Do you need visa sponsorship while on a Graduate visa?
No, not for work while the Graduate visa lasts. Sponsorship matters when it ends, because GOV.UK says: “You cannot extend your Graduate visa.” Home Office guidance on work: “Graduates can undertake any work in the UK, including paid and unpaid employment, self-employment and engaging in business or any professional activity. The only restriction placed on a Graduate’s ability to work is a prohibition on working as a professional sportsperson.” A Skilled Worker visa, GOV.UK's example of a next visa, needs an employer “approved by the Home Office”.
Do you need a sponsor to work on a Graduate visa?
Graduates can undertake any work in the UK, including paid and unpaid employment, self-employment and engaging in business or any professional activity. The only restriction placed on a Graduate’s ability to work is a prohibition on working as a professional sportsperson.
In short: while your Graduate visa lasts, you can take any job, paid or unpaid, be self-employed or run a business. The one work it rules out is working as a professional sportsperson.
When does a Graduate visa holder need sponsorship?
You cannot extend your Graduate visa. However, you may be able to switch to a different visa, for example a Skilled Worker visa
In short: the Graduate visa cannot be extended. To stay longer you would need a different visa, and GOV.UK names the Skilled Worker visa as one example.
To qualify for a Skilled Worker visa, you must: work for a UK employer that’s been approved by the Home Office have a ‘certificate of sponsorship’
In short: for a Skilled Worker visa, you work for an employer the Home Office has approved, and you have a certificate of sponsorship from that employer. This is where sponsorship comes in for a Graduate visa holder.
You must apply online before your current visa expires.
You’ll usually get a decision within 8 weeks of your application date.
In short: the application to switch has to be made before your current visa expires, and GOV.UK says a decision usually comes within 8 weeks of the application date.
The pay rules for that switch, including the lower rate for some recent graduates, are on our Graduate to Skilled Worker page.
Graduate visa to Skilled Worker: the switch and new-entrant pay
When does sponsorship come in, step by step?
Each step below is a GOV.UK line quoted on this page, in the order it happens.
| Step | What GOV.UK says | Sponsor involved? |
|---|---|---|
| Graduate visa approved | “Your visa will start from the day your application is approved.” | No |
| How long it runs | “2 years if you apply on or before 31 December 2026”, “18 months if you apply on or after 1 January 2027”, “If you have a PhD or other doctoral qualification, it will last for 3 years.” | No |
| Working during it | “Graduates can undertake any work in the UK” | No |
| Before it ends | “You cannot extend your Graduate visa.” | Only if your next visa needs one |
| Switching to a Skilled Worker visa | “work for a UK employer that’s been approved by the Home Office have a ‘certificate of sponsorship’” | Yes |
| Deadline for the switch | “You must apply online before your current visa expires.” | Yes |
| Waiting for the decision | “You’ll usually get a decision within 8 weeks of your application date.” | Yes |
A Graduate visa lasts for: 2 years if you apply on or before 31 December 2026 18 months if you apply on or after 1 January 2027 If you have a PhD or other doctoral qualification, it will last for 3 years. Your visa will start from the day your application is approved.
In short: how long your Graduate visa lasts depends on when you applied and on your qualification, and it starts on the day the visa is approved.
What does an employer check if you are on a Graduate visa?
You’ll need to prove your right to work in the UK to your employer before you start working for them.
If you’re not a British or Irish citizen, you can prove your right to work with: a share code - you can get a share code online your eligible immigration documents
An eVisa is a digital record of: your identity and immigration status - for example the type of visa you have or if you have indefinite leave to remain (settlement) in the UK the conditions of your status - for example if you’re allowed to work or study in the UK
A share code lasts for 90 days.
In short: before you start a job, you prove your right to work, either with a share code or with your eligible immigration documents. Your eVisa is the digital record of your status and its conditions, and a share code lasts for 90 days.
