Heriot-Watt University

Work during study

A Student visa holder on a full-time degree-level course sponsored by a higher-education provider with a track record of compliance may work up to 20 hours per week during term-time, and full-time outside of term-time. A student on a full-time course below degree level (sponsored by such a provider) is limited to 10 hours per week during term-time, also full-time outside of term-time. All other study, including any part-time study, permits no employment at all under the visa. Work that is an assessed, integral part of the course (a work placement) is separately permitted, as is an elected Student Union Sabbatical Officer or National Union of Students role, for up to 2 years.

Post-study work visa

Graduate visa . Up to 3 years
Available to a Student visa holder who has successfully completed an eligible UK bachelor's degree, postgraduate degree or other eligible course for a minimum required period on that visa, and whose education provider has confirmed completion to the Home Office. It cannot be extended, and cannot be applied for from outside the UK. For a bachelor's or master's graduate it currently lasts 2 years — but only for an application made on or before 31 December 2026; for an application made on or after 1 January 2027 it will last only 18 months instead, a reduction already confirmed on the Home Office's own page. A PhD or other doctoral graduate gets 3 years regardless. It permits working in most jobs, being self-employed, and looking for work, but not most public funds and not professional sport. There is no route to extend a Graduate visa itself — a holder who wants to stay longer must separately qualify for and switch to a different visa (typically Skilled Worker) before it expires.

Route to permanent residence

The Graduate visa does not itself lead to settlement and cannot be extended — a graduate who wants to remain permanently must switch to a different, qualifying visa (commonly Skilled Worker, which requires a job offer from a Home-Office-approved sponsor, a role on the list of eligible occupations, and a minimum salary) before the Graduate visa expires. Time spent on the Graduate visa (or as a Student) does not itself count towards the 5-year continuous-residence period ordinarily required for indefinite leave to remain (ILR, 'settlement') under a work route — that clock generally starts once the switch to a qualifying work visa is made, though it is counted as lawful residence towards the separate 10-year long-residence settlement route. After 5 years on an eligible work visa, a person who still meets salary and other eligibility rules may apply for indefinite leave to remain, which removes all immigration time limits. This 5-year figure is itself under active review: the Government's May 2025 immigration white paper proposed replacing automatic settlement after a fixed period with an 'earned settlement' model built around a 10-year baseline qualifying period, adjustable by contribution, integration, residence and character; a public consultation on implementing this closed on 12 February 2026 and the Home Office's own consultation page still states only that it is 'analysing your feedback', with no outcome or Immigration Rules change published as of this reading.

Route to citizenship

Naturalisation as a British citizen is decided by the Home Office — the same department that runs the visa system. The most common route is holding indefinite leave to remain (ILR, 'settlement') for at least 12 months before applying, on top of the qualifying period already needed to reach ILR itself (usually 5 years of lawful residence, so around 6 years in total); a person married to or in a civil partnership with a British citizen can instead apply as soon as they have lived in the UK for the last 3 years and hold ILR or settled status. Applicants generally must also prove knowledge of English to at least CEFR level B1 (or hold a degree taught or researched in English) and pass the Life in the UK Test, alongside a good-character requirement and limits on time spent outside the UK. The UK recognises dual nationality: Home Office guidance for passport staff, updated 13 October 2025, states the UK 'allows British nationals who have dual nationality, to hold a British passport' and that staff 'will never tell a customer to renounce another country's citizenship or cancel their foreign passport' — so becoming British does not require giving up an applicant's existing nationality, though other countries may not reciprocate.

What the government currently prioritises

Skilled Worker visa sponsorship normally requires a salary at or above a standard threshold and the job's own 'going rate' — but an eligible job that appears on the Government's immigration salary list can be sponsored at a reduced salary floor and a lower visa fee, functioning as this route's shortage/priority-occupation mechanism. The list is a live, searchable Government tool rather than a fixed table reproduced here, and eligibility also depends on which part of the UK the role is based in. The Government's May 2025 immigration white paper announced this list is due to be replaced by a new 'Temporary Shortage List', with current sub-RQF6 immigration-salary-list occupations remaining usable only until December 2026 — so which occupations qualify, and under which list's name, is expected to change within the currency of StudyPath.