Job hunting on a Graduate visa
Canary Wharf from the Rotherhithe foreshore at low tide. Photograph: Bex Walton, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 2.0, cropped
Treat the visa as three phases: apply widely, convert interviews into an offer, then switch. Direct-entry roles, applied for every week, carry most of the load.
The visa gives you time to find the job
The Graduate visa gives you time, not a job. This guide, part of Start here, plans those months.
Not applied yet? You apply from inside the UK before your Student visa ends, once your university has told the Home Office you have finished your course.
A Graduate visa cannot be extended, but you may switch to a Skilled Worker visa from inside the UK. Plan backwards from that date.
46% of the July to December 2021 cohort went on to work routes
Work routes, in the MAC’s term, include the Skilled Worker visa: that is the target.
More on who else is on the routeLess on who else is on the route
You are in a large company. In 2023, 114,000 Graduate visas were granted to main applicants, and 91% of holders had completed a postgraduate taught course, the MAC reports.
Most people on the visa do find paid work. The Migration Advisory Committee found that around 70% of people on the Graduate route had a pay record in the first 12 months; it could not tell what the others were doing.
A Graduate visa applied for on or before 31 December 2026 usually lasts 2 years. For applications made on or after 1 January 2027, it is scheduled to last 18 months. After a PhD it lasts 3 years.
Three phases: apply widely, convert, switch
Two Graduate visa lengths, the same three phases
- First months: apply widely to direct-entry roles
- Middle: interviews, offers, the switch to Skilled Worker
- Last months: the switch must be made before the visa ends
| Phase | What it is for |
|---|---|
| First | Apply widely: mostly direct-entry roles, a few schemes with places left, a fixed number of applications every week |
| Middle | Convert: assessment days, final rounds, offers, and the checks on each one, including the occupation code, the salary and the employer’s licence |
| Last | Switch to a Skilled Worker visa, which has to be done before the Graduate visa ends |
3 months to apply once the employer gives you a certificate of sponsorship
The phases are a way of planning the months, not a rule.
More on the last phaseLess on the last phase
Treat the last phase as the deadline, not a buffer: the offer, the certificate of sponsorship and your Skilled Worker application are one sequence, each with a date of its own.
An offer in the final weeks still needs the employer’s paperwork, and that paperwork takes time the visa may not have. Ask, at offer stage, who inside the company issues the certificate and how long it usually takes them.
More on starting mid-visaLess on starting mid-visa
The phases stretch or shrink with the visa you hold, and with the month you start.
Applied late in your Student visa? Your first phase may already be under way. Count back from your visa’s end date and start in the phase you are actually in, rather than the one the plan says you should be in.
Your UK job-hunt plan dates the months from your course end.
Direct-entry roles carry most of the hunt
Graduate schemes are part of the market, often the slower part.
Graduate schemes make up a small proportion of graduate jobs
Schemes recruit up to a year ahead, so one you apply to this autumn starts next September; direct entry leaves more room.
opportunities will tend to be advertised throughout the year, recruitment will often take place closer to the time of hire
Direct-entry adverts name a team and a start date, and often say “graduate”, “junior” or “entry level”. Search all three.
More on employers that hire all yearLess on employers that hire all year
Smaller organisations hire all year, LSE Careers notes, and some graduate programmes now take several intakes. Softwire, a London software firm, plans graduate intakes in March, June, September and November 2027; Cambridge Consultants hires graduate software engineers on a rolling basis.
Schemes are still worth one or two applications early in your visa. Popular programmes fill first, targetjobs notes, and some reopen in May and June with unfilled places, says York’s careers service.
A reopened scheme, applied for in June, can start the same autumn, which is the one case where a scheme moves at the pace of a direct-entry role.
Graduate job sites, compared shows which boards list what.
Which roles clear the salary rules
A role clears the salary rules on two tests: the floor for your situation, and its occupation’s going rate.
If you are on a Graduate visa, or were in the last 2 years, you count as a new entrant for the salary rules.
£33,400, the new-entrant floor, against £41,700 for others
The salary must meet both the threshold and the going rate for the job’s occupation code; as a new entrant, the test is 70% of that going rate, alongside the floor.
Two fictional analyst roles, on the same salary:
| Role | Floor | Going-rate share | Result |
|---|---|---|---|
| Analyst, a code with a high going rate | Cleared | Short | Fails |
| Analyst, a code with a lower going rate | Cleared | Cleared | Passes |
More on the two tests in practiceLess on the two tests in practice
The general threshold has stood at its current level since 22 July 2025, and the new-entrant floor sits below it.
