Getting your degree is only step one. The Graduate Route is what comes next: two years to work in the UK, in any job, for any employer, with no sponsor required. NISAU campaigned for seven years to win this route back. This guide is everything we know about using it well.
NISAU is not authorised to advise on individual immigration matters, and nothing published by NISAU should be treated as advice on your case. For advice specific to your circumstances, consult an adviser regulated by the Immigration Advice Authority (IAA, formerly OISC) or a solicitor qualified in UK immigration law. We are not agents. We don't take commissions. This guidance is free, and it always will be.
The Graduate Route is a UK visa that lets international students stay and work after completing a degree. It lasts two years for bachelor's and master's graduates who apply on or before 31 December 2026, and three years for PhD graduates. You can work in most jobs at any skill level, switch employers freely, or be self-employed. No sponsorship, no minimum salary, and no job offer needed to apply.
That last sentence is the point. For two years, your career answers to nobody's visa paperwork. You choose the job, the city, the direction.
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The rules are changing, and the date matters.
If you finish your course in 2026, plan around this. Your university must confirm course completion to the Home Office before you can apply, so speak to your international student office early. Do not let an avoidable delay cost you six months of your career.
NISAU fought the reduction when it was proposed, and we will keep making the case that international graduates are not just migrants: they are colleagues, taxpayers and the living bridge between India and the UK. When the rules move again, you will read it here first.
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You can apply if all four are true:
Apply before your Student visa expires. Decisions usually arrive within 8 weeks, and you can stay in the UK while you wait.
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You can apply if all four are true:
Budgeting for this alongside rent and final-term expenses is exactly the planning our student support guides cover.
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Work in most jobs at any level. Move employers without telling the Home Office. Be self-employed, freelance, or build something of your own. Keep looking for work between roles. The two restrictions: no work as a professional sportsperson, and the visa cannot be extended.
The route is a runway, not a destination. The Graduate Route ends; your UK career doesn't have to. Most graduates who stay switch to a Skilled Worker visa, which needs a licensed sponsor and a qualifying role. The smart move is to treat your two years as the audition: target employers who sponsor, prove your value early, and start the switching conversation in year one, not month twenty-three.
For structured help, our careers programmes run CV labs, employer events and mentorship all year.
Every figure on this page traces to the sources below, accessed and verified on 12 July 2026. Numbered references [n] appear under the sections they support.
