Does the UK Graduate visa count towards settlement?

A Graduate visa is a type of visa that allows international students who have completed their university studies in the UK to remain in the UK for a further 2 years, or up to 3 years for PhD students.

A Graduate visa permits you to look for employment, work full-time in the UK without sponsorship or set up and run your own business.

The Graduate visa does not in itself, however, lead towards indefinite leave to remain in the UK (i.e. ILR, also known as settlement). This means that for those wishing to remain in the UK long-term, they will need to transition onto a different category of qualifying visa before their Graduate visa expires. The type of visa that you apply for will depend on your individual circumstances and the applicable Immigration Rules at that time. It is common however, for those on a Graduate visa to transition to a Skilled Worker visa. The Skilled Worker category provides a direct path to ILR after 5 continuous years on the route.

It should also be noted that time spent on the Graduate visa can be combined with time spent on other visas for the purposes of an application for ILR based on 10 years’ continuous and lawful residence in the UK. 

How Gherson can assist

Gherson’s Immigration Team are highly experienced in advising on UK visa matters. If you have any questions arising from this blog, please do not hesitate to contact us for advice, send us an e-mail, or, alternatively, follow us on Twitter, Facebook, or LinkedIn to stay-up-to-date.

The information in this blog is for general information purposes only and does not purport to be comprehensive or to provide legal advice. Whilst every effort is made to ensure the information and law is current as of the date of publication it should be stressed that, due to the passage of time, this does not necessarily reflect the present legal position. Gherson accepts no responsibility for loss which may arise from accessing or reliance on information contained in this blog. For formal advice on the current law please do not hesitate to contact Gherson. Legal advice is only provided pursuant to a written agreement, identified as such, and signed by the client and by or on behalf of Gherson.

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