How to read “Do you require sponsorship?” on a job application
The question does not always say whether it means today or the whole time you would be in the job. On a Graduate visa those two answers can differ: no sponsor for work while the visa lasts, and a sponsor if you would stay on a Skilled Worker visa after it.
Where a form has a free-text box or allows a cover note, your Graduate visa end date shows the recruiter which part applies. Where it is yes or no only, the recruiter can be asked which of the two the question means.
Does this job offer visa sponsorship? Reading an advert's sponsorship line
Do entry-level adverts rule out sponsorship more often?
Yes, in our data. SponsorJobs read 202,073 adverts from employers on the Home Office sponsor register between 3 October and 1 November 2026. The lower the level, the more often the advert ruled sponsorship out.
| Advert level | Adverts read | Ruled sponsorship out |
|---|---|---|
| Internship or placement | 6,509 | 48.4% |
| Entry level | 35,079 | 23.9% |
| Associate | 31,456 | 16.4% |
| Mid to senior | 67,245 | 12.1% |
| Director | 6,346 | 9.9% |
| Executive | 1,326 | 5.7% |
| All adverts, including those with no level | 202,073 | 16.1% |
An entry-level advert was about twice as likely as a mid to senior one to rule sponsorship out, and an internship about four times.
Where we could read the reason, it fell into three kinds:
| What the advert said | Share of refusals with a reason |
|---|---|
| Sponsorship is not available | about 54% |
| Security clearance, UK nationality or years of UK residence, and nothing else | about 26% |
| You must already have the right to work in the UK, and nothing else | about 20% |
The last kind does not say what happens at the end of a Graduate visa. That is a question for the employer.
Source: SponsorJobs study of visa sponsorship in job adverts, November 2026 edition. It counts what adverts say, not who was hired.
What to check next
- Your Graduate visa end date.
- Whether an employer you would like to stay with is on the Home Office register of licensed sponsors.
- Whether the advert rules sponsorship out, and in which words.
- The pay and occupation rules for a Skilled Worker switch, if that is the visa you are looking at.
Check a sponsor licence on the Home Office register
SponsorJobs lists jobs at employers on the Home Office register and hides adverts we read as ruling sponsorship out. We can miss some.
What it means for your job search
Common questions
Can I work for any employer on a Graduate visa?
Home Office guidance says: “Graduates can undertake any work in the UK, including paid and unpaid employment, self-employment and engaging in business or any professional activity. The only restriction placed on a Graduate’s ability to work is a prohibition on working as a professional sportsperson.”
Can I change job on a Graduate visa?
Yes. The guidance says graduates “can undertake any work in the UK”, and the only restriction it places on work is “a prohibition on working as a professional sportsperson”.
Can I extend my Graduate visa?
No. GOV.UK: “You cannot extend your Graduate visa. However, you may be able to switch to a different visa, for example a Skilled Worker visa”.
How long is the Graduate visa if I apply in 2027?
GOV.UK: “18 months if you apply on or after 1 January 2027”. For a PhD or other doctoral qualification, “it will last for 3 years.”
When do I have to apply to switch to a Skilled Worker visa?
GOV.UK, on switching: “You must apply online before your current visa expires.” It adds: “You’ll usually get a decision within 8 weeks of your application date.”
How do I prove to an employer that I can work?
GOV.UK: “If you’re not a British or Irish citizen, you can prove your right to work with: a share code - you can get a share code online your eligible immigration documents”.
Sources
- GOV.UK: Graduate visa
- GOV.UK: Graduate caseworker guidance (version 6.0, updated 3 August 2026)
- GOV.UK: Skilled Worker visa
- GOV.UK: Skilled Worker visa, switch to this visa
- GOV.UK: Prove your right to work to an employer
- GOV.UK: Using your eVisa
- GOV.UK: View your eVisa and get a share code
- SponsorJobs study: visa sponsorship in job adverts, November 2026 edition (data 3 October to 1 November 2026)