My Graduate visa expires soon
Compare sponsorship, further study, family options and settlement impact.
Case Scenarios
Find the situation that feels closest to yours.
Many clients search by problem rather than visa name: Graduate deadline, sponsor issue, family income evidence, ILR absences, founder planning, education pathway or refusal risk.
My employer has never sponsored before
Clarify sponsor licence, CoS and start-date risks.
Our income evidence is complicated
Employment, savings, self-employment and overseas income strategy.
I travel frequently and need ILR
Absence review, evidence history and timing plan.
I want a UK base for my business
Compare founder, talent, sponsorship, family and settlement consequences.
We are investing in UK education
Plan Student, Graduate, sponsorship and family routes together.
I had a previous refusal
Assess whether route, evidence or legal referral is needed.
My visa deadline is close
Status, timing and next-step triage.
We need to retain international talent
Check licence, CoS, role, salary and compliance before promising sponsorship.
Scenario To Service Map
Match the concern to a sensible first step.
Clients do not need to diagnose the whole case before contacting UKIMMI. They only need to describe what is causing pressure: time, documents, an employer decision, family impact, settlement value or a legal boundary.
| Client situation | What UKIMMI first checks | Most useful starting point | Escalate when |
|---|---|---|---|
| Visa expires within six months | Current status, expiry date, available routes, application windows and fallback options | Private Intake Call | Several routes or legal deadlines must be compared |
| Employer says sponsorship may be possible | Licence, CoS, role code, salary, start date, HR readiness and candidate status | Business Sponsorship Advisory | The employer has never sponsored or timing is tight |
| Partner or family evidence is complex | Relationship route, financial evidence category, accommodation, dependants and renewal path | Strategy Session | Documents are inconsistent or a previous refusal exists |
| ILR or citizenship is approaching | Route history, absences, residence records, good character and future travel plans | Settlement Readiness Plan | Historic gaps, heavy travel or disclosure issues appear |
| Founder or senior applicant wants a UK base | Business objective, route flexibility, endorsement evidence, sponsorship option and family timing | Founder and Talent Strategy Session | Endorsement, sponsor structure or family strategy need deeper review |
| Refusal or status concern exists | Decision reason, deadline, current status, evidence gap and referral boundary | Referral Triage | Appeal, administrative review, overstaying or representation may be involved |
Graduate visa expires in 3-9 months
The client usually asks, “Can I stay?” The better question is whether sponsorship, further study, partner route, Global Talent/HPI or leaving and re-entering is realistic in practice.
| What to check | Why it matters | Likely paid step |
|---|---|---|
| Expiry date and current work | Determines how much time exists to secure sponsorship or alternative route | £99 Intake |
| Employer sponsor status | An offer is not enough if the employer cannot sponsor correctly | Strategy Session |
| Long-term settlement goal | Graduate visa does not itself lead to settlement | Route comparison |
Employer has never sponsored before
The client may have a strong job offer, but the main risk sits with the employer’s sponsor licence readiness, CoS timing, salary threshold and HR process.
Partner visa income evidence is complicated
Family applications often become difficult when employment, savings, self-employment, overseas income, job changes or mixed income sources are involved. A document list is not enough; the correct evidence route has to be chosen first.
Frequent travel before ILR
Frequent travellers should review absences, work travel, personal travel, route-specific rules and evidence early. A travel history problem is easier to manage before the application window opens.
Founder or senior applicant wants a UK base
The client may be comparing Global Talent, Innovator Founder, Skilled Worker, expansion routes, family route or settlement timing. The review should test route fit before endorsement or business planning spend.
Family is investing in UK education
The course or school decision should be reviewed against Graduate eligibility, sponsorship prospects, dependants, further study and whether a later settlement route is realistic.
Previous refusal or status issue
The first step is not to rush into another application. The refusal reason, available challenge route, new evidence, deadline and need for authorised legal representation should be assessed first.
What Clients Mean
A short sentence often contains the whole case.
Clients rarely arrive with a perfectly organised file. They usually arrive with a sentence that sounds simple, but points to several checks. UKIMMI reads that sentence for timing, people, documents, route risk and whether referral may be needed.
| What the client says | What this may really mean | What should be checked first |
|---|---|---|
| My employer says sponsorship may be possible. | The client may be relying on a promise before the business has checked licence, CoS, role, salary and timing. | Employer readiness and candidate deadline. |
| We meet the income level, but the documents are messy. | The issue may not be money. It may be the evidence route, timing, source of funds or consistency. | Financial route and evidence period. |
| I travel a lot and want to apply for ILR. | The question is not only absence numbers. Residence evidence, route continuity and citizenship timing may also matter. | Travel record and route history. |
| I was refused before and want to try again. | The refusal reason must be read before documents are rebuilt. A fresh application may not be the right first move. | Decision letter, deadline and referral boundary. |
Scenario Triage
How these situations are assessed.
Good immigration planning starts with the problem the client is actually facing, then works back to the route, evidence and deadline.
| Signal | Question to answer first | Risk if ignored | Best starting point |
|---|---|---|---|
| Expiry date within 6 months | Is there enough time for sponsorship, further study, family route or settlement preparation? | Leaving action too late can remove otherwise viable options | Private Intake Call |
| Employer wants to sponsor | Is the employer licensed, ready for compliance and able to meet salary and CoS requirements? | A job offer may be unusable if sponsor assumptions are wrong | Employer Sponsor Hub |
| Founder wants UK base | Is endorsement, sponsorship, family route or business mobility the stronger route? | Wrong route can waste time on evidence that does not solve the objective | Founder & Talent Hub |
| Family finances are mixed | Which income route is being relied on, and does the evidence match that route? | Strong finances can still fail if presented under the wrong evidence route | Family Evidence Hub |
| Travel history is heavy | Do absences, work travel and route-specific rules affect ILR or citizenship timing? | A settlement application can be delayed or weakened by late absence review | Settlement Hub |
| Previous refusal or status issue | Is the next step a fresh application, review, appeal or regulated legal referral? | Repeating the same weakness can make the next decision worse | Complex Case Hub |