UK Graduate Route visa for Pakistani students: 2026 and 2027

The UK Graduate Route lets Pakistani students stay and work in the UK after finishing an eligible UK degree. As of October 2026, it lasts 2 years if you apply on or before 31 December 2026 and 18 months if you apply on or after 1 January 2027. PhD graduates get 3 years. You must apply from inside the UK, and the fee is £937 plus the health surcharge.

What is the UK Graduate Route visa?

The Graduate visa is the UK's post study work visa. It is unsponsored, so no employer has to back your application. You can work in most jobs at any salary, look for work, be self employed, and travel in and out of the UK.

You cannot claim most benefits, work as a professional sportsperson, or extend the visa. It does not lead to settlement on its own, and you can only hold it once. There is no English test: Appendix Graduate of the Immigration Rules sets no English requirement.

Who is eligible for the Graduate visa?

All four GOV.UK conditions must be true on the day you apply:

1. You are in the UK.
2. Your current visa is a Student visa (or the older Tier 4 student visa).
3. You studied a UK bachelor's degree, postgraduate degree or other eligible course for the minimum period on that visa: the whole course if it lasted 12 months or less, otherwise at least 12 months.
4. Your university has told the Home Office that you successfully completed the course.

Your university must also be a licensed student sponsor with a "track record of compliance".

One point catches Pakistani students out. If a government or international scholarship covered both your fees and living costs in the 12 months before you apply, you need that sponsor's written consent.

Is the UK post study work visa 2 years or 18 months?

It depends on the date you submit your Graduate visa application, not the date your course started. The rule was set by the Statement of Changes HC 1333, laid on 14 October 2025, and now sits in Appendix Graduate:

The visa starts on the day it is approved, not the day your course ends.

When can you apply?

You can apply as soon as your university reports your successful completion to the Home Office. You do not have to wait for graduation day or your certificate. You must apply before your Student visa expires.

Say you finish a 12 month master's with a course end date of 30 September 2026. For courses of 12 months or longer, Appendix Student adds 4 months after the course end date, so your Student visa runs until about the end of January 2027. If your university reports your completion in November, you can apply before 31 December 2026 and get 2 years. Wait until January 2027 and you get 18 months.

If you start a one year master's in September 2026 or January 2027, you will finish in 2027, so plan around 18 months.

How much does the Graduate visa cost: fee and IHS?

As of 14 October 2026, GOV.UK lists:

• Application fee: £937.
• Immigration Health Surcharge (IHS): £1,035 for each year of the visa. Graduates pay this standard rate, not the £776 student rate.
• 2 year visa: £2,070 IHS. 3 year visa (PhD): £3,105 IHS.

For an 18 month visa, the IHS rules charge the yearly amount plus half, which is £1,552.50. The Graduate visa page on GOV.UK currently shows £1,152.50 for 18 months, which does not match that calculation, so rely on the amount the online form shows you.

At about PKR 367 to the pound in mid October 2026, the 2 year total is roughly PKR 1.1 million and the 18 month total roughly PKR 0.9 million. If your application is refused, the IHS is refunded in full.

Can I apply for the Graduate visa from Pakistan?

No. You must be physically in the UK and still hold your Student visa when you apply. If you fly home to Lahore after your exams and your Student visa expires while you are there, you lose the chance to apply.

You apply online with your passport and the CAS number from your Student visa application, then prove your identity through the UK Immigration: ID Check app or at a UKVCAS appointment. A decision usually comes within 8 weeks, and you can stay in the UK while you wait. Do not travel outside the UK, Ireland, the Channel Islands or the Isle of Man before the decision, or your application is withdrawn. If approved, you get an eVisa.

Can my family stay with me on a Graduate visa?

Only family who are already here as your dependants. Your partner and children can extend onto the Graduate route if they joined you as dependants on your Student visa. A child born in the UK during your Student visa or Graduate visa can also apply. Their visas end on the same date as yours.

A new spouse cannot join you from Pakistan on this route. Since 1 January 2024, most postgraduate students can bring family only on a PhD or research based degree, or as government sponsored students, so most Pakistani master's graduates will not have dependants to extend. Our guide on taking a spouse on a student visa compares the rules by country.

How do I switch from a Graduate visa to a Skilled Worker visa?

You can switch from inside the UK once you have a job offer from a Home Office licensed sponsor and a certificate of sponsorship. As of 14 October 2026, the main rules are:

• The job must be eligible. Since 22 July 2025, most new Skilled Worker visas need a job listed as "higher skilled". A "medium skilled" job only qualifies if it is on the immigration salary list or the temporary shortage list.
• Standard salary: at least £41,700 a year, or the going rate for the job if that is higher.
• Recent graduate rate: if you are on a Graduate visa, or held one in the last 2 years, you can be paid 70% of the going rate, as long as the salary is at least £33,400.
• Time limit: at the lower graduate rate, your total stay cannot exceed 4 years, including time already spent on the Graduate visa.
• English: switching from another visa needs level B2. A degree taught in English and awarded by a UK university proves it.
• Fees from inside the UK: £943 for up to 3 years or £1,865 for longer, plus £1,035 IHS a year. Jobs on the immigration salary list pay £628 or £1,235.

Say a job has a going rate of £40,000. Seventy percent of that is £28,000, so the £33,400 floor applies, and an offer of £34,000 could qualify.

You can also switch straight from a Student visa once you have completed your course. GOV.UK still describes a 5 year path to settlement for Skilled Workers as of 14 October 2026, but the government has proposed raising the standard qualifying period to 10 years, so check the rules before you plan around settlement.

Via Nova does not arrange jobs or sponsorship. We help you choose a course and university with the Graduate Route timeline in mind.

What did the 2025 immigration white paper change for graduates?

The white paper "Restoring control over the immigration system" was published on 12 May 2025. Since then:

• Graduate Route cut to 18 months. Announced in the white paper and made law by HC 1333 for applications from 1 January 2027. PhD graduates keep 3 years.
• Higher English for skilled workers. HC 1333 raised the Skilled Worker English level from B1 to B2 for new applications from 8 January 2026.
• Settlement English. HC 1691, published on 5 March 2026, raises the settlement English level to B2 from 26 March 2027.
• Children of graduates. Since August 2026, a child born in the UK while a parent holds a Graduate visa can apply as a dependant.
• Stricter universities. The white paper proposed tougher compliance thresholds for universities that sponsor students. Before you apply, read our checklist of UK student visa requirements for Pakistan.

If you want a counsellor to map your course dates against the Graduate visa deadline, speak to Via Nova through our study in the UK service or call +92 316 4448062.