Course finished, or nearly?
Student Visa Expiring in the UK? Your Options Before It Ends
Your Student visa runs for a set time after your course ends, and almost everything you can do next depends on applying before that date. Here are your four options, the deadlines that matter, and why the order you choose can change what you get.
Admissions guidance only. HOA does not give advice on individual immigration cases, and no university offer guarantees a visa.
Your visa deadline planner
Enter the expiry date shown in your UKVI account.
- Apply for your next visa by
- 31 January 2027, the day your visa ends
- Latest start date for a new course
- 28 February 2027
- Graduate visa length, if you qualify
- 2 years if you apply by 31 December 2026; 18 months from 1 January 2027 (3 years after a PhD)
That date has passed. If your visa has expired, speak to a regulated immigration adviser now.
An estimate from the published rules, not advice on your case. A Graduate visa also needs your university to have reported your completion first.
What Happens When Your Student Visa Expires?
Your permission to stay in the UK ends at the end of the expiry date, unless you have already applied for another visa. If you applied in time, you can stay in the UK until you get a decision. If you have not, you become an overstayer, with no permission to work or rent privately.
Before that date you have four options: apply for a Graduate visa, apply for a new Student visa, switch to another visa such as a Skilled Worker visa, or leave the UK. Each has its own conditions and deadlines, set out below.
The facts at a glance
Checked against the sources cited on 13 October 2026.
- Time after your course
- 4 months for a course of 12 months or more; 2 months for 6 to 12 months; 1 month for a pre-sessional course under 6 months; 7 days for other courses under 6 months.Appendix Student, ST 25.3
- Graduate visa: where and when
- Apply from inside the UK, while your Student visa is still valid.Appendix Graduate, GR 1.3 and GR 9.4
- Graduate visa: results first
- Your university must have told the Home Office you completed your course by the date you apply.Appendix Graduate, GR 4.3
- Graduate visa: length
- 2 years for applications made on or before 31 December 2026; 18 months on or after 1 January 2027; 3 years after a PhD.GOV.UK, Graduate visa
- Graduate visa: cost
- £937 application fee, plus a health surcharge of usually £1,035 for each year.GOV.UK, Graduate visa
- New Student visa
- The course must start within 28 days of your visa expiring and count as academic progress.GOV.UK, Student visa: extend
- After expiry
- No grace period. Overstayers have no permission to work, rent privately or access benefits.Home Office, Applications from overstayers
- Graduation ceremony
- If no visa covers it, return as a Standard Visitor, applying no earlier than 3 months before the ceremony.University of Warwick, visas for graduation
How Long Can You Stay After Your Course Ends?
Your Student visa includes extra time after the course end date on your CAS. How much depends on the length and type of the course.
| Your course | Time after it ends |
|---|---|
| 12 months or longer | 4 months |
| 6 months or longer, but under 12 months | 2 months |
| Pre-sessional course under 6 months | 1 month |
| Any other course under 6 months | 7 days |
The date that matters is the expiry date in your UKVI account, not the date of your last exam or your dissertation hand-in. The planner near the start of this page works back from it.
Your Four Options Before It Expires
All four have to be acted on before your expiry date.
- 1. Apply for a Graduate visaIf you have never had one and have completed an eligible UK degree. Apply from inside the UK before your Student visa expires, once your university has reported your completion. How the Graduate Route works, and why it cannot be extended.
- 2. Apply for a new Student visaFor a course that counts as academic progress and starts no more than 28 days after your visa expires. Check your study options, or see what it costs.
- 3. Switch to another visaFor example a Skilled Worker visa, with a job offer from an employer approved by the Home Office, once you have completed your course or if the job starts after it finishes.
- 4. Leave the UKLeave by your expiry date. You can apply from Nepal later, and Student visa applications made from outside the UK do not have to meet the academic progression rule.
Graduate Visa First, or a New Course First?
