What is the Graduate Immigration Route?
The Graduate Immigration Route gives those sponsored on the Student Visa Route the opportunity to stay in the UK and work.
What is the process?
The necessary checks will be made and the appropriate report to the UKVI will be completed when you have successfully completed your course.
Please wait to receive our notification email before you submit the Graduate Route visa application. Please note that due to the volume of students requiring reporting, there may be a slight delay between results release and confirmation of the report to UKVI but we will do this as promptly as possible.
Notification of report will be sent to your Kent email address therefore please ensure you check all folders for this email.
Finalists
If you are a sponsored student (Student visa holder) we will report successful completion to the Home Office UKVI (UK Visas and Immigration) upon release of your results. We will notify you by email once this is complete.
We will not report successful completion if you have a tuition debt to the University. It is therefore imperative that you clear any outstanding debt on your account to avoid any unnecessary delays.
You should be aware from the outset that unless you have passed your course at the first attempt, you may not be eligible (particularly relevant for postgraduate students). We do not continue sponsorship for resits or resubmissions or to extend eligibility for the Graduate Route if no academic obligations or contact points are required.
Who can apply?
Read the government webpages for full guidance.
One-year Postgraduate taught students
As a postgraduate taught student, you are considered as being in term time through late summer term and autumn term in line with published term dates.
Students on a UK Student visa are required to be present in the UK in term time for the duration of their studies, as UKVI expects a significant amount of the course to be delivered face to face. We are expected to only retain visa sponsorship if we can confidently comply with the requirements attached to the Student visa.
If you plan to undertake work on your dissertation from outside of the UK please confirm this to our team and your School. In order to retain Student visa sponsorship you must continue to engage with supervision and submission of your dissertation. You should agree contact points with your supervisor and these should be kept on record by your School, to ensure you are engaging with your course.
If you are planning to leave the UK and not return before the end of term, you must let your School and our team know as this will result in withdrawal of sponsorship; you will not be using your Student visa to study in the UK, therefore it will be cancelled. Please note withdrawal of visa sponsorship does not impact your registration status but it does mean you may not be eligible for Graduate route.
When can I apply?
If you intend to apply for a Graduate visa, you will only be eligible after you have successfully completed your course, ie after you have received your results.
You should not submit an application until after we have confirmed that we have reported your successful completion of your studies. Once we have reported this, you will be able to submit an application at any time prior to your current visa expiry date.
See the results webpage for more details.
If you complete your course early, e.g. because you dropped a year in industry or year abroad.
The University will report your early completion to UKVI and your visa will be curtailed (cancelled). You will still receive the original, additional ‘wrap up’ time on your visa. However, if you are already outside the Common Travel Area (UK, Ireland and Channel Islands), or you leave the CTA before your visa expires, your Student visa will lapse, and you will not be able to re-enter the UK.
Postgraduate Research students
You must have had your viva, completed any necessary periods of corrections and have gone on the pass list for us to confirm your official completion.
How long does it take to apply?
Once you have submitted your visa application, the Home Office service standard for processing in-country applications is up to eight weeks (Graduate Route applications included).
Please note we cannot guide you on the application or processing aspect as this route is not sponsored by the University.
What happens if I have failed my exam(s)/module(s), or am awaiting an appeal?
To identify that a sponsored student is eligible for the graduate route, you must evidence that you have: a) successfully completed your course; b) met the qualification requirement; c) met the requirement for studying in the UK.
Support with employability and careers
Careers and employability
Make the most of your time at Kent by using the Careers and Employability Service. We provide the advice, workshops and tools to prepare Kent students and graduates for employment and further study after graduation.
ASPIRE
If you are interested in a business idea or launching a start-up, in learning more about entrepreneurship or sustainable innovation, ASPIRE, the University-wide space for entrepreneurship and start-ups is here for you. Our co-curricular programme allows you to develop your entrepreneurship skills and prepares you for starting your own venture. See our video about ASPIRE below:
