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Graduate visa 18 months from 2027: what it means for your job search

By Maksym Gavrylenko · Updated · First published

Short answer

If you apply for a Graduate visa on or before 31 December 2026, it lasts 2 years. Apply on or after 1 January 2027 and it lasts 18 months, while PhD and other doctoral graduates get 3 years either way. You cannot apply until your university or college has told the Home Office you have successfully completed your course.

Graduate visa 18 months: what changes on 1 January 2027

The Graduate visa page on GOV.UK sets out the change with fixed dates. JLocate last checked it on 15 September 2026.

You applyBachelor's, master's or other eligible coursePhD or other doctoral qualification
On or before 31 December 20262 years3 years
On or after 1 January 202718 months3 years
  • Your application date sets the length, not your graduation date or the date your course ends.
  • Your visa starts on the day your application is approved, so the months count from that day.
  • You will usually get a decision within 8 weeks, and you can stay in the UK while you wait.
  • The application fee is £937. On top of that you pay the immigration health surcharge, usually £1,035 for each year.

Can you still get two years?

You can apply for a Graduate visa when all of these are true:

  • you are in the UK
  • your current visa is a Student visa or a Tier 4 (General) student visa
  • you studied a UK bachelor's degree, postgraduate degree or other eligible course for a minimum period of time with that visa
  • your education provider has told the Home Office you have successfully completed your course

Under the eligibility rules, you must apply before your Student visa expires. You do not have to wait until you have graduated or been given a certificate. Because you cannot apply until your university reports completion, the date it reports can decide whether you are able to apply by 31 December 2026.

Three situations

  • Your university reports completion by 31 December 2026. If you apply after it reports, on or before 31 December 2026 and before your Student visa expires, your visa lasts 2 years.
  • Your university reports completion on or after 1 January 2027. You cannot apply until it does, so your visa lasts 18 months.
  • You are outside the UK, or your Student visa has expired. You cannot apply for a Graduate visa from outside the UK or once your Student visa has expired. Read the section on leaving the UK.

Ask your university for the date it will report your completion to the Home Office.

Example: you finish an MSc in November 2026, and your Student visa expires on 31 January 2027. Your university reports completion in December 2026 and you apply by 31 December, so your Graduate visa would last 2 years. If your university reports completion in January 2027 instead, you can still apply before your Student visa expires on 31 January, but your Graduate visa would last 18 months.

If you already hold a Graduate visa, is it shortened?

No. Appendix Graduate sets the length once, when permission is granted, and keys it to the date the application was made: 2 years where the application is made before 1 January 2027, 18 months where it is made on or after that day, and 3 years for a PhD or other doctoral qualification either way. The rule decides what a new application is granted. It does not reach back into permission you already hold.

Read your own end date rather than working it out. Sign in to your UKVI account and check the expiry on your eVisa. That is the date the Home Office will use, and the date your sponsor search has to work back from.

The change still reaches you, just not through your own visa. From January 2027 the people graduating behind you have 18 months rather than 2 years to find a sponsor, so they start applying sooner and for the same roles. That is a reason to start early, not a reason to reapply.

You cannot extend a Graduate visa and you cannot get a second one, whichever length yours is. If it runs out before you find a sponsored job, the next step is a different route: switching to a Skilled Worker visa from inside the UK, or applying from abroad while your new-entrant window is still open.

You cannot extend a Graduate visa. To stay and work after it ends, you may be able to switch to another visa, such as a Skilled Worker visa. You must apply to switch before your Graduate visa expires.

For a Skilled Worker visa you need:

  • a confirmed job offer from a UK employer the Home Office has approved, and a certificate of sponsorship from that employer
  • a job on the list of eligible occupations, paid at least the minimum salary for that type of work

Count back from the day your Graduate visa ends. Before that day, your employer has to offer you the job and assign the certificate, and you have to submit your application. After you apply, a decision on a switch usually takes 8 weeks. On an 18-month Graduate visa you have six months less to fit all of that in than on a 2-year one.

The register of licensed sponsors lists Worker and Temporary Worker sponsors, with the categories of worker they are licensed to sponsor and their rating. A listing shows the employer holds a licence. The job itself still has to meet the occupation and salary rules.

