The University of Sheffield-International Student Support
The graduate immigration route is a government scheme for international students, who is currently doing an undergraduate degree or higher holding a tier for visa. The scheme will be introduced in the summer of twenty twenty one and allows you to stay on in the UK to find a job at any level for two years after your graduation.
Dear All,
We are sending this email to all our international students as a reminder of the new Graduate Immigration Route (GIR) due to open from 1 July 2021. This is a new visa type permitting graduates to remain in the UK for 2-3 years after studies.
You may be eligible for this Route if:
You will be successfully completing a relevant qualification this year or after; and
You have or will have held a valid Tier 4 or Student Route visa for the relevant period in the UK; and
Your visa will still be valid and you will be in the UK at the time you become eligible to make your application
If the above does not apply to you please ignore this email.
If you are interested in the Graduate Route please see below for more information about the particular requirements and eligibility criteria. This email is only a summary of the eligibility rules however. You must read our Graduate Route webpage and UKCISA’s webpage in full to check your eligibility. Additional post-study work visa advice is available from the Student Advice Centre.
If you would like more information you can book onto a talk via Careers Connect on Wednesday 16 June 2021.
Please note that we are waiting for UK Visas and Immigration to publish their official guidance on this new visa so the information below is still subject to change.
Eligible qualification
You must successfully complete a relevant qualification only. This means obtaining a full UK bachelor’s degree or UK postgraduate degree. There are a small number of other accepted qualifications you can check on our webpage.
UK location and travel deadlines
You must apply for the Graduate Route from within the UK and have spent a minimum period of time in the country.
If your course is over 12 months in total then you must have spent at least 12 months of your total course duration in the UK. Any period of distance learning between 24 January 2020 and 27 September 2021 (whilst you had a Tier 4/ Student visa) will not count against you.
If your course is less than 12 months then you must have spent the entire course duration in the UK. If you began your course in 2020 and have not yet travelled to the UK then you must have travelled on or before 21 June 2021 and complete your course in the UK.
Visa type
You must hold a valid Tier 4 or Student Route visa when you apply for the Graduate Route. You must have had this visa type for the relevant period in the UK (as above). This means that you cannot switch from a different visa type into a Student visa for a short period in order to become eligible for the Graduate Route.
Application process
The online application process will open from 1 July 2021 and will cost £700 for the application and a further £624 per year for the Immigration Health Surcharge.
Before you submit your visa application online the University must have confirmed your eligibility to UK Visas and Immigration based on the information above. The University will confirm to you when this information has been sent so please do not apply online before you have received this notification. These notifications will only be sent after your course completion.
Please note that you must apply for the visa online before your current Tier 4/Student visa expires but do not need to have received your new visa by this date.
Updating your information
To help the University confirm your eligibility in future you must ensure you keep the Study Location section of MUSE updated. If you are in the UK or once you arrive in the UK you must update this form to confirm ‘UK’ as your location. If you have already completed this section with an intended travel date you must ensure you update this once you have arrived to confirm you are in the UK.
If your CAS has expired and you have not applied for a visa
If you have not yet applied for a Student visa and your CAS has since expired you can complete this CAS re-issue form to request a new CAS.
Please note you do not need a new CAS if you have already used this to apply for your visa but your travel vignette to come to the UK has since expired. If this applies to you then you need to apply for a replacement travel vignette instead.
Kind regards
International Student Support
The University of Sheffield
Level 6, Students’ Union
Western Bank
Sheffield S10 2TG
Reception hours: Closed Until Further Notice
www.sheffield.ac.uk/ssid/international
