Student visa and the Graduate route

Studying in the UK as an international student requires careful attention to visa requirements, financial evidence, and work restrictions. This guide explains what you need to know about obtaining a Student visa, understanding your work rights during your course, and transitioning to the Graduate route after you finish your studies.

Getting Your Student Visa: The CAS and Financial Requirements

Before you apply for a Student visa, your university or college must issue you a Confirmation of Acceptance for Studies, known as a CAS. This is an electronic document—not a physical certificate—that contains a unique reference number. Your university acts as your official immigration sponsor and creates the CAS in their Sponsor Management System, which links to the Home Office's records. The CAS confirms that you have genuinely been offered a place on an eligible course and shows details such as your course title, start date, end date, and tuition fees.

Universities can only issue a CAS once you have accepted your place unconditionally, paid any required deposits, and provided all requested documents. Most universities will not issue a CAS earlier than six months before your course begins. Once you receive your CAS number, it remains valid for six months, so apply for your Student visa promptly. Check all details on your CAS carefully—any discrepancies between the CAS and your supporting documents can lead to a visa refusal.

Proving You Have Enough Money

The Home Office requires you to demonstrate that you have sufficient funds to support yourself throughout your course. This includes both tuition fees and living costs. The amount you must show depends on where your university is located. For courses in London, you need to prove you have £1,334 per month for living costs (up to nine months, totalling £12,006). For courses outside London, the requirement is £1,023 per month (up to nine months, totalling £9,207). On top of living costs, you must show funds to cover your first year of tuition fees, as stated on your CAS.

The key requirement is that all required funds must be held in a bank account for at least 28 consecutive days before you apply. The account can be in your name or your parent's or legal guardian's name. The bank statement's closing date must be no more than 31 days before you submit your visa application. If you use a parent's funds, you will need to provide additional documents confirming the family relationship and their permission for you to use the money. Do not simply transfer money into an account shortly before applying—the Home Office checks the length of time the funds have been held.

Application Fees and Healthcare Costs

The Student visa application fee is currently £558 for applications made from outside or inside the UK. In addition, you must pay the Immigration Health Surcharge (IHS), which gives you access to the National Health Service (NHS) on the same terms as a UK resident. The student rate is £776 per year of your visa's duration, calculated and paid upfront as part of your application. The surcharge does not simply multiply the annual rate by calendar years; instead, it is calculated precisely based on the length of your visa grant. If your visa covers a partial year of six months or less, you will be charged an additional amount for that period. You must pay both the visa fee and the IHS within a specified window after your application is submitted.

Working While You Study: The 20-Hour Rule

As an international student on a Student visa, you are allowed to work part-time, but strict rules apply. For degree-level courses, you can work up to 20 hours per week during official term time. During official university vacation periods, you can work full-time (unlimited hours). For courses below degree level, the limit is 10 hours per week during term time. Understanding exactly what counts as term time and what counts as a vacation period is crucial, as violations can have serious consequences.

How the 20-Hour Limit Actually Works

The Home Office defines a week as any seven-day period starting on a Monday and ending on a Sunday. You cannot average your hours across a month. If you work 21 hours in one week and 10 hours the next week, you have breached your visa conditions in the first week, even though the average is acceptable. The 20-hour limit is cumulative across all employers—if you work 10 hours at one job and 12 hours at another, you have exceeded your limit. Similarly, if you have two part-time jobs at 10 hours each, the combined 20 hours is your total allowance; you cannot work additional hours at a third employer.

Term time is defined by your university's official academic calendar, not your personal circumstances. Even if you have finished your exams or are only writing your dissertation, you remain in term time until your university formally declares the period a vacation. For postgraduate taught students (MA, MSc, MBA), dissertations due during summer count as term time, so you remain limited to 20 hours per week until you have fully submitted your thesis and received official confirmation of completion.

Several types of work are strictly prohibited on a Student visa. You cannot be self-employed or freelance, invoice clients directly, or run your own business. You cannot work as a professional athlete, sports coach, or professional entertainer. You cannot work outside the UK for an overseas employer if you are physically in the UK, as the 20-hour term-time limit still applies. These prohibitions exist regardless of your financial need.