Start checking jobs while you are on your Student visa. Aim to know which employers, occupation codes and salaries can work for you before your Graduate visa starts. Getting visa sponsorship after a Graduate visa sets out the full plan.

The new-entrant rate and the four-year cap

A Skilled Worker job usually has to pay £41,700 or the going rate for the job, whichever is higher. As a new entrant, you can be paid less: 70% of the job's standard going rate, as long as your salary is at least £33,400 a year.

You count as a new entrant on one of five grounds, including being under 26 on the date you apply, or being on a Student visa at bachelor's degree level or above or a Graduate visa now, or in the last 2 years with that visa or a visit visa as your most recent visa. On any of them, your total stay in the UK cannot be more than 4 years, including time on a Graduate visa. How the new-entrant salary rate works lists all five grounds with worked examples by occupation code, and the calculator works out the figure for your job.

Time spent on a full 2-year Graduate visa counts as 2 years of the 4. A full 18-month one counts as 1 year and 6 months. If you switch before your Graduate visa ends, only the time you have actually spent on it counts.

Unless you are exempt, you also need to show English at level B2. A degree-level qualification taught in English and awarded by a UK institution counts as proof.

If you have already left the UK

You must be in the UK when you apply for a Graduate visa, and your current visa must be a Student visa. If you have left the UK and your Student visa has ended, you cannot apply, so the 2027 change does not affect you.

One route back is a Skilled Worker visa, applied for from outside the UK. You can still use the new-entrant rate if you apply less than 2 years after your Student or Graduate visa expired and have held no other UK visa since, apart from a visit visa. Applying from abroad after a UK degree covers the 2-year window, the 4-year cap and the costs.

Before 31 December 2026: a short checklist

  1. Find the expiry date of your Student visa.
  2. Ask your university or college for the date it will tell the Home Office you have completed your course.
  3. If that date is on or before 31 December 2026, you can apply once it has reported and before your Student visa expires. To get 2 years, apply on or before 31 December 2026, and do not leave it to the last day.
  4. Set a countdown to 31 December 2026, or to your visa expiry if that comes first.
  5. For each job you consider, check the occupation code and salary against the rate that applies to you.

JLocate uses real GOV.UK rules and salary thresholds, last checked on 15 September 2026. You can see every rule we check, with dates. The vacancies in the app, and the employers attached to them, are fictional demo data, so bring the jobs you find elsewhere. JLocate cannot tell you when your university will report completion.

This guide gives general information about the rules. For legal advice when your dates are close, speak to an adviser regulated by the Immigration Advice Authority, or a solicitor.

Questions people ask

Is the Graduate visa now 18 months?

Not yet. If you apply on or before 31 December 2026, it lasts 2 years. Apply on or after 1 January 2027 and it lasts 18 months. PhD and other doctoral graduates get 3 years either way.

When does the Graduate visa 18 months rule start in 2027?

It applies if you apply on or after 1 January 2027. The length depends on the date you apply.

Will my existing Graduate visa be reduced to 18 months?

No. Appendix Graduate fixes the length when permission is granted and keys it to the date the application was made, so a visa already granted keeps the end date it was given. The 18-month row applies to applications made on or after 1 January 2027. Check the expiry on your eVisa in your UKVI account rather than working it out.

Are PhD graduates affected by the change to 18 months?

No. With a PhD or other doctoral qualification, your Graduate visa lasts 3 years whether you apply before or after 1 January 2027.

Does my graduation date decide how long I get?

No. Your application date decides it. You can apply once your education provider has told the Home Office you completed your course, and before your Student visa expires. You do not have to wait until you have graduated.

Tell JLocate your visa status and degree level. If you are on a Student visa, it counts down the days you have left to apply for a 2-year Graduate visa, and it checks jobs you add against the salary rate that applies to you.

Get your own countdown →

Sources

Checked against these pages on . Immigration rules change; the official page wins if it disagrees with this guide.

Built for information and planning, not legal advice. Every threshold links to its official source on the Sources screen.