Advice for international students
Information provided here is for general guidance and procedures and documentary requirements may vary from country to country, you must check with your local Visa Application Centre and the UK visa and immigration website for exact details.
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If your current Study Visa expires after the date of your graduation, you will not need a visa to attend graduation unless your course finishes early.
If your current Student Visa expires before the graduation ceremony, you won’t be able to extend it for the purpose of attending the ceremony.
Unless you are eligible to switch to a different type of visa in the UK, you should leave the UK; you may return to the UK under the Standard Visitor visa as you will no longer be a student. This visa cannot be applied for inside the UK.
You do not need a letter from the university to support your Standard Visitor visa application; you can use evidence such as your official course results, your emailed invitation to the graduation ceremony from the university and your confirmation of booking your place from the university’s graduation booking system.
Graduation ceremony guests
If you are inviting guests outside the UK to your ceremony, who are from a country which requires a visa, they will need to apply for a Standard Visitor visa. You must also ensure that you’ve received official confirmation from the university that you’ve successfully bought the required amount of guest tickets for the ceremony.
To support the Standard Visitor visa application, your guests need a personal letter of invitation letter for your visitor(s). The letter should be written by you and will need to include the following information:
- The full name and date of birth of each guest you wish to invite
- Their relationship to you (for example, parent, friend, partner)
- The reason for their visit, i.e. to visit you for your graduation ceremony
- How long they want to stay in the UK, including their proposed arrival and departure dates
- Where they intend to stay while in the UK. If they will be staying with you, you should state this and give your full address; if your guests are staying at a hotel, you will need to provide proof of the hotel booking and cost of the hotel booking
- Your own immigration status in the UK, the type of visa and the date it expires. It might be helpful to provide them with a copy of your visa to include in the application
- A copy of the email invitation you were sent from the university
- A copy of the confirmation of your booking at your graduation ceremony (which the university booking system will provide when you book your place)
- A copy of your results notification indicating that you have completed your course (this will be sent to you from your faculty)
These supporting documents should be sent to your visitor for their application.
Please note that a letter from the university is not required. The confirmation of graduation booking will be sufficient.