Marking Boycott - Discretionary Arrangements For Graduate Visa Applications

With the university academic year ending, many international students will be considering switching to the Graduate visa which allow students to stay in the UK for 2 years (3 years if a PhD) after successfully completing their degree at an eligible UK institution. A Graduate visa holder can work, or look for work, at any skill level without requiring sponsorship from an employer.

However, many international students applying for a Graduate visa this year have been impacted by a marking boycott that is currently taking place at over one hundred UK universities. The marking boycott began on 20 April this year and is expected to continue into the new academic year.

As a result of the boycott, many international students are unlikely before their student visa expires, to be able to show that they have successfully completed their course, which is a requirement to be able to switch to the Graduate visa.   

To help mitigate these concerns the Home Office has introduced discretionary arrangements for students whose student visa is about to expire.

The discretionary arrangements

The Home Office has stated that the following arrangements will apply where a student’s permission is about to expire:

• UKVI will exercise discretion and will hold Graduate route applications made before the applicant’s results have been received, provided that the results are received within 8 weeks of the application being made.
• Students who do not know when they will receive their results due to the boycott will be able to apply to extend their student visa whilst they wait for their results. They will be exceptionally exempt from meeting the academic progression requirements. Sponsors should include a note on the Confirmation of Acceptance for Studies (CAS) that the extension is due to the marking boycott.

Proceeding with a Graduate visa application

An application for a Graduate visa must be submitted whilst you are in the UK and before your current Student visa expires. The Home Office will not approve your application until your university has confirmed that you have successfully completed your course. Under the discretionary arrangements, your sponsor must provide this notification within 8 weeks of the application being made.

You should note that if your results are not notified to the UKVI within 8-weeks of your Graduate visa application your application may be refused. For this reason, applications made in this scenario are done so at the student’s own risk.

Therefore, it is important that you and your university carefully consider the timing of your Graduate visa application and if there is an expectation that your results will not be available within the 8-week window you consider applying to extend your student visa in the first instance.  

Extending your student visa

Under the Home Office Discretionary arrangements, you will not need to satisfy the ‘academic progression’ requirement as the purpose behind you application is to extend your current visa whilst waiting for your results due to the marking boycott. All other requirements for a student visa extension will still need to be met. This will include having a new CAS, paying the application fee and associated costs.

You should therefore be aware that the extra step of extending your student visa will increase the overall cost of eventually obtaining a Graduate visa.

Once you have obtained your results you can then go on to apply for a Graduate visa if you meet the requirements.

Which option to choose?

You and your university should carefully consider the most appropriate and cost-effective option based on when your results are expected as the Home Office leave it to the applicant to decide when to apply and under which route.

Can I leave the UK whilst waiting for my application to be approved?

No, you cannot travel overseas with a pending application. If you leave the UK, your application will be treated as withdrawn.

What about dependants?

Dependant applications made at the same time as the Student / Graduate will be treated in line with the main applicant and the discretionary arrangements will also apply to your dependants.

Advice for student sponsors

As it is the university’s responsibility to ensure that successful completion of the course is notified to the Home Office, you should advise and support the student on the appropriate application based on when the marketing boycott is likely to end.

Advice for students

Tactically, you should wait as long as possible before you file your next application as there may be clarity with regards to the marking boycott by the time that you are ready to file. The key is to file your application before your current student visa expires (even a day before) so that your current student status is automatically extended (and the conditions attached to your student permission) up until the Home Office decide on your new application.   

If there is no clarity on when the marking boycott is going to end by the time that you need to file an application meaning that you decide to apply to extend your student visa in the first instance, then delay an appointment to give your biometrics for as long as possible. Once you give your biometrics then your visa fee can not be refunded. In this scenario, if there is an indication after you have filed your student visa extension application (but before you give your biometrics) that you will receive your results within 8 -weeks then proceed with filing your Graduate visa application and then withdraw/cancel your student visa application. You will then be able to request a refund of the student visa application fee. Remember, do not withdraw your student application until you have filed your Graduate visa application.

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