Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, for what reason international students who graduated from British universities prior to September 2020 are unable to apply for the UK post-study work visa.

The Graduate route demonstrates our commitment to attract the brightest and best talent from around the world to study and work in the UK.

The route was introduced in 2021 to help new graduates who have successfully completed a relevant qualification in eligible UK universities get a head-start on their career by allowing these graduates to work or look for work for up to three years immediately following their graduation.

Those who graduated and whose leave expired before the Graduate route was introduced do not meet the requirements of the route. Most of these students had commenced their course prior to the announcement of the route, and therefore had no expectation of benefitting from such a route when they applied to study in the UK. However, these students are able to apply for other routes from overseas, including the Skilled Worker route, if they meet the requirements.

The expansion of the Skilled Worker route to include roles at RQF3 and above in December 2020 significantly increased the number of roles they could consider applying for in the UK which would qualify.