UK Graduate Route Checker: PSW Eligibility & 2027 Duration
Test your Graduate Route (PSW) eligibility, see whether you get 2 years or 18 months under the January 2027 rule change, and total the £937 fee plus IHS.
Your Graduate Route verdict
| Cost component | Per applicant | Applicants | Subtotal |
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What to do next — your timeline
Time on the Graduate route carries no credit towards the 5-year settlement (ILR) qualifying period and the visa cannot be extended. Estimates use the £937 fee and £1,035/year IHS; always confirm on GOV.UK before applying. VisaGrade content is for informational purposes only and is not legal advice.
UK Graduate Route Checker: Eligibility, Duration and Fee in One Verdict
This UK Graduate Route checker answers the three questions every international student in Britain is asking about the post-study work (PSW) visa: am I eligible, how long will I get, and what will it cost? Enter your degree level, course end date, current Student visa expiry and where you will apply, and the tool applies the real Home Office rules — including the January 2027 rule change that cuts the grant from 2 years to 18 months — then totals the £937 application fee plus the Immigration Health Surcharge and lays out a what-to-do timeline. If you are comparing post-study options more broadly, see our student visa complete guide, the worldwide cheap study abroad work visa 2026 comparison, or price the next step up in our Skilled Worker guide.
The January 2027 Rule Change Explained
The Graduate route — the UK's post-study work visa, often still called the PSW visa — currently gives bachelor's and master's graduates 2 years of unsponsored work rights after an eligible UK degree, and PhD graduates 3 years. That changes on 1 January 2027. Following the May 2025 immigration white paper, the Home Office laid legislative amendments in Parliament in October 2025 confirming that Graduate visas granted on applications made on or after 1 January 2027 will last 18 months instead of 2 years for non-doctoral graduates. Doctoral graduates keep 3 years either way. The Home Office rationale is that too many Graduate holders had not moved into graduate-level work; its impact assessment provisionally estimated about 12,000 fewer Student visa applications per year in the long term.
The single most misunderstood point is what the cut-off attaches to. It is the date you apply for the Graduate visa — not your course start date, course end date or graduation ceremony. A one-year master's student who finishes in November 2026 and applies in December 2026 keeps the 2-year grant; the same student applying in February 2027 gets 18 months. That is why this checker is date-aware: change the intended application date across the 31 December 2026 boundary and watch the duration — and the IHS bill — change with it. One practical consequence is that most undergraduates who started in September 2025, and virtually everyone starting courses from January 2026, will fall under the 18-month regime, while one-year master's students finishing in autumn 2026 have a short window to apply under the old 2-year terms if their university confirms completion in time.
Old Rules vs New Rules: Comparison Table
| Feature | Apply on or before 31 Dec 2026 | Apply on or after 1 Jan 2027 |
|---|---|---|
| Bachelor's / master's grant | 2 years | 18 months |
| PhD / doctorate grant | 3 years | 3 years (unchanged) |
| Application fee | £937 | £937 (unchanged) |
| IHS (bachelor's / master's) | £2,070 (2 × £1,035) | £1,552.50 (1.5 × £1,035) |
| All-in single applicant | £3,007 | £2,489.50 |
| PhD all-in total | £4,042 | £4,042 (unchanged) |
| Must apply inside UK | Yes | Yes (unchanged) |
| Needs valid Student visa | Yes | Yes (unchanged) |
| Counts towards settlement | No (5-year route) | No (unchanged) |
How Eligibility Works: The Four Gates
The checker tests the four gates the Home Office actually applies. First, you must be physically in the UK when you apply — the Graduate route has no entry-clearance option, so an applicant outside the UK is ineligible however strong the rest of the file. Second, your current permission must be a Student visa (or Tier 4 General), still valid on the application date; you must apply before it expires, and there is no grace period if it lapses. Third, you must have completed an eligible UK bachelor's, postgraduate or doctoral course while holding that Student permission, and your education provider must have notified the Home Office of your successful completion — you can apply once the university reports you, without waiting for the graduation ceremony, but applying before that confirmation risks refusal. Fourth, your course must actually be finished: a course end date after your application date means you are applying too early. Dependants follow a narrower rule dealt with below. Check any fee figure against our UK visa fee 2026 guide and model family totals with the visa calculator.
