Graduate Jobs for International Students in the UK: Visas, Sponsorship and How to Get Hired

If you're an international student in the UK, landing a graduate job means solving two problems at once: getting the offer, and having the right visa to accept it. The good news is that most graduates can work in the UK for a while without any sponsor at all.

This guide explains the two main visas, the change coming in January 2027, how to find employers that sponsor, and how to talk about your status without hurting your chances.

What are your options for working in the UK after graduating?

For most graduates there are two routes. The Graduate visa lets you stay and work for a fixed period with no job offer or sponsor, and the Skilled Worker visa lets you stay longer but needs a job offer from a licensed sponsor.

Most people use them in sequence: the Graduate visa to start working and build experience, then a switch to Skilled Worker with an employer who will sponsor them. Here is how they compare.

Figures come from GOV.UK's guidance on the Graduate visa and the Skilled Worker visa, checked in October 2026.

How does the Graduate visa work?

The Graduate visa lets you stay in the UK after successfully completing an eligible course, and you don't need a job offer or an employer to sponsor you. You can work in most jobs, look for work or be self-employed.

According to GOV.UK, you can apply if you're in the UK on a Student visa, you studied a UK bachelor's degree, postgraduate degree or other eligible course, and your university has told the Home Office you completed it successfully.

The timing rules matter:

• Apply before your Student visa expires. You can't apply once it has run out.
• You don't need to wait for graduation. You can apply as soon as your university has reported that you completed your course, before you've graduated or received a certificate.
• Decisions usually take up to 8 weeks, and you can stay in the UK while you wait. Your Graduate visa starts on the day it's approved.

On cost, you pay a £937 application fee plus the immigration health surcharge, which is usually £1,035 for each year of the visa. For a two-year visa that comes to £2,070. You're told the exact amount when you apply.

With a Graduate visa you can't claim most benefits or work as a professional sportsperson. You also can't extend it. To stay longer, you switch to another visa, most often the Skilled Worker visa.

What changes for the Graduate visa from 1 January 2027?

From 1 January 2027, the Graduate visa for bachelor's and master's graduates drops from 2 years to 18 months. PhD graduates keep 3 years. What counts is the date you apply, not the date you graduate.

The change was set out in the government's statement of changes to the Immigration Rules (HC 1333), laid on 14 October 2025, and GOV.UK's Graduate visa page now shows both lengths. The government's stated reason is that too many graduates on the route weren't moving into graduate-level roles.

What this means in practice:

• If you apply on or before 31 December 2026, you get 2 years. Someone finishing a one-year master's in September 2026 whose university reports completion in time could still apply under the current rules.
• If you apply on or after 1 January 2027, you get 18 months. That covers most students graduating in summer 2027.
• Your job search window is shorter. Six fewer months means less time to find a role that can be sponsored, so start your search in your final year rather than after graduation.

What do you need for a Skilled Worker visa?

You need a job offer from an employer licensed by the Home Office, a certificate of sponsorship from them, a job in an eligible graduate-level occupation, a salary that meets the threshold, and English at level B2.

A graduate-level job

Since 22 July 2025, Skilled Worker jobs must usually be in an occupation skilled to RQF level 6, which is graduate level, according to the explanatory memorandum to HC 997. The change removed around 180 occupations. Importantly, the threshold relates to the skill level of the occupation, not to your qualifications. For new applicants, jobs below RQF 6 can generally only be sponsored if they appear on the Temporary Shortage List or the Immigration Salary List, both of which are time-limited.

The salary threshold

The usual minimum is £41,700 a year or the going rate for the job, whichever is higher. Recent graduates often qualify for lower "new entrant" rates. GOV.UK says you can be paid 70% of the job's standard going rate, as long as the salary is at least £33,400, if one of these applies:

• you're under 26 when you apply
• you're in the UK on a Student visa studying at bachelor's level or above
• you're in the UK on a Graduate visa, or held a Student or Graduate visa in the last 2 years as your most recent visa
• you're working towards a recognised professional qualification or registration in the job

There's a limit: your total stay on new entrant terms can't be more than 4 years, and that includes time already spent on a Graduate visa.

Here's how it works. If the going rate for your job is £44,000, 70% is £30,800, but the £33,400 floor is higher, so your salary must be at least £33,400.

English and fees

You must show English at level B2, a level that applies to new applicants since 8 January 2026. A UK degree taught in English counts as proof, as GOV.UK's English language guidance explains.

If you switch from inside the UK, the application fee is £943 for a visa of up to 3 years, plus the health surcharge, according to the Skilled Worker fees page. You can switch from a Student visa once you've completed your course, or if your job starts after your course has finished. You can also switch from a Graduate visa.

How do you find employers that sponsor visas?

Start with the Home Office's register of licensed sponsors, then confirm with each employer that they will sponsor your specific role. A licence shows an employer can sponsor, not that it will sponsor you.

