You can switch from a Student or Graduate visa to a Skilled Worker visa in the UK if you meet the relevant requirements. You need an eligible sponsored job, qualifying pay and the other route requirements. Students must also satisfy specific course and job-start conditions.
A Graduate visa is not a compulsory step before Skilled Worker sponsorship. The right choice depends on your job offer, study dates, immigration history and family circumstances.
When can a Student visa holder switch?
Under SW 1.5A, a person with current or last-held Student permission must meet one of three conditions:
- They have completed the course covered by their CAS, or a permitted replacement course.
- They are studying a full-time degree-level or higher course with a higher education provider that has a track record of compliance, and the CoS start date is no earlier than course completion.
- They are studying a full-time PhD with such a provider, and the CoS start date is no earlier than 24 months after the course began.
These conditions must be established at application. The precise CoS start-date wording matters, particularly for doctoral students. Source: Appendix Skilled Worker, SW 1.5A.
Ask your university to confirm the relevant dates and agree the sponsorship timetable with your employer. Eligibility to apply does not by itself permit you to start unrestricted full-time work under your existing Student conditions.
Switching from the Graduate route
Graduate visa holders can apply to switch once they have a qualifying offer; they do not need to wait until their permission is about to expire.
Graduate permission lasts two years for applications made by 31 December 2026, and 18 months for applications from 1 January 2027. Doctoral graduates receive three years. It cannot be extended. A Graduate application requires successful course completion to have been reported by the education provider and must be made before Student permission expires. Source: GOV.UK Graduate visa.
What salary will a student or graduate need?
The usual Skilled Worker threshold is £41,700 or the standard going rate, whichever is higher. Eligible new entrants can instead qualify at £33,400 or 70% of the occupation’s standard going rate, whichever is higher. Student or Graduate status does not remove the need to check all the concession’s conditions. Source: GOV.UK salary concessions.
For example, if an eligible role has an applicable going rate of £50,000, 70% is £35,000. An offer of £33,400 would therefore be insufficient for that new entrant calculation.
The new entrant period is capped at four years, including relevant previous Graduate, Skilled Worker and Tier 2 permission. Time on the Graduate route can reduce the period available at the discounted rate. Read our Skilled Worker salary guide before agreeing a sponsorship period.
Graduate route or direct Skilled Worker switch?
| Question | Graduate route | Skilled Worker route |
|---|---|---|
| Is an employer sponsor needed? | No | Yes |
| Is there a visa salary threshold? | No | Yes, including any applicable concession |
| How flexible is work? | Most jobs and self-employment are permitted; restrictions still apply | Work is subject to sponsorship and route conditions |
| Can it be extended? | No | Potentially, if the rules are met |
| What should you plan for? | Finding a longer-term route before expiry | Salary progression, sponsor compliance and future eligibility |
Graduate permission can provide time to find suitable employment. A direct Skilled Worker switch may avoid an additional application where an eligible offer is already available. Compare fees and the available new entrant period as well as immediate work flexibility.
Can your partner and children switch too?
Family members need their own eligibility checks and applications. Their permission does not change automatically when yours does.
Graduate dependants are generally partners or children who already held dependant permission on your Student route, with provisions for children born in the UK during that permission. It is not generally a route for bringing a new partner from abroad. Source: GOV.UK Graduate dependants.
Skilled Worker dependant eligibility depends on the occupation and immigration history. Care worker, senior care worker and medium-skilled occupations have restrictions and specific exceptions. Do not assume every sponsored job permits a partner to join you. Source: GOV.UK Skilled Worker dependants.
A person with a qualifying British or settled partner may also consider the family visa route, which has separate relationship, financial and other requirements. Meeting an income figure alone does not establish eligibility.
Application checklist
- Confirm your permission expiry date and, for students, course dates and provider status.
- Check the employer’s sponsor licence, occupation code, salary and sponsorship period.
- Obtain the appropriate CoS for an in-country application and check the job-start date.
- Prepare identity, English-language and any required maintenance or scholarship-consent evidence.
- Make a valid application before your current permission expires and complete the required identity and evidence steps.
- Check separate applications and deadlines for each family member.
A valid, in-time application can extend existing leave under section 3C when that leave expires while the application is pending. Existing conditions continue; merely starting an online form does not protect your status or confer new work rights. Source: Home Office section 3C guidance.
Do not travel outside the UK, Ireland, Channel Islands or Isle of Man while an in-country application awaits a decision: doing so withdraws the application. Source: GOV.UK switching guidance.
Get advice on your next visa
LegumLex can review course dates, job offers, salary concessions and dependant options together. Explore our Student visa advice or Skilled Worker service, or request an initial call.