4 years in total on new-entrant rates, Graduate visa time included
New-entrant rates also run out, so a first job on them is a start, with a pay rise to plan for.
Read the advert for its job title and salary, find the matching occupation code, and compare: the code the work fits matters more than the title.
Graduate pay, against the visa bar sets salaries by sector beside both figures.
If your search needs sponsorship from the first day, Visavi's guide to graduate jobs that come with sponsorship shows where the licensed employers are and how to check one.
A weekly rhythm keeps the hunt moving
A visa clock needs a rhythm: a fixed week, repeated, turns months into applications.
| Part of the week | What it holds |
|---|---|
| First day | New adverts from your alerts, each employer’s licence on the Home Office register of licensed sponsors (opens gov.uk), and each role’s occupation code and salary |
| Middle | Applications, each CV matched to its advert line by line |
| End | The rounds that follow: recorded video interviews, test practice, follow-up notes to anyone you met |
| Once a month | A count of applications, interviews and offers, against the phase you are in |
Unlike a typical interview, you can complete a video-based assessment anytime, anywhere.
Recorded rounds can be taken when you are sharpest. Video interviews and HireVue covers them.
More on the monthly reviewLess on the monthly review
Fewer applications, each one fitted to its advert, travel further than many sent unchanged. Ask your university’s careers service what it offers recent graduates, too.
At the monthly count, change the mix rather than the effort: more direct entry, a new city, or a sector you had set aside. A slow fortnight is easier to fix than a slow season, and the count is what makes it visible.
Widen the map as well as the list. Manchester, Edinburgh, Leeds and Bristol all have graduate employers, and UK cities where graduates start careers counts the Skilled Worker licences in each.
The twelve-step plan has the full order of the hunt.
Answer the visa question in one line
Employers ask about your right to work, Warwick’s careers service explains, to know whether they must sponsor you.
Mention the type of visa you hold (or are eligible to apply for), its expiration date, and any relevant work restrictions if applicable.
Put that line in your CV heading, with the month sponsorship would begin. Your visa status on a UK CV shows the wording.
More on the right-to-work questionLess on the right-to-work question
Forms often put it plainly: do you have the right to work in the UK? Manchester’s careers service notes that employers ask because they may have to sponsor a visa for a new employee, and that you should never misrepresent your status.
Warwick adds that employers also want to know for how long you can work without sponsorship, which is why the end date belongs in the answer.
Warwick also says to answer responsibly and to adapt what you say to your own situation: the honest version of your status is also the easiest one to repeat at every stage of the process.
Your employer must check your right to work before you start, so read prove your right to work on gov.uk (opens gov.uk).
This week
- Write your Graduate visa end date at the top of your plan
- Send three direct-entry applications, each matched to its advert
- Check the occupation code and salary of one role on your list
- Put your visa type and end date in your CV heading
- Compare two graduate job sites and set alerts on one
Sources
- GOV.UK: When to apply for a Graduate visa You must apply before your Student visa or Tier 4 (General) student visa expires. Checked
- GOV.UK: Switching from a Graduate visa to Skilled Worker You cannot extend your Graduate visa. However, you may be able to switch to a different visa, for example a Skilled Worker visa. Checked
- GOV.UK: Time to apply after getting a certificate of sponsorship You must apply for your visa within 3 months of getting your certificate of sponsorship. Checked
- GOV.UK: Who counts as a new entrant you’re currently in the UK on a Graduate visa (or you have been in the last 2 years, and a Graduate or visit visa was your most recent visa) Checked
- GOV.UK: Skilled Worker new-entrant salary floor You can be paid 70% of your job’s standard going rate if your salary will be at least £33,400 per year and one of the following applies: Checked
- GOV.UK: Skilled Worker general salary threshold You’ll usually need to be paid the ‘standard’ salary rate of at least £41,700 per year, or the ‘going rate’ for your job, whichever is higher. Checked
- GOV.UK: The going-rate rule Going rates in Table 1 are per year and based on a 37.5-hour working week. They must be pro-rated for other working patterns, based on the weekly working hours stated by the applicant’s sponsor. Checked
- GOV.UK: Share of the going rate a new entrant must be paid The applicant is a new entrant at the start of their career and their salary equals or exceeds both: • £33,400 per year and • 70% of the going rate for the SOC 2020 occupation code. Checked
- GOV.UK: Most time allowed on new-entrant rates SW 12.3. Granting the application must not mean the applicant’s combined permission as a Skilled Worker, Graduate and/or Tier 2 Migrant would be more than 4 years in total, whether or not the permission is for a continuous period. Checked
- GOV.UK: Graduate visa length (applications on or before 31 December 2026) 2 years if you apply on or before 31 December 2026 Checked
