How the study routes fit together
Most people move through them in sequence, and understanding the sequence early avoids the problem that catches graduates in their final year.
You come on a Student visa, sponsored by your university or college. You study. Towards the end of the course you can switch, from inside the UK, to the Graduate route — which gives you 2 years (3 years after a doctorate) with no sponsor, no job offer and no salary threshold.
That period is the opportunity, and it is finite. The Graduate route cannot be extended and does not itself lead to settlement. Before it ends you need to switch to something that does — most often Skilled Worker, which needs a licensed employer, an eligible occupation and a qualifying salary.
The graduates who run into difficulty are the ones who treat the Graduate route as two years of breathing space and start thinking about sponsorship in month twenty. The ones who do well start looking at which employers hold sponsor licences before they graduate.
What every study application needs
The requirements differ by route but the shape is the same.
- A CAS from a licensed sponsor Confirmation of Acceptance for Studies, issued by your provider for a specific course. It has a reference number and a validity period, and the application must match what it says.
- Financial evidence Course fees plus maintenance, held for 28 consecutive days and evidenced in a prescribed way. This is where most refusals originate.
- English at the right level Usually B2 for degree-level study and B1 below it, though your provider may assess it themselves for degree courses at a Higher Education Provider with a track record of compliance.
- A genuine intention to study Assessed on the whole application, and occasionally by interview. A course that does not fit your academic history needs explaining rather than hoping.
- Academic progression, where it applies Extending in the UK usually requires the new course to represent progression from the last.
The dependant restriction, plainly
Since January 2024, most Student visa holders cannot bring a partner or children to the UK as dependants.
The exceptions are narrow. They cover students on research postgraduate programmes — doctoral and research-based master's courses — and students sponsored by a government for a course of more than six months.
A taught master's, however prestigious the university, does not qualify. Neither does an undergraduate degree.
This is not a detail. For a student with a family it decides whether studying in the UK is possible at all, and it is worth establishing before any money is spent on applications, deposits or flights. Where the intention is to bring family, the question is usually whether a research programme is a realistic alternative, or whether a different route entirely is the better answer. That is a conversation worth having early, and it is free.
Maintenance rates, course requirements and route durations are reviewed regularly and the figures here were correct at August 2026. Confirm the current position on GOV.UK or with us before relying on any number.