You must hold a Student Visa sponsored by the University of Warwick for a minimum length of time:


At least 12 months
or
The length of your course 

whichever is shorter.

You can count:


The extra time your visa is valid before and after your course
The time during your course you have spent in the UK

You cannot count:


Any time during your course (between your CAS course start date and CAS course end date) that you spent outside of the UK

If you were granted more than 1 Student Visa for your course (for example because you took a period of Temporary Withdrawal, or had an Academic Extension), you can count the relevant time on all of those visas.
Example



Student X is studying a 1-year Masters course and applied for a Student Visa before they started their course.
The course start date of their course was 25 September 2023, and the course end date on their CAS was 24 September 2024 (the course is 12 months and 1 day long)
They spent 2 months outside of the UK during their CAS course dates, having received approval from their academic department to do so.
Student X's Warwick-sponsored Student Visa was granted for a total of 17 months (12 months for the course, plus 1 month before the course starts, plus 4 months after the course ends)Student X meets the Study in the UK requirement, because the length of their Student Visa (discounting the 2 months they spent outside of the UK during their course), is more than 12 months.

You cannot apply for the Graduate Route until you have received specific email confirmation from the University that your successful completion has been reported to the UKVI.

Once you have received the above confirmation from the University, and you have met the application requirements, you will need to do the following to make your application:



You must complete and submit your application via the online GOV.UK form. A link to this will be provided in your confirmation email from the University. Take a look at our step-by-step guide to help you do this.


You must pay the relevant Immigration Health Surcharge Link opens in a new window


You must pay the application feeLink opens in a new window.


You must provide any required Biometric Data for all applicants.


You must provide a clear scan or photo of all applicant's passport or other travel document as proof of nationality and identity.


You must provide a clear scan or photo of your current valid and in date Student Visa BRP, as well as the BRPs of any dependant applicants, if applicable.


If any applicants subject to the Police Registration Condition, they must provide an up to date and valid Police Registration Certificate.


If, within the previous 12 months of the application date, any applicant was sponsored by their Government or an international scholarship agency covering both fees and living costs for study in the UK, they must provide written consent to the application from that Government or agency. This does not apply if your scholarship was awarded by the University of Warwick.


If your dependents are applying, they may be required to provide additional documents to meet the relationship requirements.

You can not apply under the Graduate Route if you have previously been granted Permission to Stay in the UK under the Doctorate Extension Scheme or under the Graduate Route.
The Home Office also provides detailed information on its own webpages regarding making an application, and using the UK Immigration ID Check App.

Once you have submitted your application, paid your fees and provided your Biometric Data for each applicant, the UKVI will assess your application and provide you with an application decision within 8 weeks.
You must not leave the UK until you receive your new BRP card if you are a Visa National.
If you are not a Visa National, you must not leave the UK until you receive notification of the decision.
If successful, you should receive confirmation of your new visa. Most applicants will receive a "Digital Status", however, if you are a Visa National, you cannot travel and re-enter the UK without a BRP card. If you obtain a new passport whilst you have a Graduate Visa, you must update this using your UKVI account.
This is an 'unsponsored route', which means the University is no longer your sponsor and you do not need to provide the University with a copy of your new visa.
Whilst holding a Graduate route visa, if you wish to study a further course in the UK which can be sponsored under the Student visa (for example, a Master's degree), you may switch back to a Student visa. However, you can only apply for the Graduate Route visa once. Therefore, if you are considering further studies in the UK, you may wish to postpone applying for the Graduate Route visa until you have completed all the desired academic studies.

If, after reading the guidance above, and you are still unsure of what you should do next, please contact Student Immigration to discuss your situation via the following methods:



Online Contact form



Book a Help Desk AppointmentPlease click on the following links for more information
UK Council for International Student Affairs (UKCISA):




UKCISA - international student advice and guidance - Graduate route

University of Warwick:




Recruiting international students - Employer Guidance
Warwick | Student Immigration | I am a Student | Visa Portal | Right to Study / Visa that allow study at WarwickUK Government:




GOV.UK | Find an immigration adviser
Graduate visa: Overview - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)Other contacts:




Central England Law Centre
UK Council for International Student Affairs (UKCISA)
Immigration Law Practitioners’ Association (ILPA)
The Law Society