How long can you actually stay and work in the UK or Ireland after you graduate? Both countries offer a real, official post-study work permission with no job offer or employer sponsor required to get it -- but the two systems run on different clocks, cost different amounts, and (in the UK's case) are mid-change right now. Here's what each one actually grants, sourced directly from the UK and Irish governments' own pages.
The UK's Graduate visa
Per gov.uk's own Graduate visa page, a Student visa holder who has completed an eligible bachelor's, master's, or doctoral course can switch onto the Graduate visa with no job offer and no sponsor required -- you can work in most jobs, be self-employed, or simply look for work. The real numbers:
- Bachelor's or master's graduates: 2 years, if you apply on or before 31 December 2026.
- PhD/doctoral graduates: 3 years, regardless of when you apply.
- Cost: a £937 application fee, plus the Immigration Health Surcharge, typically £1,035 per year of the visa.
- Timing: you must apply before your Student visa expires, and you don't have to wait for your actual degree certificate -- you can apply as soon as your university has told the Home Office you've completed your course. Processing typically takes about 8 weeks.
That 2-year figure for bachelor's and master's graduates is about to change -- covered in full in our piece on the UK's new 18-month Graduate visa rule, since it affects nearly everyone reading this article, not just a future cohort.
Ireland's Stamp 1G (Third Level Graduate Programme)
Ireland's equivalent, confirmed on Trinity College Dublin's own international-student visa page (irishimmigration.ie's own Third Level Graduate Programme page states the same core rules), works on a real, different structure:
- Bachelor's/honours degree graduates: up to 12 months.
- Master's or PhD graduates: up to 24 months, granted as two separate 12-month periods -- the second 12 months requires you to show you've taken real steps toward finding graduate-level work.
- Job offer: not required to get the first 12 months.
- Work allowed: up to 40 hours per week, no salary or job-category restriction, but you can't run your own business or be self-employed.
- Application deadline: within 6 months of your university notifying you that you've completed your programme, using your final (not provisional) results.
The gap between a bachelor's and a master's degree here is bigger than it looks at first glance -- worth its own look in our piece on why Ireland's Stamp 1G rewards master's graduates with double the time.
Neither one is a long-term status by itself
Both the Graduate visa and Stamp 1G are genuinely temporary -- a window to find graduate-level work, not a path to permanent residency on their own. What happens when that window closes is a real, separate question, covered in our piece on what happens when your Graduate visa or Stamp 1G runs out.
If you're used to thinking about this in US terms
If your reference point is the US system, the closer American comparison is Optional Practical Training (OPT), not a green card -- see our direct UK Graduate visa vs. US OPT/STEM-OPT comparison for how the two actually line up.
What this means for you
- Neither system asks for a job offer to get started -- you can move onto the Graduate visa or Stamp 1G with nothing lined up yet, unlike most other UK/Ireland work visas.
- The UK's headline "2 years" won't apply to most future applicants -- see the 18-month rule piece linked above before you assume a 2-year runway.
- Ireland's system rewards a master's degree specifically, not just "more education" -- a bachelor's degree alone caps out at 12 months, half of what a master's or PhD graduate can get.
- Budget for the UK's real, upfront cost -- the £937 fee plus £1,035/year Immigration Health Surcharge is a genuine cash outlay Ireland's Stamp 1G doesn't charge in the same way.
- This is a work-search window, not a settled status -- plan your next step (a sponsored work visa, in either country) before either clock runs out.