Switching from Graduate Route to Skilled Worker Visa: Salary Thresholds & Requirements
Switching from Graduate Route to Skilled Worker Visa: Salary Thresholds & Requirements
The Graduate Route gives you time in the UK after your degree, but it's a bridge, not a destination - it cannot be extended, and it has a fixed expiry date. If you want to keep building a career in the UK afterward, switching to a Skilled Worker visa is the main route most graduates take.
The core requirements
To switch from the Graduate Route to a Skilled Worker visa, you need:
- A job offer from a UK employer holding a sponsor licence. Without a licensed sponsor, you cannot make this switch, no matter how strong the job offer is.
- A role at RQF Level 6 or above - broadly, graduate-level work. This covers most professional, technical, and managerial roles.
- A Certificate of Sponsorship (CoS) from your employer, using the correct SOC 2020 occupation code for your role.
- A salary that meets the relevant threshold - covered in detail below.
The salary threshold - and the discount that makes this achievable
The standard Skilled Worker salary threshold is £41,700 a year, or the specific "going rate" for your occupation code, whichever is higher.
That figure sounds daunting for someone straight out of university - which is exactly why the new entrant rate exists. If you qualify as a new entrant, the threshold drops to £33,400 a year (or 70% of the going rate, if that's higher).
You generally qualify as a new entrant if you are:
- Under 26 at the date of your application, or
- Switching from a Student or Graduate visa, or
- Working towards a recognised professional qualification, or
- In an eligible postdoctoral role
How long the new entrant discount lasts
New entrant status is not indefinite. It generally lasts for up to four years in total, and that count includes time already spent on the Graduate visa itself - so the clock may already be running before you even switch. Once your new entrant status ends, the standard threshold applies from that point on.
If you hold a PhD, there are further discounted thresholds available in some cases (lower again for STEM-relevant roles), which can combine with new entrant status to make the switch even more accessible early in your career.
Timing: the detail that catches people out
You must generally either finish your course before you switch, or ensure your new job starts after your course ends. You also need to apply for the Skilled Worker visa before your current Graduate visa expires - there is no extension available on the Graduate Route itself, so missing this window means losing your UK status, not just losing the "new entrant" discount.
Given the Graduate Route is shortening to 18 months for applications from 1 January 2027, the practical planning window for finding a sponsoring employer is getting tighter, not longer. Starting your job search and sponsor conversations during your final year of study - rather than after graduating - matters more under the shorter route.
What to check before you rely on any of this
Salary thresholds and eligible occupation rules are reviewed periodically and have generally moved upward in recent years, not downward. Before making decisions based on a specific number:
- Confirm the current general threshold and new entrant threshold on GOV.UK, since these figures do change
- Check the specific going rate for your occupation code - it may be higher than the general threshold
- Confirm your employer genuinely holds a valid sponsor licence before relying on a verbal job offer