Graduate Visa UK: Cut to 18 Months in 2027, and Who Still Gets Two Years

The Graduate visa UK universities offer after a degree (the post-study work visa, or PSW, as most Nepali students call it) shrinks from 2 years to 18 months for anyone who applies from 1 January 2027 (gov.uk). A few months before that cut, the government partly backed down. Its Budget of 28 October 2026 says graduates of "high-compliance universities" will keep two years. Below: which group you fall into, what the visa costs, how to apply, and what to do before the deadline.

#Is the UK Graduate visa 18 months now?

Not yet. The gov.uk page puts it plainly: the visa lasts "2 years if you apply on or before 31 December 2026" and "18 months if you apply on or after 1 January 2027", while doctoral graduates get 3 years (gov.uk: Graduate visa). Only your application date matters. When you graduated, or when your course began, makes no difference.

The 18-month length and the 1 January 2027 start date first appeared in the Home Office's October 2025 rule changes (UKCISA), and gov.uk now shows them as the rule.

#What the Budget said

In the Budget's words, "the graduate visa duration will be set at two years for individuals who graduate from high-compliance universities" that have "strong labour market outcomes". It calls this an extension "from 18 months to two years for eligible universities" (The PIE News, 28 Oct 2026).

#What is not decided yet

So far this is a plan, not a rule. The Budget left three things open:

• how a "high-compliance" university will be defined;
• what will count as "strong labour market outcomes";
• which universities, and how many, will make the cut.

The Home Office and the Department for Education will work out the details and publish them "in due course" (The PIE News). Until the change is written into the Immigration Rules on gov.uk, no one can promise that your university qualifies. Treat any consultancy that says it already knows with suspicion.

#Is the Graduate visa the same as PSW?

For most people, yes. In Nepal, students and agents call the Graduate visa PSW (post-study work), although gov.uk never uses that name. The original Tier 1 (Post-Study Work) visa stopped taking new applicants on 6 April 2012 (Home Office inspection report, PDF). Today's Graduate route opened on 1 July 2021 (gov.uk). And despite the PSW label, working is optional: the Migration Advisory Committee points out there is "no requirement to undertake any form of work" (MAC review, PDF).

#Graduate visa UK: rules, cost and eligibility

These come from the official gov.uk Graduate visa page:

• Where you apply: inside the UK, while you hold a Student visa (or Tier 4).
• Course completion: your university has to tell the Home Office you have successfully completed your course before you can apply. Waiting for this report is the usual reason students miss their date.
• Fee: £937, plus the health surcharge, normally £1,035 for each year. Eighteen months works out at £1,035 + £517.50 = £1,552.50, and 2 years at £2,070 (gov.uk: healthcare surcharge).
• Decision time: usually 8 weeks.

#How to apply for the Graduate visa

1. Check that your university has reported your course completion. The application won't go through before that.
2. Apply online while you are in the UK and your Student visa is still valid (gov.uk: apply).
3. Confirm your identity, either through the UK Immigration: ID Check app (with a UKVI account) or by giving your fingerprints and photo at a UKVCAS service point.
4. Pay the £937 fee and the health surcharge.
5. Stay put: travelling outside the UK, Ireland, the Channel Islands or the Isle of Man before you get a decision withdraws your application.
6. Get your decision, usually within 8 weeks. Once approved, your status is an eVisa, a digital record rather than a sticker or card.

#What you can and cannot do on a Graduate visa

You can work in most jobs, look for work, be self-employed, volunteer, travel abroad and come back, and go on living in the UK with your partner and children. You can't claim most benefits (public funds) or the State Pension, or work as a professional sportsperson. Further study is allowed only on a course that doesn't qualify for a Student visa (gov.uk: Graduate visa). There is no job offer or sponsor needed at any point.

#How universities reacted

• Russell Group (Hollie Chandler, director of strategic policy): sparing highly compliant universities from the planned cut "will help protect our reputation as a global study destination."
• Universities UK (Vivienne Stern, chief executive): a "welcome recognition" of what international students contribute, though "the rules need to be stable and fair".

#What students should do now

1. Finishing your course in 2026? Try to apply on or before 31 December 2026. That date guarantees two years, whichever university you went to. Ask your university when it will send your completion report to the Home Office, since you can't apply until it does.
2. Picking a university for 2027 or later? Wait for the official list of qualifying universities before you commit, and don't choose on rankings alone.
3. Stick to official sources. Keep an eye on gov.uk: Graduate visa and on your university's international student advice team.

The same Budget also promised to open the High Potential Individual (HPI) visa to graduates of the top 150 global institutions, with a bigger cap (The PIE News).

#Frequently asked questions

Related: UK student visa from Nepal (fees, funds, dependants) · ILR new rules in the UK

Sources: gov.uk: Graduate visa · gov.uk: Graduate route launches, 1 July 2021 · Home Office inspection report (Tier 1 Post-Study Work closed 6 April 2012), PDF · gov.uk: healthcare surcharge · The PIE News, 28 Oct 2026 · ApplyBoard: UK update · StudyTravel Network · UKCISA