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No: a UK Graduate visa cannot be extended, and Appendix Graduate allows only one per person (GR 1.4). To stay longer, switch before it expires, for example to a Skilled Worker visa with a sponsored job or a Student visa for a new course. There is no grace period after expiry. Rules checked 13 October 2026.

Graduate visa ending soon?

Can You Extend a Graduate Visa in the UK? What to Do Instead

No: a Graduate visa cannot be extended, and you only ever get one. But you may be able to switch to another visa before it ends, such as a Skilled Worker or a Student visa. Here is what each option needs, and what happens if you do nothing.

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Admissions guidance only. HOA does not give advice on individual immigration cases, and no university offer guarantees a visa.

By Rahul Chhetri, Director, House of Admissions. Updated .

Rules checked against GOV.UK and the Immigration Rules on .

Your Graduate visa in three questions

Under the Immigration Rules as checked on 13 October 2026.

Can you extend it?
No. GOV.UK: you cannot extend a Graduate visa.
Can you get it twice?
No. One per person (Appendix Graduate, GR 1.4).
Can you switch before it ends?
Often, yes. For example to a Skilled Worker or a Student visa.

There is no grace period after the expiry date. Apply for your next visa before it.

Can a Graduate Visa Be Extended?

No. GOV.UK says plainly that you cannot extend a Graduate visa, and the Immigration Rules allow only one Graduate visa per person (Appendix Graduate, GR 1.4). You cannot renew it or apply for a second one either.

To stay in the UK after it ends, you need to switch to a different visa before the expiry date. The routes open to most Graduate visa holders are a Skilled Worker visa, which needs a job with an employer approved by the Home Office, and a Student visa for a new course. If neither fits, plan to leave the UK by the expiry date and apply from outside the UK for whatever comes next.

The facts at a glance

Checked against the sources cited on 13 October 2026.

Extend it?
No. You cannot extend a Graduate visa.GOV.UK, Graduate visa
A second one?
No. It is granted once per person.Appendix Graduate, GR 1.4
How long it lasts
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
Switching
You may be able to switch to another visa, for example a Skilled Worker visa, before it expires.GOV.UK, Graduate visa
Skilled Worker salary
Usually at least £41,700 a year or the going rate for the job, whichever is higher.GOV.UK, Skilled Worker: your job
Lower rate for graduates
On a Graduate visa you can be paid 70% of the going rate if the salary is at least £33,400, for a total stay of up to 4 years including your Graduate visa time.GOV.UK, Skilled Worker: when you can be paid less
After it expires
No grace period. A late application is considered only if made within 14 days with a good reason beyond your control, backed by evidence.Home Office, Applications from overstayers (SUI 13.1)
Your family
Your partner’s and children’s Graduate dependant visas end on the same date as yours.GOV.UK, Graduate visa: partner and children

Your Options Before Your Graduate Visa Ends

Every option below has to be started, and in most cases applied for, before your Graduate visa expires.

Options for a Graduate visa holder before expiry. Checked on 13 October 2026.
OptionWhat you needWhat to watch
Skilled Worker visaA job offer from an employer approved by the Home Office, in an eligible occupation, and a certificate of sponsorshipThe salary rules, and the time your employer needs to sponsor you
Student visaA CAS for a course that counts as academic progress and starts no more than 28 days after your visa expiresNo second Graduate visa afterwards; work limited to 20 hours a week in term time
Another visaThe criteria of that route, for example for exceptional talent, a business, or familySpecialist rules: take regulated advice
Leave the UKLeave by your expiry dateYou can apply from outside the UK later. A Student visa application from outside the UK does not have to meet the academic progression rule

Switching to a Student visa is covered in full in Graduate visa to Student visa, including how to check whether your next course counts; the cost calculator works out the fee and health surcharge.

Switching to a Skilled Worker Visa

The Skilled Worker visa needs a job offer from an employer approved by the Home Office, in an eligible occupation, with a certificate of sponsorship. The salary must normally be at least £41,700 a year or the going rate for the job, whichever is higher (GOV.UK, checked 13 October 2026).

Graduate visa holders can qualify for a lower rate. If you are on a Graduate visa now, or a Graduate visa was your most recent visa, you can be paid 70% of the job’s standard going rate, as long as the salary is at least £33,400. The limit: your total stay in the UK on this basis cannot be more than 4 years, including the time you have already spent on your Graduate visa.

Example: if the going rate for your job is £40,000, 70% is £28,000, below the floor, so the salary must be at least £33,400. If the going rate is £52,000, 70% is £36,400, so the salary must be at least £36,400.

  • Talk to your employer early. Getting a sponsor licence and assigning a certificate of sponsorship takes time.
  • Check the occupation code for your job and its going rate on GOV.UK before you rely on an offer.
  • Apply before your Graduate visa expires. Your partner and children can apply as your dependants at the same time, or at any point before their current visas expire.

HOA is an admissions consultancy, not an immigration adviser. For a Skilled Worker application, your employer and a solicitor or an adviser regulated by the Immigration Advice Authority are the right people to check your eligibility.

What Happens If Your Graduate Visa Expires?

Your permission to be in the UK ends at the end of the expiry date. There is no grace period. If you have not applied for another visa by then, you become an overstayer.

  • The Home Office disregards a short period of overstaying only if you apply within 14 days of your permission expiring and there was a good reason beyond your control for applying late, explained and evidenced in the application (SUI 13.1). Forgetting to apply is not a good reason.
  • While you are an overstayer you have no permission to work, rent privately or access benefits.
  • Overstaying can count against you in future UK visa applications.

