My Graduate Visa is expiring… What can I do next?

What to do if my graduate visa is expiring?

After completing your time studying in the UK, most people will go on to the Graduate visa. The Graduate Visa, also colloquially referred to as the PSW visa, allows students to remain in the UK for up to two years to continue living in the UK following their time studying at University. PhD students are the exception to this as their leave may be valid for three year on a Graduate Visa.

The Graduate Visa is not extendable. The Student and Graduate routes are also not visas which lead to settlement.

You must therefore make an application before your Graduate Visa expires to be able to remain in the UK. If you cannot make an application, you must leave the UK. If you do not then you will become an overstayer and this can have incredibly serious repercussions on future visa applications.

Options available include:

• Youth mobility scheme
• Skilled worker visa
• Global Talent Visa 

Youth Mobility Scheme

The Youth Mobility Scheme is a visa which allows nationals of certain countries, under a certain age threshold to come to the UK. This is not a route which leads to settlement, but it may be an interim measure to live in the UK whilst you seek a Skilled Worker role or build a portfolio for a Global Talent Visa.

The caveat with the Youth Mobility Scheme is that the application cannot be made from within the UK. You must make an application from a country in which you have permanent residence status, which typically means your country of nationality. Therefore you must leave the UK to make the application. This attracts some degree of risk in leaving the country with no guaranteed return, as well as travel costs will be incurred in order to make the application.

For nationals of Australia, Canada, New Zealand and South Korea this route is available to people between the ages of 18-35 years old.

For nationals of Andorra, Iceland, Japan, Monaco, San Marino, Uruguay you must be between the ages of 18-30 years old.

There are special provisions for nationals of Hong Kong, Taiwan, India, British Overseas Territories, British National (Overseas) and British Overseas Citizens.

The Youth Mobility Scheme is a two year visa allowing you to live and work in the UK.

This visa is not renewable unless you are a national of Australia, Canada or New Zealand. Nationals of Australia, New Zealand and Canada can extend their visa for up to one year from within the UK.

Skilled Worker Visa

This is by far the most popular work visa that we frequently work on at OTB Legal. Many people look into this when their graduate visa is expiring.

In order to be eligible for this route, you need to get a job with an eligible employer. The employer must have a sponsor licence issued by the Home Office. They will issue you with an electronic document called a Certificate of Sponsorship. Once you have this Certificate, you are then able to make an application for the Skilled Worker Visa.

This visa is contingent on your employment. If you lose your employment/ sponsorship, then you may be in a position where you must leave the country if you are unable to lawfully make an application for a new visa.

The skilled worker visa can be granted for a period of up to five years and is renewable for as many years that your employer agrees to sponsor you for. Most applicants will be eligible for indefinite leave to remain after a period of five years on this visa. There are however conditions on how long you are allowed to be absent from the UK in order to be eligible for Indefinite Leave to Remain that you may need to be cautious of.

One particular benefit to Graduates looking to switch straight into the Skilled Worker route is that the Immigration Rules provide under the ‘New Entrant’ provisions that new entrants to the UK labour market can be paid 70% of the going rate for the profession. This means that for eligible roles, you can be paid a lesser rate which may be more appealing for employers recruiting for graduate level roles opposed to your seeking of a role with an incredibly high salary average published salary.

OTB Legal are only able to assist once an applicant has secured sponsorship, please do get in touch once you have been issued your certificate of sponsorship and we would be delighted to offer you a free consultation with a member of our business immigration team.

Global Talent Visa (Promise)

This is a complex and somewhat niche application that is designed for world leaders/ potential world leaders in their chosen field of expertise. If this is you, it is worth considering this route if your graduate visa is expiring.

Most graduates will not qualify for this route. But a select few may be eligible which is why it is included as a potential option.

Global Talent allows for people working in academia/ research, arts & culture or digital technology to make an application to an endorsing body to recognise them as a world leader/ potential world leader in their area of specialism. This is an incredibly high standard to meet, especially at a Graduate level of experience.

There are two routes under the Global Talent, talent and promise. Depending on the endorsing body these standards can also be referred to as leader and potential leader opposed or exceptional talent and exceptional promise. Talent is for world leaders in their field. Promise is for potential world leaders, in the first five years of their career. Most Graduates enquiring about endorsement would most likely fall into the category of promise. The promise route will lead to settlement after five years continuous residence, talent leads to settlement after three years.

These cases are very circumstance specific as to whether someone’s experience would amount to a Global Talent or Promise standard. We are happy to review your CV or LinkedIn profile and provide an indication as to whether this route may be suitable for you to explore further.

Support when your Graduate Visa is expiring:

If you’d like us to take a look at your enquiry, please reach out to us using the contact form below or simply email [email protected] to outline your case. A member of our team will respond to you with a personalised response.