Official Guide: Switching From Student Visa to Graduate Route Visa UK 2026

Finishing your degree is the hard part, switching to the Graduate Route afterwards is genuinely one of the more straightforward visa processes you'll deal with in the UK system. No job offer needed, no minimum salary, no sponsor. Here's exactly how it works.

Who Can Apply

1. Current status: you need a valid Student visa (or Tier 4) at the moment you apply
2. Location: you have to be physically inside the UK, this route can't be applied for from abroad
3. Qualification: you've completed a cybersecurity masters in the UK or an undergraduate cybersecurity course in the UK at a provider with a compliant track record
4. Notification: your university needs to have already told the Home Office you've completed your course, wait for their confirmation before applying, don't jump the gun

What It Actually Costs

There's no maintenance fund requirement here, you don't need to show bank statements, but the upfront fees aren't small.

Worth flagging: the application fee went up from £880 to £937 on 8 April 2026, so if you've seen the lower figure somewhere, that's outdated now. Also note the IHS here is charged at the full adult rate of £1,035 a year, not the discounted student rate you paid during your studies.

The Application, Step by Step

1. Wait for your university's International Office to confirm they've reported your completion to the Home Office
2. Have the CAS number from your most recent student visa ready
3. Complete the application on GOV.UK
4. Verify your identity, most students can just scan their passport or BRP through the 'UK Immigration: ID Check' app rather than visiting a visa centre
5. Pay the £937 fee plus the IHS
6. Wait for your decision, usually within 8 weeks, delivered as a digital eVisa

A Deadline You Genuinely Shouldn't Miss

Apply on or before 31 December 2026 and you get the full 2 years. Apply from 1 January 2027 onwards, and Bachelor's or Master's graduates only get 18 months, PhD graduates keep the full 3 years regardless. If you're finishing your course this year, this genuinely changes how much runway you'll have to find work, so it's worth planning your graduation and application timing around it if you have any flexibility. It's the difference between six extra months to find something in the London cybersecurity market or not.

What You Can Actually Do on This Visa

• Work: any job, any skill level, any salary, no restrictions
• Start a business: yes, including your own cybersecurity consultancy if that's the plan
• Study: only short professional courses, CISSP-style training is fine, but you can't enrol in anything that would itself require a Student visa
• Dependants: if your partner or children were already with you on your Student visa, they can switch across with you

The Bottom Line

This is genuinely one of the more generous post-study routes in the world, no sponsor, no salary floor, real freedom to job hunt properly. Get your university's confirmation, budget for the roughly £3,000 in fees, and use the time to build real UK experience before you eventually look at switching to a Skilled Worker visa.