Already expired? Speak to a solicitor or an adviser regulated by the Immigration Advice Authority immediately. Do not rely on general guidance, including this page.

Your Partner and Children

If your partner or children are here as your Graduate visa dependants, their visas end on the same date as yours.

  • If you switch to a Skilled Worker visaYour partner and children can apply as your dependants, at the same time as you or before their current visas expire.
  • If you switch to a Student visaFor courses starting from 1 January 2024, students can generally bring dependants only on postgraduate research courses or as government-sponsored students. There is a narrow rule for existing dependants: take regulated advice before choosing a course.
  • A new partner or childA partner can stay as your Graduate visa dependant only if they were your dependant on your Student visa. A child born in the UK during your Student or Graduate visa is an exception.
  • If your partner wants to studyA Graduate visa holder’s partner can study, subject to ATAS for some subjects. Dependants and study.

Does the 18-Month Change Affect Your Graduate Visa?

No, not if you already have one. The 18-month length applies to applications made on or after 1 January 2027 by bachelor’s and master’s graduates; PhD graduates still get 3 years. A Graduate visa you already hold keeps the length it was granted with.

It does matter if you are still on a Student visa: apply on or before 31 December 2026 and your one Graduate visa lasts 2 years. What to do when your Student visa is expiring.

Thinking about study instead? A counsellor can check which courses fit your Graduate visa dates, free.

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What to Do in the Last 6 Months of Your Graduate Visa

Start early. Sponsorship and CAS decisions both take time, and there is no grace period.

  1. Find your exact expiry date

    Check your UKVI account (eVisa). That date is your deadline for any new application.

  2. Decide: work, study or leave

    Your options depend on a job offer, a course, or your plans outside the UK.

  3. Working? Talk to your employer now

    Ask whether they can sponsor you and how long a certificate of sponsorship will take.

  4. Studying? Shortlist courses that fit the rules

    The course must count as academic progress and start no more than 28 days after your visa expires.

  5. Plan for your partner and children

    Their visas end with yours. Decide how they will apply under your next visa.

  6. Take regulated advice if your case is not simple

    For example a previous refusal, a gap in your permission, or settlement plans.

  7. Apply before your Graduate visa expires

    If you apply in time, you can stay in the UK while the application is decided.

Frequently Asked Questions

No. GOV.UK states that you cannot extend a Graduate visa. To stay longer, you need to switch to a different visa, such as a Skilled Worker or a Student visa, before your Graduate visa expires.

No. Appendix Graduate (GR 1.4) allows one Graduate visa per person, so you cannot renew it or get another one after a later course.

No. Your permission ends on the expiry date. A late application is considered only if made within 14 days of expiry with a good reason beyond your control, and forgetting to apply does not count.

GOV.UK gives the Skilled Worker visa as an example, and a Student visa for a new course is another option. Other visas, such as family or talent routes, have their own criteria and need regulated advice.

Usually at least £41,700 or the job’s going rate, whichever is higher. On a Graduate visa you can be paid 70% of the going rate if the salary is at least £33,400, for a total stay of up to 4 years including your Graduate visa time.

Yes, if you meet the requirements: you apply before your Graduate visa expires, the course starts no more than 28 days after it expires, and it counts as academic progress. How to switch from a Graduate visa to a Student visa.

No. The 18-month length applies to applications made on or after 1 January 2027. A Graduate visa you already hold keeps the length it was granted with.

Not on its own. The Graduate route is not a route to settlement, and its time does not count towards the usual 5-year Skilled Worker settlement period. Settlement rules have been under review since 2025, so take regulated advice before planning around them.

Their visa ends on the same date as yours. If you switch to a Skilled Worker visa, they can apply as your dependants at the same time as you or before their visas expire.

Generally not. A partner can stay as your Graduate visa dependant only if they were your dependant on your Student visa. A child born in the UK during your Student or Graduate visa is an exception.

Speak to a solicitor or an adviser regulated by the Immigration Advice Authority immediately. Without permission you cannot work or rent privately, and a late application must be made within 14 days with a good reason beyond your control.

Yes, with study options. HOA gives free admissions guidance: which courses fit the in-UK rules and how to apply. Work visas and individual immigration questions go to your employer and 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.

Key Terms

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. It cannot be extended.
Switching
Applying from inside the UK for permission on a different visa route before the current permission expires.
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.
Lower Skilled Worker rate for graduates
A salary rule letting current or recent Graduate and Student visa holders be paid 70% of the standard going rate, with a floor of £33,400, for a total stay of up to 4 years.

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.

  1. GOV.UK, Graduate visa
  2. GOV.UK, Graduate visa: your partner and children
  3. Home Office, Immigration Rules, Appendix Graduate (GR 1.4, GR 8.1)
  4. Home Office, Immigration Rules, Appendix Student (ST 14, ST 31)
  5. GOV.UK, Skilled Worker visa: your job
  6. GOV.UK, Skilled Worker visa: when you can be paid less
  7. GOV.UK, Skilled Worker visa: your partner and children
  8. Home Office, Applications from overstayers: caseworker guidance (updated 3 August 2026)
  9. 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

Plan Your Next Visa Before This One Ends

If study is part of your plan, tell us your dates and your degree. A counsellor will check which courses fit the in-UK rules, free.

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