UK Budget 2026: Graduates of High-Compliance Universities Keep Two-Year Graduate Visa; Others Face 18 Months From 2027
The 2026 Budget published by HM Treasury on October 28 proposes that international students who graduate from UK universities demonstrating high compliance and strong labour market outcomes receive a two-year Graduate visa after their studies.
Under changes already written into the Immigration Rules, most bachelor's and master's graduates applying from January 1, 2027 will see the Graduate visa shortened from two years to 18 months, while PhD graduates keep three years. The Budget proposal would preserve the two-year term for graduates of qualifying universities, but the definitions of high compliance and strong labour market outcomes, the list of qualifying institutions, and the rule changes needed to implement the promise have not yet been published. Applications submitted on or before December 31, 2026 continue to receive two years.
The Budget also proposes expanding the High Potential Individual visa to graduates of the world's top 150 institutions, up from the top 80, and implementing Migration Advisory Committee recommendations on Skilled Worker visa salary thresholds from spring 2027. HM Treasury said the package aims to deliver the most pro-business migration system in Europe for high-skilled workers.
The Graduate visa allows international graduates to work, look for work, or be self-employed in the UK without employer sponsorship, and is the main post-study route for international students in Britain.
(Source: HM Treasury)
Source: HM Treasury
Published by GSM · USA (original Chinese edition)
Photo: 图：英国牛津大学 Magdalen 学院。Julian Herzog 摄，CC BY 4.0，经 Wikimedia Commons。 / Photo: Magdalen College, University of Oxford, United Kingdom. By Julian Herzog, CC BY 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
