A graduate route has been confirmed to open for applications on 1 July 2021. International students with a valid Tier 4 visa and who have studied an eligible course at bachelor’s degree level or above at a UK higher education provider and want to work in the UK after their studies will be able to apply, as it was announced on 4 March 2021 by the UK government. This comes in line with the initiative to increase highly skilled migrants, which also formed discussion as part of the annual Budget announced last Wednesday. Applicants who began their studies Autumn 2020 will now have until 21 June 2021 to enter the UK and be eligible for the Graduate route. Those who started their course January or February 2021 will need to be physically present in the UK before 27 September 2021. Graduates will not need a job offer to be eligible for the programme but will require a new visa application only possible from inside the UK. It was stated there would be no minimum salary requirements nor caps on numbers. Graduates will have two years to look for work after their studies while Doctoral PhD students will have three years.
Once graduates have been offered a job, they will be able to apply for the Skilled Worker route, a route to settlement status.
