Switching Into Graduate Route Visa
You can apply for switching from Student / Tier 4 General student visa to Graduate route visa from inside the UK if you complete an eligible qualification and have valid leave to remain in the UK as a Student / Tier 4 General Student at the time of your application. The new Graduate visa route will offer work oppertunities to international Students / Tier 4 General students after graduating in the UK. Applications must be made in the UK and applicants must have current permission as a Student or Tier 4 migrant. They must not have previously held permission on the Doctorate Extension Scheme(DES), or the Graduate route.
Any Student / Tier 4 General having a valid leave to remain as a student / Tier 4 General student who has completed an eligible qualification will be able to apply for switching into Graduate route from 1 July 2021.
Our specialist team of work visa solicitors can provide fast, friendly, reliable and fixed fee legal services for your application for switching into Graduate route visa. As specialist work visa solicitors, we have wealth of knowledge and extensive experience of dealing with all types of work visa applications. Ask a question to our work visa solicitors for free immigration advice or schedule an appointment for detailed immigration advice concerning your Post Study Work (PSW) visa application.
How Can I Apply For Switching Into Graduate Route Visa?
You can apply online for switching from Student / Tier 4 General student visa to Graduate route visa. You must provide a degree certificate, academic transcript or an academic reference on official headed paper of the institution. You may have been sponsored in your studies by Her Majesty’s Government, your home government or any international scholarship agency. If you have had such sponsorship within the past 12 months, you must provide Home Office UKVI with the Government or international scholarship agency’s unconditional consent in writing, giving you their permission to remain in, or re-enter, the UK.
Requirements For Switching Into Graduate Route Visa UK
To be eligible for switching into Graduate route visa, the applicant needs to meet the following requirements:
- The applicant must submit a valid application from inside the UK for switching into Graduate route visa;
- The applicant must have, or have last had, permission as Student / Tier 4 General Student;
- The applicant must meet the points requiement;
- The applicant must meet the requiement of successfully completing the course of study;
- The applicant must meet the qualification requirement;
- The aplicant must meet study in the UK requirement;
- The applicant must not have been previously granted permissionn under the Doctorate Extension Scheme (DES) or as a Graduate
- If the applicant has in the 12 months before the date of application been awarded a scholarship or sponsorshipby a Government or international scholarship agency covering both fees and living costs for study in the UK, they must provide written consent to the application from that Government or agency;
- The applicant must not fall for refusal under Part 9: grounds for refusal.
- The applicant must not be:
- in the UK in breachof immigration laws, except that where paragraph 39E applies,that periodof overstaying willbe disregarded; or;
- on immigration bail.
Points Requirement For Graduate Route Visa
The applicant must be awarded a total of 70 pointsbased on the table below:
| Points Type | Relevant Requirements To Be Met | Number Of Points |
|---|---|---|
| Successful course completion |
|
70 |
Successful Completion Requirement
- The applicant must have last been sponsored by a Student sponsor which is a higher education provider with a track record of compliance on the date of application;
- The applicant must have successfully completed the course of study which was undertaken during their last grant of permission to study on the Student route (wherethe applicant was allowed to change their course ofstudy without applying for further permission as a Student, this requirement only applies to the course to which they changed);
- The student sponsor must have notified the Home Office, by the date of Graduate route application, that the applicant has successfullycompleted the relevant course of study.
Qualification Requirement
The applicant will meet the qualification requirement if they have successfully completed acourse of study for which they have been or will be awarded a UK bachelor’s degree, a UK postgraduate degree, or successfully completed a relevant qualification listed below.
A relevant qualification is one ofthe following:
- a law conversion course validated by the Joint Academic Stage Board in England and Wales; or
- the Legal Practice Course (LPC) in England and Wales, the Solicitors Course in Northern Ireland, or a Diploma in Professional Legal Practice in Scotland; or
- the Bar Practice Course in England and Wales, or the Bar Course in Northern Ireland; or
- a foundation programme in Medicine or Dentistry; or
- a Postgraduate Certificate in Education (PGCE) or Postgraduate Diploma in Education (PGDE); or
- a professional course requiring study at UK bachelor’s degree level or above in a profession with reserved activities that is regulated by UK law or UK public authority.
If the name of the applicant’s course of study was changed by the Student sponsor, but the course content remained the same, or if an integral and assessed work placement or permitted study abroad programme was added, this will not prevent the applicant being able to meet the qualification requirement.
The qualification must have been gained during the last grant of permission to study as a Student / Tier 4 General Student, or in the period of permission immediately before the applicant’s last grant of permission, if the last grant of permission was to undertake a role as a Student Union Sabbatical Officer.
Study In The UK Requirement
The applicant must have studied in the UK for a minimum period of thecourse for which they were last granted permission to study on the Student route (the relevant period), as in the table below:
| Total Length Of Course | Relevant period of Student permission granted during whichall study tookplace inthe UK(apartfrompermitted study abroad programmes) |
|---|---|
| 12 months orless | Full duration of course |
| Longer than 12 months | At least 12 months |
Where distance learning took place overseas between 24 January 2020 and 27 September 2021, this will not prevent the applicant meeting the requirement to spend the relevant period of studying in the UK if:
- they began their course in 2020 and entered the UK on or before 21 June 2021and complete that course of study in the UK with permission as a Student; or
- they began their course in 2021 and entered the UK before 27 September 2021 and complete that course of study in the UK with permission as a Student.
Any period of distance learning between 24 January 2020 and 27 September 2021 as part of a course of study lasting longer than 12 months whilst the applicant held permission as a Student, will not prevent the applicant from meeting the requirement to spend the relevant period of studying in the UK.
Period and Conditions of Grant For A Graduate
The applicant will be granted the period of permission as set out in the table below dependent on how they met the qualification requirement:
| Type of Qualification | Period Granted From Date Of Decision |
|---|---|
| PhD or other doctoral qualification | 3 years |
| All other qualifications | 2 years |
The grant will be subject to all the following conditions:
- no access to public funds; and
- work (including self-employment and voluntary work) is permitted, apart from work as a professional sportsperson; and
- study is permitted, except study with an education provider which is a Student sponsor, and which would meet the approved qualification and level of study requirements of the Student route which are set out in Appendix Student; and
- study is subject to the ATAS condition in Appendix ATAS; and
- if Part 10 applies the person will be required to register with the police.
How Can We Help?
Our specialist team of Graduate route visa solicitors can provide fast, friendly, reliable and fixed fee legal services for your application for switching into Graduate route visa. We will carry out all the work on your application until you get a decision from the Home Office UKVI on your Graduate route visa application. Our immigration solicitors’ work on your Graduate route visa application may include the following:
- assessing your eligibility for switching into Groudate route visa by considering all the relevant eligibility requirements;
- advising on relevant documents to be submitted in support of your Graduate route visa application;
- completing online application form for switching into Graduate route visa;
- submitting your completed application online, paying the Home Office UKVI fees and booking your appointment with the UKVCAS Application Centre for you to enrol your biometrics;
- preparing a detailed cover letter in support of your application to explain in detail how all the relevant requirements for switching into Graduate route visa have been satisfied by you;
- uploading all the supporting documents online in support of your Graduate route visa application;
- doing all the follow up work including responding to any queries raised by the Home Office UKVI until decision is reached on your Graduate route visa application.