The register of licensed sponsors is a downloadable list of every organisation licensed to sponsor workers, and it's updated most working days. It was last updated on 13 October 2026. Download it, then search for an employer's name or filter by town and by the Skilled Worker route.

A practical routine:

1. Find roles first. On GradWorx Search, filter by location and job type to build a shortlist of graduate roles you'd genuinely want.
2. Check each employer against the register. Note which ones hold a Skilled Worker licence.
3. Read the advert and careers pages. Many large employers say whether they sponsor for their schemes; others say they can't.
4. Check the role itself. It needs to be a graduate-level occupation, and the pay needs to meet the threshold.
5. Ask early. If it isn't clear, a short, polite question to the recruiter saves weeks.

Understand the employer's side too. Sponsorship costs money and admin: a licence costs £611 for small sponsors or £1,682 for medium and large ones, each certificate of sponsorship costs £525, and the Immigration Skills Charge is £480 a year for small sponsors or £1,320 for medium and large ones. That's why some small firms don't hold a licence. Some will apply for one if they want the right candidate, and GOV.UK says most licence applications are decided in under 8 weeks.

Don't limit yourself to big names. Many good graduate jobs are never widely advertised; our guide to the hidden graduate jobs market shows how to find them. Location matters too: compare graduate jobs in London with the best UK cities for graduate jobs outside London.

How should you talk about your visa status in applications?

Be clear, brief and factual. Say which visa you hold or will hold, until when, and whether you'll need sponsorship later. Don't hide it and don't over-explain it.

Application forms often ask two questions, and it helps to answer them precisely:

• "Do you have the right to work in the UK?" If you'll hold a Graduate visa when the job starts, you do, for its length.
• "Will you need sponsorship now or in the future?" If you plan to stay beyond your Graduate visa, the honest answer is usually "in the future". Answer truthfully; your employer will check your status before you start.

Some wording you can adapt:

• CV line: "Right to work: UK Graduate visa, valid until [month and year]."
• Cover letter: "I will hold a Graduate visa from [month], which allows me to work in the UK without sponsorship until [month and year]. After that, I would expect to qualify for the new entrant salary rate if I switched to a Skilled Worker visa."
• Interview: "I don't need sponsorship to start. My Graduate visa runs until [month and year], so there's time before any sponsorship decision, and as a recent graduate I'd expect to qualify for the lower new entrant salary threshold."

Knowing the numbers makes you easier to hire, especially at a smaller employer that has never sponsored anyone. Our guides to the graduate cover letter, graduate interview questions and the graduate CV template cover the rest of your application.

When should international students start applying?

Start in the autumn of your final year, at the same time as UK students. Graduate schemes recruit most of a year ahead, and with the shorter Graduate visa from 2027, an early start gives you more time to find a role that can be sponsored.

A typical year looks like this:

• September to January of your final year: apply for graduate schemes. Prospects says applications for 2027 schemes typically opened from September 2026, and employers usually accept them until the end of the year or early January.
• Throughout the year: apply for direct-entry graduate jobs, which are advertised all year round.
• When your course ends: apply for your Graduate visa as soon as your university reports your completion, and before your Student visa expires.
• On your Graduate visa: build experience, and plan your Skilled Worker switch well before the visa ends.

If you're earlier in your degree, an internship or placement year with a sponsoring employer can lead to a graduate offer. Read internship vs work placement for how the two differ, and our comparison of graduate schemes, graduate jobs and apprenticeships for the main routes into work.

How do right to work checks and share codes work?

Before you start, every employer must check your right to work. If you're not a British or Irish citizen, you can prove it with a share code from your UKVI account or with eligible immigration documents, and you can choose which to use.

GOV.UK says your employer can't reject you because you gave them an eligible immigration document instead of a share code. To get a code, you sign in to your UK Visas and Immigration (UKVI) account, which holds your eVisa. You can sign in with your passport, national identity card or biometric residence card, or with an expired biometric residence permit, and each share code lasts for 90 days.

A few practical points:

• A share code lasts 90 days, according to GOV.UK's eVisa guidance, so generate it close to your start date.
• Choose the right-to-work option when you create it. Right to work codes begin with "W", and the Home Office employer's guide (1 October 2026) says employers can't accept codes made for other services.
• Your employer checks it online using the code and your date of birth on GOV.UK's right to work checking service.
• Keep your eVisa up to date, especially your passport details, and check it shows your new permission after you switch visas.

Where should you start?

Start with the shortlist. Browse graduate roles on GradWorx Search, the free jobs board with hundreds of live roles. You can filter by location and job type (for example, graduate jobs in London), then check each employer against the register of licensed sponsors.

Before you apply, run your CV through the free AI CV review, which scores it, flags gaps and suggests fixes. For the full job search process, read our guide to graduate jobs in the UK. If you'd like roles to come to you, GradWorx Discover in the free GradWorx app matches you to roles with a Match Score and the reasons behind it, and employers can message you directly.