Working after your studies

Find out how to apply for permission to work in the UK after your studies, and how to find a graduate job.

You may wish to stay in the UK to work after you've finished your studies. If so, you need to find out what immigration category you may be able to apply for. UKCISA provides useful information about this.

Employability Online also has dedicated pages for international students. We have lots of resources to help you with your job search.

Working with a student visa after studies

Most Student visa holders have immigration permission that extends beyond the end of their studies. The UKCISA website has detailed guidance about when can I work after I complete my studies. The student work restrictions continue to apply once you complete your course, including that you must not:

• be self-employed or engage in business activity
• work as a professional sportsperson or sports coach
• work as an entertainer
• work in a position that would fill a permanent full-time vacancy.

You can normally work full-time on a Student visa once your official course end date has passed, until your visa expiry date.  Your Subject Administrator will be able to provide you with a right-to-work letter. This will confirm your course start and end date.

You cannot start a permanent full-time post (this means a job without an end date) on your Student visa. The only exceptions are if you have made a valid Skilled Worker or Graduate visa application (please see the UKCISA Graduate route and Skilled Worker visa pages for information about when you can start working if you are moving to one of those immigration routes).

After your official course end date has passed, you can start a part-time post that is permanent or temporary, or a temporary full-time post.

Graduate visa

This visa is for you if:

• you're completing your degree or other eligible qualification, and
• you want to stay and look for work in the UK.

You don't need a job offer to apply. You can do most types of work, including self-employed.

If you're completing a Bachelors or Masters course, you can stay for two years.

If you're completing a PhD, you can stay for three years.

Eligibility for the Graduate visa

• You must have studied your course in the UK on a Student or Tier 4 visa.
• You must have completed a UK qualification from the following:
  • a Bachelors degree
  • a Masters degree
  • a PhD or Doctorate, or
  • a professional law course, or
  • a PGCE or PGDE.
• You must have studied in the UK for either:
  • At least 12 months, if your course's total length is more than 12 months.
  • The total length of your course if its total length is shorter than 12 months.
• You must make your application from within the UK before your Student or Tier 4 visa expires. You cannot apply overseas.
• There is no financial requirement that you need to meet.
• NTU must confirm your eligibility for this visa before you make your application.

Reporting your eligibility

NTU Academic Registry will check your eligibility to apply for the Graduate visa. We'll only do this once your final results are confirmed.

If you're eligible to apply, we'll notify UKVI. You'll get an email once we've done this, plus a reminder of your original CAS number. You need this email before you can apply. Please allow 10 working days after your exam board results for us to send the email to you.

We won't confirm eligibility for this visa to UKVI if you:

• Have outstanding tuition fee or accommodation debt.
• Weren't in full-time attendance when you finished your course, e.g. you were repeating without attendance (except for students who completed their  course within the last four months of their visa expiring).
• Did not spend the minimum time period in the UK studying your course.
• Are a postgraduate student and returned home to complete your final dissertation overseas.
• Passed your course with a fall-back award e.g. a PG Diploma instead of an MSc.
• Didn't study on a Student visa, e.g. dependants etc.

Students with resits

Not all students undertaking resits, will be eligible for the Graduate visa.

If you're doing re-sits or referrals, please check when your results will be published. Your subject administrator should be able to tell you.

One week before your visa expires, your final results must be:

• confirmed, and
• updated on the University record system.

That allows time for the processing of your results and the checking of your eligibility. These must be complete before your visa expires.

If there's enough time on your Student visa to complete all parts of your course, you won't be eligible to extend it. This applies even if you don't have time to wait for your results.

If you're in this situation, you won't be eligible for the Graduate visa. You'll need to look for other opportunities, such as the Skilled Worker visa.

Making your graduate visa application

Watch our recorded information session for guidance about making your application.

See the UKCISA website for further information about the:

• application process
• costs
• eligibility criteria.

Applications are made via the gov.uk website.

The Graduate visa does not automatically lead to settlement in the UK.

Other immigration options

The Skilled Worker visa

To apply for the Skilled Worker visa, you need a licensed employer to sponsor you. They must be sponsoring you to do a specific job that meets minimum levels of skill and salary.

You can apply in the UK to switch from the Student or Graduate visa to the Skilled Worker visa. You'll probably be considered a 'new entrant'. That means you'll only need to meet the lower minimum salary requirement. You can find further information on the UKCISA website.

A local solicitor's firm specialising in immigration law offers free 15-minute appointments to:

• NTU international students
• employers who are in discussion about a job offer.

These solicitors can answer queries about the Skilled Worker visa. To access this free advice, email us with a brief outline of your query.

Alternative post study immigration routes

For full details of all of the immigration routes allowing you to work in the UK, please visit the UKVI website. Information on post study visa routes specific to international students is available on the UKCISA website.

Finding a graduate job

Our Employability team supports current students and recent graduates looking for work.

Visit NTU Employability Online for useful information and resources.