Post-study work visas

• In order to apply you must have already successfully completed your course
• You can only apply in the UK
• You will need to hold a valid, unexpired, Tier 4 or Student Route visa and study for the full period of your course in the UK if you have studied on a course of 12 months or less
• If you are on a course of 12 months or more you would need to spend a minimum of 12 months in the UK studying on a valid Student Route visa
• The University will need to notify the Home Office (UKVI) that you have been awarded your qualification before you apply for the Graduate Immigration Route (GIR) visa
• Your qualification will be awarded after the Board of Examiners has met and confirmed that you have passed all the required elements of your course. The Board of Examiners may take place a few weeks or months after you have completed the course

• The University will confirm successful course completions to UKVI
• After UKVI have been informed you will receive an email confirming your most recent CAS number and that UKVI have been informed of your successful course completion
• You can find the application form on the UKVI website.

• The cost is £822 for the standard visa application for both students and dependants
• You will also need to pay the Immigration Health Surcharge (IHS) as part of the visa application, this will cost £1,035 per year – 2 years will cost £2,070 and 3 years will cost £3,105 for each applicant and each dependant
• From mid-January 2024 the IHS fee will increase to £1,035 per year (£2,070 for 2 years and £ 3,105 for 3 years)

• You will not be required to show proof of living costs as part of the application

• You can be employed or self-employed under this visa. If you wish to be self-employed you cannot start this until your GIR visa has been successfully granted 

• If your tuition fees and living costs have been paid by a government or an international scholarship agency within the 12 month period before you apply, you must provide a letter showing the Official Financial Sponsor's consent to apply for a Graduate Immigration Route visa

If you have switched into the Tier 4 or Student Route from another visa route and have not held a Tier 4 or Student Route visa for the required period you will not be able apply for this route.

Supplementary study is allowed but only study that could not be sponsored under the Student Route visa. This means that you could, for example, study on recreational courses, online courses or some professional courses.

Only dependants who are already in the UK as your Tier 4/Student Route dependant can apply as your Graduate Immigration Route dependant. New dependants will not be able to apply apart from a dependant child born in the UK during Tier 4/Student permission.

Children born in the UK during your Graduate Immigration Route permission can also apply as your dependant.

Each dependant will need to complete a separate application form when you apply for the Graduate Immigration Route.

There is a separate form for your partner and dependant children.

They will need your GIR visa application reference number. This number is called a Unique Application Number (UAN). You can find it on emails and letters from the Home Office about your GIR application.

If you do not successfully complete your course within the original course dates you may not be able to apply for GIR.

Contact the Student StartUp team either by visiting one of the Enterprise Clinics (held every Wednesday 2.00pm–4.00pm and every Friday 9.30am–11.30am) or by emailing studentstartup@port.ac.uk for an appointment. Please note that until further notice, these are taking place virtually.

• Complete the initial application form; this can be requested from studentstartup@port.ac.uk
• Submit evidence to studentstartup@port.ac.uk that you have received feedback from an expert in a relevant business sector

At this stage you must submit a draft business plan and show proof of: 

• An academic reference
• Degree certificate (if already received)

Business plan templates can be found on the Student StartUp website in the resources section under 'business planning'.

After reviewing the business plan the Student StartUp team will notify you whether you are eligible to progress to the next stage. This will depend on the criteria as laid out by the Government above.

In order to proceed and present your business idea to the endorsement panel you must submit a robust and comprehensive business plan to the Student StartUp team by the set deadline.

In order to qualify, your business plan must make good use of graduate-level skills and demonstrate how the business will contribute to the UK economy. Business proposals which seek to establish a routine business which will merely compete with other local traders are very unlikely to be successful. The final business plan will be sent for external review.

The Student StartUp team reserves the right to refuse a formal application if the business plan does not reach a quality threshold deemed worthy of external scrutiny.

If successful at step 5 you will be invited to present your business plan to the endorsement panel.

The panel meets twice per year: Nov/Dec and May/June. 

You will deliver a 15-minute presentation to the panel which will be followed by a question and answer session. 

The Evaluation Panel will comprise of the following: 

• one staff member from the Student StartUp team 
• one staff member from Academic Registry 
• one senior academic member of University staff 
• one subject/industry expert 
• one visiting entrepreneur 

NB: all panel members will be asked to declare any personal or professional interests or connections prior to the panel meeting.

The decision of the panel will be final. There is no appeal. In rare circumstances, you may be asked to supply further information to the panel in a given timeframe before a decision is confirmed in writing. 

If your application is successful, the University of Portsmouth will issue an endorsement letter for you to submit to the UKVI.

Notes of the meeting (and supporting documentation) will be made available to the UKVI on request.

The University is responsible for supervising successful applicants for 24 months following Start-up visa confirmation from the UKVI. The applicant must notify the Student StartUp team in writing as soon as formal notice of Start-up visa status is received from UKVI.

A supervisor will be appointed to undertake the 24 months supervisory process. 

The supervisor will arrange an initial meeting with the Start-up visa holder and must make contact at six-monthly intervals when the visa-holder must present their progress and the current status of their business. Company accounts and business records will be fully reviewed and the supervisor will complete the attached Appendix 1 at the end of each supervision. 

Some of these meetings may be via Skype, but at least two, usually the initial meeting and again at month 12, should be face-to-face. All meetings will be recorded by the Supervisor, who will notify the Student StartUp team that the meetings have taken place and will pass on any relevant meetings notes and company records.

In order to comply with UKVI’s requirements, Start-up visa-holders must show evidence of satisfactory progress and that they are dedicating sufficient time to the development of the business. If Start-up visa-holders fail to satisfy any of these requirements or fail to attend monitoring meetings, the University of Portsmouth is obliged to report non-compliance to UKVI. 

All reasonable expenses related to supervisory visits and reports will be covered by the Start-up visa holder – covering travel and accommodation costs and must be paid directly to the University (not staff).