Study and Early Career Visas

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Student visa

Student visas are for those who want to study in Scotland.

You can apply for a student visa if you have been offered a place on a course by a college or university that’s on the list of licensed student sponsors (gov.uk).

Find out more about applying for a Student visa (gov.uk).

For more information about being an international student in the UK, visit the UK Council for International Student Affairs (ukcisa.org.uk).

If you have a student visa you might be able to work. Whether you can work and what hours you can work depends on the type of student sponsor you have.

Find out about working if you have a Student visa (ukcisa.org.uk).

Funding for your course

Before studying in Scotland, you need to have funding for your course. As an international student, you cannot normally get funding in Scotland. If you cannot pay for your course, there might be other support available.

Find more advice for international students (studentinformation.gov.scot).

Graduate visa

A Graduate visa lets you stay in Scotland for at least two years after completing a course in the UK.

To be eligible for a Graduate visa, you need to have successfully completed the course you took with your current Student visa.

Whether you can apply will also depend on:

• The education provider for your course, for example your university or college
• The kind of course you took
• How long you have studied in the UK. For example, you need to have studied here for at least 12 months if your course length is more than 12 months; or the total length of your course if it lasts for less than 12 months

You do not need a job offer to apply for this visa. If you get a job, you can change jobs while on this visa.

Check if you can apply for a Graduate visa (gov.uk).

Find more information about Graduate visas (ukcisa.org.uk).

High Potential Individual visa

A High Potential Individual (HPI) visa gives you permission to stay in the UK for two years. To apply, you must have been awarded a qualification by an eligible university in the last five years. The list of eligible universities was expanded on 4 November 2025.

You can apply for an HPI visa from inside the UK or outside the UK. However, UK universities are not eligible.

You do not need a job offer to apply.

Find out more about the High Potential Individual visa (gov.uk).

You can find the list of eligible universities on the UK Government website (gov.uk).