- GOV.UK: Graduate visa length (applications on or after 1 January 2027) 18 months if you apply on or after 1 January 2027 Checked
- GOV.UK: Graduate visa length after a PhD or other doctorate If you have a PhD or other doctoral qualification, it will last for 3 years. Checked
- Migration Advisory Committee: Rapid Review of the Graduate Route (Migration Advisory Committee, May 2024) Based on the experience of the Graduate route cohort who started in July 2021 to December 2021 46% of those on the Graduate route continued on to work routes.In 2023, 114,000 Graduate visas were granted for main applicants with a further 30,000 being granted for dependants.91% of Graduate visa holders in 2023 had completed a postgraduate taught course.As highlighted above, around 70% of those on the Graduate route have a pay record in the first 12 months of their visa. Read
- LSE Careers, London School of Economics: The graduate job market (LSE Careers) Widely advertised by large employers, they actually make up only a small proportion of graduate jobs.Graduate schemes are competitive, and employers typically recruit up to one-year ahead, starting early in Autumn Term, and sometimes over the summer, so it's important to check their deadlines and processes. Read
- LSE Careers: Graduate job market Graduate schemes are competitive, and employers typically recruit up to one-year ahead, starting early in Autumn Term, and sometimes over the summer, so it’s important to check their deadlines and processes.You will also find there is more flexibility on when to apply for graduate jobs; opportunities will tend to be advertised throughout the year, recruitment will often take place closer to the time of hire Read
- targetjobs: When to apply for graduate jobs Most employers offering formal graduate programmes open for applications in September/October, with a view to graduates starting work the following September/October. ... Applications for graduate schemes in investment banking often open in August and close as early as October.By the spring and summer, typically only the less popular schemes in the less popular locations tend to still have vacancies; more popular programmes will have been filled. Read
- LSE Careers: Looking ahead: careers and professional development (offer holder presentation, 4 June 2025) Recruitment Timeframes August to January Graduate schemes open, some fixed date, some rolling Formal internship schemes open including parliamentary internships October to April Assessments & offers Traineeship applications June to September Internships, grad schemes begin Smaller organisations in public and private sector hire throughout the year Read
- University of York Careers and Placements: Recruitment time frames May to June: Some schemes may re-open if they have unfilled vacancies. ... Schemes with the "Big Four" professional services companies are likely to close by December/January Read
- Softwire: Graduate Consultant Software Engineer 2027 Entry-level developers may join at various points throughout the year, please see our open role pages for details. ... Start dates: We are anticipating intakes in March, June, September and November 2027. Read
- Cambridge Consultants (advert on Gradcracker): Graduate Software Engineer (2027 start) There is no deadline for this role, as we recruit on a rolling basis. Once the position is filled, we will close the advert. ... Successful candidates can join us between May to October 2027. Read
- University of Manchester Careers Service: Talking to employers about your visa Include your visa status on your CV. You can typically add this information to the heading or your contact details section. Mention the type of visa you hold (or are eligible to apply for), its expiration date, and any relevant work restrictions if applicable.Never misrepresent your visa status or provide false information to potential employers. Read
- University of Manchester Careers Service: Do I have the right to work in the UK? As an international student/graduate, you may be asked on job applications the question “Do you have the right to work in the UK?” This question is asked by employers because they may have to sponsor a visa for a new employee. Read
- University of Warwick Careers: Job applications (international students) The questions are asked by employers to ascertain whether they will need to sponsor you, how many hours or for how long you will be able to work with them without requiring sponsorship.Answer responsibly: It’s your duty to respond truthfully and adapt responses to match your personal situation. Read
- GOV.UK: Prove your right to work to an employer You’ll need to prove your right to work in the UK to your employer before you start working for them. How you do this depends on your nationality and what kind of permission you have to work in the UK. Read
- GOV.UK: Checking a job applicant's right to work You must check that a job applicant is allowed to work for you in the UK before you employ them. ... You must not discriminate against anyone because of where they’re from. Read
- HireVue: FAQ for candidates Unlike a typical interview, you can complete a video-based assessment anytime, anywhere. Take advantage of this! Be sure to take your assessment during the time of day you feel sharpest and most alert. Read
This page is about the UK job hunt and is not immigration advice. For your own situation, speak to a regulated immigration adviser or an immigration solicitor, and check the current rules on gov.uk.
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