Getting Your National Insurance Number

Before you start work, you will need to obtain a National Insurance number. This is a unique reference used by HMRC (Her Majesty's Revenue and Customs) to track your tax and social security contributions. When you start a job, your employer will ask for your National Insurance number so they can report your earnings to HMRC. If you don't yet have one, apply through the HMRC website or contact the National Insurance helpline before your start date. Having your National Insurance number in place prevents delays in your employment.

After Your Studies: The Graduate Route

Once you have completed your course, you may be eligible to stay in the UK under the Graduate route, a post-study work visa that allows you to work and live in the UK for a defined period after graduation. The Graduate route is an unsponsored visa, meaning you do not need a job offer or an employer to sponsor you before applying. This flexibility is one of its key advantages—you can work at any skill level, change employers, or even start your own business.

Duration and Eligibility

For most graduates holding a bachelor's degree or master's degree, the Graduate route currently lasts up to 2 years. However, this is changing: applications submitted from 1 January 2027 onwards will be granted only 18 months of leave, not the current 2 years. If you hold a doctoral qualification (PhD, MRes, or equivalent), you are eligible for 3 years under the Graduate route, and this longer duration is expected to remain unchanged after 2027.

To qualify for the Graduate route, you must have completed at least 12 months of study on a Student visa (or the full length of your course if it is shorter than 12 months), and all study must have taken place in the UK. Your university must formally report to the Home Office that you have been awarded your degree before you can apply. You should receive an email notification from your university's international office confirming that this notification has been made. You must apply for the Graduate route before your current Student visa expires.

Work Rights and Restrictions

The Graduate route offers maximum flexibility for work compared to your Student visa. There are no restrictions on the type of work you can do, no hourly limits, and no requirement to remain in full-time employment. You can be self-employed, start a business, take on multiple jobs at any skill level, or work in any sector. This is significantly more flexible than the Student visa and makes the Graduate route an attractive bridge to longer-term UK work visas such as the Skilled Worker visa.

However, the Graduate route has important limitations. The visa cannot be extended once you have used your allocated time. If you have two years of leave, you cannot request an additional year. There is only one grant of Graduate route leave available in your lifetime; you cannot split it across multiple applications. Additionally, the Graduate route does not lead directly to settlement (Indefinite Leave to Remain). After your Graduate route period expires, you will need to secure another visa category, such as a Skilled Worker visa, if you wish to remain in the UK long-term.

Applying for the Graduate Route

To apply for the Graduate route, you must be in the UK and submit your application before your Student visa expires. Most Graduate route applications are processed within eight weeks, though many decisions come faster. While your application is being considered, you can continue living in the UK under your current Student visa, provided you submitted your application before your Student visa expired. Common reasons for refusal include applying before your university has notified the Home Office of your degree completion, mismatched details between your passport and university records, or incomplete document submission. Ensure all your information is consistent across all documents and that your university has formally confirmed your completion before applying.

Key Takeaways

• Your CAS from your university is essential and must be accurate in every detail. Check it carefully before using it in your visa application.
• You must prove you have required funds held for 28 consecutive days. The amount covers both tuition fees and living costs, varying by location.
• The visa fee is £558, and you must also pay the Immigration Health Surcharge upfront, calculated based on your visa duration.
• During term time, you can work maximum 20 hours per week on a degree-level course. This is a strict rule with serious consequences for breaches.
• Term time is defined by your university's calendar, not by your personal schedule. Know your official term dates.
• The 20-hour limit is cumulative across all employers and cannot be averaged over a month.
• After your degree, the Graduate route allows you to stay and work for up to 2 years (or 18 months from January 2027 for non-PhD graduates), or 3 years for PhDs.
• The Graduate route is unsponsored and flexible, allowing work at any skill level and self-employment, but cannot be extended.
• Apply for the Graduate route before your Student visa expires, and only after your university has reported your completion to the Home Office.