You can only ever have one Graduate visa (Appendix Graduate, GR 1.4), so if you are on your first Student visa, the order you choose matters.
| Path | What you get | What you give up |
|---|---|---|
| Graduate visa now | 2 years if you apply on or before 31 December 2026, or 18 months from 1 January 2027, with full-time work | Any Graduate visa after a later course |
| New course first, Graduate visa after it | Your one Graduate visa after the new course, if you qualify then: 18 months for applications from 1 January 2027 | The 2-year length, if you could have applied by 31 December 2026. The new course must also count as academic progress |
This is a decision about your career as much as your visa. HOA can talk through your study options; a regulated adviser can advise on your immigration position.
Five Mistakes That Close Your Options
Most students who lose an option lose it to timing, not to the rules themselves.
- Treating your last exam as the deadline. The date that matters is the end date of your visa, shown in your UKVI account.
- Waiting for results before planning. A Graduate visa needs your university’s completion report, and a new course needs a CAS. Both take time, so plan in parallel.
- Choosing a course that starts too late. A course starting more than 28 days after your visa ends rules out an application from inside the UK.
- Travelling while an application is pending. Leaving the UK, Ireland, the Channel Islands or the Isle of Man withdraws it.
- Applying a day late. There is no grace period. The 14-day exception needs a good reason beyond your control, and forgetting does not count.
Results Late, or Graduation After Your Visa Ends?
If your results may come after your visa expires
You can apply for a Graduate visa only once your university has told the Home Office that you completed your course, and only while your Student visa is valid (Appendix Graduate, GR 4.3). If your results, or the university’s report, could come after your expiry date, ask your university’s international student team now when it expects to report, and tell them your visa end date.
If you need to re-sit exams or repeat modules, your university can sponsor you to finish the course. Re-sits and repeated modules are an exception to the academic progression rule (Appendix Student, ST 14.4).
Coming back for your graduation ceremony
Ceremonies are often months after a course ends. If you no longer hold a visa that covers the date, you can return as a Standard Visitor. The University of Warwick, for example, advises applying no earlier than 3 months before the ceremony. A Graduate visa, if you have one, covers it.
Want to study again? A counsellor can check which courses still fit your expiry date, free.
Check my study optionsWhat to Do in the Last 3 Months of Your Student Visa
Work back from your expiry date. Most problems come from leaving it late.
-
Find your expiry date
Check your UKVI account (eVisa). That date is your deadline.
-
Ask when your university will report completion
You need this before you can apply for a Graduate visa.
-
Choose your next step
A Graduate visa, a new course, a work visa, or leaving the UK.
-
Studying again? Apply for your CAS early
Pick a course that counts as progress and starts within 28 days of your expiry date.
-
Working? Talk to employers about sponsorship
A Skilled Worker visa needs a job offer and a certificate of sponsorship.
-
Do not travel while an application is pending
Leaving the UK, Ireland, the Channel Islands or the Isle of Man withdraws it.
-
Apply before your visa expires
Then you can stay in the UK until you get a decision.
Frequently Asked Questions
Your permission to stay ends at the end of the expiry date, unless you have applied for another visa before then. If you applied in time, you can stay until you get a decision; if not, you become an overstayer, with no permission to work or rent privately.
Sign in to your UKVI account: the view and prove service shows the end date of your permission and your conditions. Your Home Office decision letter or email shows it too. The date on an old BRP card is not your visa end date.
Usually 4 months if your course lasted 12 months or more, 2 months for a course of 6 to 12 months, 1 month after a short pre-sessional course and 7 days after other courses under 6 months (Appendix Student, ST 25.3). Your exact date is in your UKVI account.
No. The Home Office disregards a short gap only if you apply within 14 days of expiry with a good reason beyond your control, supported by evidence. Forgetting to apply does not count.
No. You must apply from inside the UK while your Student visa is still valid, and after your university has reported your successful completion to the Home Office.
Ask your university’s international team now when it expects to report your completion, and tell them your visa end date. If completion cannot be reported in time, take regulated advice about your options before the visa ends.
