Post Study Work Visa Latest Updates in UK 2025 (UK Graduate Visa)

In May 2025, the UK government announced post study work visa changes in the policies, which will have a big impact on international graduates and working professionals, especially in India. Note that post study work visa is now known as the UK Graduate visa. The Prime Minister of the UK, Keir Starmer, stated in an announcement that the UK has become ‘an island of strangers’ and his goal is to reduce the number of immigrants in the next 4 years. In June 2023, almost 1 million immigrants came to the UK, however, in June 2024, the estimated net migration to the UK dropped to 728,000, which is a 20% decrease. This decline is partly due to the government’s decision to ban dependents for students enrolled in UK postgraduate courses. Similarly, in the 2022-2023 academic year, Indian students in the UK were 173,190 as per the data mentioned by the Ministry of Education. This number declined to 136,921 in 2024. Now that the Immigration White Paper has announced that the new reforms will be stricter, it will be more difficult for immigrants to stay in UK. These reforms will affect the English language requirements, the qualification required for the UK Skilled Worker Visa, the UK graduate route duration, and the settlement duration in the UK. Read along and understand the post study work visa changes in UK 2025 in detail.

This Story also Contains

1. Changes to the UK Graduate Visa
2. Stricter English Language Requirements
3. Updated Skills Required for UK Worker Visa
4. Higher Costs for International Skilled Workers
5. Changes in British Citizenship
6. Conclusion

Changes to the UK Graduate Visa

The UK government reduces graduate route visa duration as per the new policies. The UK Graduate Route visa currently allows students to stay in the UK for two years after finishing their degree. As per the post study work visa changes in UK, the UK graduate route visa will be for 18 months. This change is part of a larger strategy to manage immigration and aims to reduce net migration by about 100,000 each year. The changes to the UK graduate route visa will most likely affect Chinese and Indian students the most, as they make up a significant portion of international student visas. As per PTI, the National Indian Students and Alumni Union (NISAU) UK has raised concerns about how this will affect Indian students. In addition, it is also under discussion to charge a 6% tax on the tuition fees from international students, and this will further be reinvested in the higher education system in the UK.

Stricter English Language Requirements

The UK skilled worker visa English requirements will get stricter under the post study work visa changes in UK. The new requirements will most likely be increased from B1 to B2 level as per the Common European Framework. Additionally, adult dependents accompanying these workers on the UK skilled worker visa or students will need to demonstrate basic English skills to obtain their visas. The government believes this will help the dependents to integrate well with society and find job opportunities. According to the post study work visa changes in UK 2025, dependents must show they have a basic understanding of English at an A1 level, intending to progress to A2 level over time for any visa extensions, and reaching B2 level to achieve the settled status.

Updated Skills Required for UK Worker Visa

Based on another post study work visa changes in UK, international workers will now be required to have a degree level qualification to apply for the UK Skilled Worker visa. Currently, applicants must hold qualifications that meet at least the regulated qualifications framework (RQF) level 3. This is likely to increase to RQF6 (graduate level) to control the number of less skilled workers into the UK. In addition, the government has indicated that salary thresholds will also reflect this higher skill level. For jobs that fall below this new skill requirement, the UK skilled visa will be provided for a limited time only. However, for limited-time workers, proper evidence of labour shortages will be required to be submitted by the employers before hiring.

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Higher Costs for International Skilled Workers

The government has recently announced post study work visa changes in UK. One of the policies released indicates that there will be a 32% hike in the 'immigration skills charge' for employers who choose to invite international workers through a UK skilled visa. Currently, the immigration skills charge is £1,000 per worker for large companies and £364 per worker for smaller businesses.

Changes in British Citizenship

As per the post study work visa changes in U, immigrants will typically need to spend 10 years in the UK before they can apply for Indefinite Leave to Remain (ILR). This is a significant increase from the current 5-year requirement for citizenship. However, the government is planning to introduce an "earned settlement" system. This system would allow individuals to accumulate points based on their contributions to the UK’s economy and society. Then later, by using these points, they can qualify for ILR sooner than 10 years. The government anticipates that these changes could lead to a reduction of about 100,000 people arriving each year.

Conclusion

The post study work visa changes in UK will largely affect the potential workers and students migrating from India. With the new stricter policy, UK is aiming to reduce the immigrants by a large number. The UK’s Home Office estimates that 98,000 fewer visas would be issued as a result of the post study work visa changes in UK. However, even if the new policies come into action, the process of working or studying in the UK will be challenging for Indians.

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