The expiry date of a Student Visa in the UK can be unsettling as you wrap up your studies and wrap your head around the nauseating question, what's next? For many graduates, the answer lies with the Graduate Visa. With a swift and sweatless application process, this 2-year visa for graduates can open up a world of possibilities for work and life in the United Kingdom. Let's have a look at what exactly is the UK Graduate Visa, the benefits it offers, and how to successfully apply.
First things first. It's important to understand what a graduate visa is and how it differs from other types of visa and permit in the United Kingdom. A Graduate Visa is valid for someone who has just graduated from a UK academic institution, whether in England, Wales, Scotland, or Northern Ireland.
The visa grants them permission to stay in the UK for at least 2 years. To be more specific, international students who have successfully completed an undergraduate or master’s degree can apply to stay and work in the UK with their family, meaning partner and children, for up to two years after their studies. Meanwhile, PhD graduates can apply for up to three years.
It's a fantastic opportunity for international students who want to take their next step in their career in the UK, continue their research at the university, or apply to their next study programme.
The visa was until recently called the Post-Study Work (PSW) Visa. That type of visa was abolished in 2012, only to be reintroduced in 2021 under its brand-new name Graduate Visa. Nevertheless, the name of its predecessor might still pop up here and there, referring to the exact same thing.
The Graduate Visa offers many benefits, explaining why it's such a popular choice for international graduates as opposed to other visas. The Student Visa is only relevant to people studying in the UK and limits the amount of time you can work. Meanwhile, work visas are more difficult to obtain, are profession-dependent, and often require sponsorship from your current or prospective employer.
In contrast with these, the Graduate Visa is easy to obtain once you've graduated. You can then stay in the UK at your leisure and look for work. This is ideal for many graduates who were focused on their studies and research throughout the year. From one moment to the next, they are spit out by academia and find themselves among the regular non-student citizens of the country, no longer under the wing of their education institution. They must now get their bearings and begin from scratch the slow process of weighing their next steps and hunt for opportunities. Not only that, but they can finally take a breather and enjoy the UK in a way that was not possible when all they could enjoy was the coffee breaks in between study sessions and lectures. Given the meager post-study leeway offered by the Student Visa, often amounting to two or three months after graduation, international graduates simply don't have the time to find employers that will sponsor their Work Visa before they must leave the country.
A good case can be made for wanting to work in the UK after graduating. Salaries are lofty and opportunities are rife. It's good not only for your bank account, but for your CV and experience as well. And the Graduate Route is unsponsored, so you can use the time after you graduate to work, or look for work, at any skill level. You'll have the flexibility to gain work experience, undertake an internship or work as a freelancer in the UK. This visa is as previous even if you are less career-oriented and simply want to continue enjoying and exploring all the UK has to offer, from lifestyle to nature. There is no minimum salary requirement, and there is no limit on how many international students can have the opportunity to stay in the UK through the Graduate Route, so you're not competing with anyone. Not only that, but for employers, the visa also offers opportunities to recruit recent graduates on a temporary basis without the need to invest in the employment sponsorship process.
To put it simply, this means you can work in most jobs or just look for work, you can be self-employed, volunteer, and travel abroad and return. However, what you still can't do is work as a professional sportsperson. In addition, you can't apply for most benefits out of public funds or the State Pension.
