Sponsor consent for Graduate visa

Short answer

It depends on what your scholarship or sponsorship covered. You only need written consent to apply for a Graduate visa if, in the 12 months before the date of your application, you completed a UK course for which a government or international scholarship agency paid for both your course fees and your living costs. If that describes you, consent is a mandatory requirement and your application can be rejected as invalid without it. If it does not, you do not need any such consent.

The rule in detail

This is set out in the Immigration Rules Appendix Graduate. Under paragraph GR 1.5, if you have, in the 12 months before the date of application, completed a course of studies in the UK for which you were awarded a scholarship or sponsorship by a government or international scholarship agency covering both fees and living costs for study in the UK, you must provide written consent to the application from that government or agency.

The Home Office caseworker guidance confirms this is a validity (not just suitability) requirement, and gives Chevening and Marshall scholarships as typical examples. The published Graduate visa document list also asks for a letter from your scholarship or sponsorship provider approving your application if they paid for both your course fees and living costs in the last 12 months.

When the requirement applies to you

The requirement is triggered only where all of the following are true. First, the funder is a government or an international scholarship agency, not a private company, a family member, your employer, or the university itself out of its own funds. Second, the funding covered both your tuition fees and your living costs, not just one of them. Third, you completed the relevant course within the 12 months before the date you apply for the Graduate visa.

If any one of these is not met, the consent requirement does not apply. For example, a scholarship that paid only your fees, or only a partial contribution, would generally not require consent because it did not cover both fees and living costs. Similarly, funding from before the 12-month window does not trigger it.

Points to check on your own facts

Because the answer turns entirely on the terms of your specific award, it is worth confirming a few things before you apply. Look at your award letter or funding agreement to see who the funder legally is and whether they are a government body or an international scholarship agency as opposed to a private or institutional sponsor. Check exactly what the award paid for, because the test is fees and living costs together. Work out the date your course finished relative to the date you intend to submit the Graduate application, since the 12-month clock runs from the application date.

Practical next steps

1. Re-read your scholarship or sponsorship agreement to confirm whether it covered both fees and living costs and whether the funder is a government or international scholarship agency.

2. If it did, contact the funder as early as possible and ask for a written consent or approval letter for your Graduate visa application. These letters can take time to obtain, so request it well before you apply.

3. Keep the letter with your other supporting documents ready to upload, along with your passport, your Confirmation of Acceptance for Studies reference used for your Student visa, and evidence of your completed qualification if requested.

4. If you are unsure whether your particular award crosses the threshold, ask the funder directly whether they consider that they sponsored both your fees and living costs, and whether they will provide consent. Getting this in writing protects you if the point is later queried.

Why this rule exists

Government and international scholarship schemes often carry conditions, sometimes including an expectation that the recipient returns home after study to contribute there. The consent requirement lets the funding body confirm it has no objection to you switching into the Graduate route rather than the Home Office having to police the terms of every scholarship. Even where the strict legal requirement does not apply, if you are still bound by contractual obligations to a funder, staying in the UK could have consequences under that separate agreement, so it is sensible to check your scholarship terms regardless.