the UK Visas and Immigration online form, pay the application fee and IHS, and upload supporting documents.
3. Biometrics – attend a UK Visa and Citizenship Application Services appointment in Glasgow or another UK city to give fingerprints and a photograph.
4. Decision – the standard processing time is around eight weeks from the biometrics appointment (see gov.uk for current times).

Errors in the form or gaps in the evidence bundle are the most common reason for delays or refusals on this route. Our advisers in Glasgow prepare the full bundle and submit on your behalf.

Processing times

Graduate Visa applications are made from inside the UK and processed by UK Visas and Immigration. The standard processing time from the biometrics appointment is around eight weeks (see gov.uk for current published times). A priority service may be available at an additional cost for a faster decision. If your Student visa is expiring soon, applying early enough to allow for standard processing avoids the need to pay for priority service.

What the Graduate Visa does not allow

Several things are not possible on the Graduate Visa, and Glasgow graduates should understand them before applying:

• No extension: The Graduate Visa cannot be extended. Once it expires, you must have switched into another visa category or you need to leave the UK.
• No ILR pathway: Time on the Graduate Visa does not count towards the five-year qualifying period for Indefinite Leave to Remain.
• No re-entry on the same route: You can only be granted the Graduate Visa once. If you leave the UK and re-enter on a new Student visa to complete another degree, you may be able to apply again, but each grant is a one-time permission.
• No recourse to public funds: You cannot claim most public benefits while on the Graduate Visa.

Understanding these limits early means Glasgow graduates can build a realistic plan for what comes after the Graduate period ends, rather than reaching the expiry date without a next step in place.

Switching from Graduate Visa to Skilled Worker

For most Glasgow graduates who want to stay in the UK long term, the natural next step is switching into the Skilled Worker Visa before the Graduate leave expires. The Skilled Worker route does count towards ILR, and after five continuous years in an eligible role you can apply to settle.

To switch, you need a job offer from a UK employer who holds a Home Office sponsor licence, in a role that meets the skill level and salary thresholds for the Skilled Worker route. The salary thresholds and eligible occupation codes are set by the Home Office and change periodically. Glasgow graduates working in sectors such as technology, engineering, healthcare, finance, and education will generally find qualifying roles available in the Glasgow labour market.

We advise Glasgow graduates on the Skilled Worker threshold as early as possible during their Graduate Visa period, map whether their prospective role qualifies, and prepare the Skilled Worker application when the job offer is in place. Starting the process six months before the Graduate Visa expires is a sensible minimum. Leaving it to the final weeks creates unnecessary risk if an employer is slow to issue the Certificate of Sponsorship.

Other routes to consider

The Skilled Worker Visa is the most common onward route from the Graduate Visa, but it is not the only option. Glasgow graduates may also consider:

• Global Talent Visa – for those with an endorsement from a recognised body in science, engineering, humanities, digital technology, or arts and culture.
• Start-up and Innovator Founder routes – for graduates with an endorsed business idea.
• Skilled Worker in specific shortage occupations – some Glasgow NHS and social care roles attract different salary thresholds.
• Partner route – graduates with a British or settled partner may qualify for the Spouse or Partner Visa, which runs concurrently with or replaces the Graduate Visa.

We do not take a one-size approach. Our Glasgow advisers map the right route for each graduate’s employment situation and long-term plans.

Graduate Visa for Glasgow and Scotland graduates

Glasgow is a significant student city. The University of Glasgow, the University of Strathclyde, Glasgow Caledonian University, and Glasgow School of Art collectively enrol tens of thousands of students, including a large proportion of international students on Student visas. Many of those students want to remain in Glasgow or Scotland after graduating, to take advantage of the growing tech, life sciences, financial services, and creative sectors that employ skilled graduates across the city.

The Graduate Visa is the mechanism that allows them to do so without needing an employer sponsor in place at the point of graduation. Our Glasgow office advises graduates from all of these institutions, and we are familiar with the specific patterns of the Glasgow graduate job market, including the timeline pressures that come with Glasgow’s academic calendar, graduation dates, and common Student visa expiry windows.

If you are a Glasgow graduate approaching your Student visa expiry and are not yet in a position to apply for Skilled Worker sponsorship, come in for an eligibility assessment now. The Graduate Visa buys time, but only if you apply before your Student visa runs out.

If your Graduate Visa is refused

Refusals on the Graduate Route are less common than on some other routes, but they do occur, usually where there is a question about the institution’s licence status, the completion of the course, or the timing of the application. Where the refusal contains a case-working error there may be a right of administrative review. Some refusals carry a right of appeal. In many cases a carefully prepared fresh application is the stronger option.

We review the refusal letter against the Graduate Route rules, advise which option gives the best realistic prospect, and where an appeal is the right path we refer you to a representative for the tribunal hearing while we support the underlying evidence. We do not advise clients to appeal when a fresh application is stronger, and we do not advise a fresh application when administrative review is the correct remedy.

2026 Graduate Route updates

The Graduate Visa has been subject to periodic policy review since its launch. The current application fee is around £880 (see gov.uk for the confirmed current rate). The IHS rate of £1,035 per year applies to Graduate Visa grants. The Home Office has previously consulted on changes to institutional eligibility criteria and sponsor licence requirements for higher education providers. We track policy changes as they are announced and apply current rules to every application we prepare.

How UK Visa Assistance helps Glasgow graduates

UK Visa Assistance is a Glasgow immigration practice. We advise graduates from the University of Glasgow, Strathclyde, Glasgow Caledonian, Glasgow School of Art, and all other UK institutions on Graduate Visa eligibility, application preparation, and the onward switch into Skilled Worker or another qualifying route. We work on fixed fees agreed in advance. To start, call 0141 496 0321 or request a callback for a free initial assessment of your Graduate Visa.