Yes. Apply from inside the UK before it expires, for a course that starts no more than 28 days after the expiry date and counts as academic progress. You can apply up to 3 months before the course starts, within 6 months of getting your CAS.
It depends on your plans. A Graduate visa now gives you 2 years if you apply on or before 31 December 2026, but you only get one. Taking a new course first moves your one Graduate visa to after that course, at 18 months.
Yes, if you applied before your visa expired. You must not travel outside the UK, Ireland, the Channel Islands or the Isle of Man until you get a decision, or your application will be withdrawn.
The application fee is £937, plus the health surcharge, which is usually £1,035 for each year of the visa. A Student visa costs £558 plus £776 a year in surcharge.
If no visa covers the ceremony date, apply for a Standard Visitor visa; the University of Warwick, for example, advises applying no earlier than 3 months before the ceremony. A Graduate visa covers it if you have one.
Speak to a solicitor or an adviser regulated by the Immigration Advice Authority straight away. A late application is considered only if made within 14 days with a good reason beyond your control.
Yes, with study options. HOA’s admissions guidance is free: we check which courses fit your dates and the in-UK rules, and help you apply. Individual immigration questions go to a regulated adviser.
Guides for Students Already in the UK
Each guide answers one question. The first one is where you can ask a counsellor to check your options.
- Graduate visa to Student visaSwitch inside the UK, and check your options
- Academic progressionWill your next course count?
- Second master’s in the UKVisa rules, PSW and costs
- Dependant visa to Student visaSwitch, or study as you are
- Can you extend a Graduate visa?And what to do before it ends
- Student visa expiringYour options before it ends
- Student visa extension costFees, surcharge and a calculator
- February 2027 intakeUniversities we could confirm
Key Terms
- Visa expiry date
- The last day of your current UK permission, shown in your UKVI account. Any application from inside the UK must be made by then.
- Graduate visa
- UK permission to stay and work after an eligible UK course, granted once per person: 2 years for applications made on or before 31 December 2026, 18 months for bachelor’s and master’s graduates applying on or after 1 January 2027, and 3 years after a PhD.
- Completion report
- The university’s notice to the Home Office that a student has successfully completed their course. A Graduate visa application can only be made after it (Appendix Graduate, GR 4.3).
- Overstaying
- Remaining in the UK after your permission has expired without an in-time application. It is disregarded only in narrow cases, such as an application made within 14 days for a good reason beyond the applicant’s control.
Sources
Every rule and figure on this page was checked against these sources on 13 October 2026. If GOV.UK and this page ever disagree, GOV.UK is right.
- Home Office, Immigration Rules, Appendix Student (ST 14.4, ST 25.3)
- Home Office, Immigration Rules, Appendix Graduate (GR 1.3, GR 1.4, GR 4.3, GR 9.4)
- GOV.UK, Graduate visa
- GOV.UK, Student visa: extend your visa
- GOV.UK, Skilled Worker visa: switch to this visa
- Home Office, Applications from overstayers: caseworker guidance (updated 3 August 2026)
- University of Warwick, Visas for graduation
- University of Strathclyde, Online immigration status (eVisa)
- Immigration Advice Authority, About us
About This Guide
Who wrote it. House of Admissions (HOA), a UK-only education consultancy founded in 2016, with offices in Kathmandu and Pokhara. All 20+ HOA counsellors hold the British Council’s UK counsellor certification, and HOA’s guidance is free to students.
Who checked it. Reviewed by Rahul Chhetri, Director. Every rule and figure was checked against the sources above on , and each one links to its source.
What it is not. Admissions guidance, not immigration advice. For advice on your own case, speak to a solicitor or an adviser regulated by the Immigration Advice Authority. Spotted something out of date? Tell us.
Related Guides
Know Your Next Step Before Your Visa Ends
Tell us your expiry date and your course. A counsellor will check which study options still fit, free.