Fees: £937 Plus IHS, Worked Totals
Every Graduate applicant pays the £937 application fee plus the Immigration Health Surcharge at the standard £1,035 per year — there is no student discount on this route. The surcharge scales with the grant: 2 years costs £2,070 for a £3,007 all-in total; 18 months costs £1,552.50 for a £2,489.50 total; a PhD 3-year grant costs £3,105 for a £4,042 total. The fee is non-refundable on refusal while the IHS is refunded, so a weak or premature application is an expensive mistake. Each dependant repeats the same stack — a graduate plus one dependant on the 18-month grant pays roughly £4,979 — and the checker multiplies the breakdown by your dependant count automatically.
No Settlement Credit: Plan Your Next Switch Early
A Graduate visa cannot be extended and does not lead to settlement: its time carries no credit towards the 5-year qualifying period for indefinite leave to remain, though it can count towards the 10-year long-residence route. In practice the 18-month shortening matters most here — you have six fewer months to find a licensed sponsor and switch to a Skilled Worker visa, where the settlement clock actually starts. Graduates targeting settlement should therefore treat the Graduate period as a job-hunting window: start courting sponsoring employers in the final term, understand the Skilled Worker salary thresholds for your occupation, and be ready to switch well before the Graduate visa ends, because overstaying destroys future applications.
Your What-to-Do Timeline
The checker's timeline follows the real sequence: finish the course, wait for the provider's Home Office notification, apply inside the UK before the Student visa expires (and before or after the 31 December 2026 boundary depending on which grant you want and can validly claim), give biometrics, receive the decision within about 8 weeks, then work freely while planning the Skilled Worker switch. Students whose results arrive close to their visa expiry should contact the university immigration team early — results delays plus an expiring visa are the most common way eligible graduates lose the route entirely.
Graduate Route & PSW FAQs
How long is the UK Graduate visa if I apply in 2027?
18 months if you apply on or after 1 January 2027 and you completed a bachelor's or master's degree. Applications made on or before 31 December 2026 still get 2 years. PhD and other doctoral graduates always get 3 years, before and after the change.
Does the 18-month rule depend on when I graduate or when I apply?
When you apply. The Home Office confirms the grant length is decided by the visa application date, not the course end or graduation date. A master's student who finishes in November 2026 but applies in February 2027 gets 18 months, not 2 years.
How much does the UK Graduate visa cost?
The application fee is £937. You also pay the Immigration Health Surcharge at £1,035 per year: £2,070 for a 2-year grant, about £1,552.50 for an 18-month grant and £3,105 for a 3-year PhD grant. All-in totals are roughly £3,007, £2,489.50 and £4,042 respectively.
Can I apply for the Graduate visa from outside the UK?
No. You must be inside the UK when you apply, and you must still hold a valid Student or Tier 4 (General) visa. Leaving the UK or letting your Student visa expire before applying makes you ineligible, with no grace period.
What happens if my Student visa expires before I apply?
You lose Graduate eligibility. The rules require a valid Student visa at the date of application and the application must be made before that visa expires. If your course result is delayed, speak to your university's immigration team immediately and consider your options before your permission ends.
Does time on the Graduate visa count towards settlement (ILR)?
No, not towards the 5-year qualifying period for settlement. The Graduate route does not lead to settlement and its time carries no settlement credit, though it can count towards the 10-year long-residence route. Most graduates who want to settle switch to a Skilled Worker visa, where the settlement clock starts.
Can my partner or children come with me on the Graduate route?
Only if they are already your dependants on your Student visa. New dependants cannot join you on the Graduate route, except a child born in the UK during your Student, Tier 4 or Graduate permission. Each dependant pays the £937 fee plus IHS.
Can I extend the Graduate visa or switch to a Skilled Worker visa?
You cannot extend a Graduate visa. You can switch to a Skilled Worker visa (or most other work routes) before it expires if you have a licensed sponsor and meet the salary threshold. Switching early is the standard path for graduates who want a route to settlement.
Should I rush to apply before 31 December 2026 to keep 2 years?
If your university has confirmed your successful completion to the Home Office and your Student visa is still valid, applying on or before 31 December 2026 secures the 2-year grant instead of 18 months. Do not apply before your provider's confirmation, though — an early invalid application wastes the £937 fee and can be refused.
How We Fact-Checked This Checker
Eligibility, duration and fee figures were checked on October 4, 2026 against GOV.UK's Graduate visa guide (£937 fee; 2 years for applications on or before 31 December 2026, 18 months on or after 1 January 2027, 3 years for doctorates; IHS £1,035 per year) and the Home Office statement of changes HC 1333 laid October 2025. Immigration Rules can change — always confirm on GOV.UK before applying.