📅 Updated 14 July 2026; the UK Graduate Route change re-checked against UKCISA and the Home Office statement on 31 August 2026. Bookmark this page; it tracks the rule changes that decide applications.
The biggest deadline of 2026: the UK Graduate Route drops from 24 to 18 months for applications submitted from 1 January 2027. If you finish a UK course late this year, submitting by 31 December 2026 is worth 6 extra months of work rights.
Applications submitted from 1 Jan 2027 get 18 months of post-study work instead of 24. PhDs keep 36 months.
Study-permit caps remain in force for 2026 and financial-proof requirements have been strengthened.
Visa fees rose again and the Genuine Student requirement means the SOURCE of your funds gets checked, not just the amount (living-cost requirement: AUD 29,710/yr).
Enrolment and status compliance monitoring has tightened across 2026.
Dutch politics keeps debating limits on English-taught bachelor programs, master’s largely unaffected so far.
2026’s theme across UK, Canada, US, Australia and NZ: enrolment caps, stronger financial checks, more compliance monitoring.
Compiled from official announcements and sector reporting; rules can change mid-year, always confirm on the official immigration site before acting.
💶 Exact proof-of-funds amounts (20 countries) → · 🎯 Track your applications → · 🗺️ Destinations map →
Verified at source on 5 August 2026
Everything above this line was written from tracking notes. Everything below it was read on the authority’s own page today, and each entry says who published it. Where the two disagree, believe the sourced version.
Money you must show: six countries moved, and four of them were wrong on this site
- Canada, from 1 September 2026. A single applicant must show CAD 23,448 for twelve months, on top of tuition and travel, rising to CAD 62,054 for a family of seven (read from IRCC 2026-09-22).
- Canada, from 1 September 2025. A single applicant had to show CAD 22,895 for twelve months, on top of tuition and travel. IRCC.
- Ireland, from 30 June 2025. EUR 10,000 for a course of a year or more, or EUR 833 a month for a shorter one, which is EUR 4,998 for six months and EUR 6,665 for eight. Immigration Service Delivery.
- Sweden, for applications made in 2026. SEK 10,656 a month, up from SEK 10,584 in 2025. Migrationsverket.
- Netherlands, for 2026. EUR 1,130.77 a month for higher professional education and university, EUR 928.58 for vocational education, for 1 January to 31 December 2026. IND.
- Denmark, 2026 level. DKK 7,426 a month. New to Denmark.
- Austria, 2026 rates. EUR 722.58 a month under 24 and EUR 1,308.39 a month at 24 or over. OeAD.
- France. At least EUR 877.50 a month. The EUR 615 figure still circulating in guides, including on this site until today, is out of date. Service-Public.
- Australia. AUD 29,710 of living costs for twelve months, plus the first twelve months of fees and travel, with AUD 10,394 for a partner and AUD 4,449 for a child. Page last updated 1 July 2026. Department of Home Affairs.
After you graduate: one change nobody is reporting
- Spain now gives 24 months, not 12. Graduates at level 6 or above of the European Qualifications Framework get a non-extendable 24 month authorisation to look for work or start a business, under Royal Decree 1155/2024. Most guides still say one year. Ministerio de Inclusión, sheet 20.
- Italy sets a floor as well as a ceiling. The job search permit runs no less than 9 and no more than 12 months, under legislative decree 71 of 2018, and the Cutro decree removed the quota that used to gate the conversion from study to work. Integrazione Migranti, Ministero del Lavoro.
- Switzerland gives six months, and it is in the statute. Article 21 paragraph 3 of the Foreign Nationals and Integration Act admits a graduate of a Swiss institution for six months to find work of high scientific or economic interest. Fedlex.
- Finland gives two years, Norway one, and both attach an income test: EUR 800 a month in Finland, NOK 28,448 a month in Norway. Migri and UDI.
- Australia’s Temporary Graduate visa depends on what you studied. Up to 18 months with an associate degree, diploma or trade qualification; usually 2 to 3 years after higher education; 1 to 2 years for a second permit; 5 years for Hong Kong and British National Overseas passport holders. You must be 35 or under. Department of Home Affairs.
Work while studying: the rule that changed seven weeks ago
Sweden capped term time work at 15 hours a week for permits granted on or after 11 June 2026. Before that there was no limit, and a reader budgeting on the old rule would have planned for earnings that are no longer legal. Switzerland has always capped it at 15 hours a week outside the holidays and forbids any work for the first six months, and that is set in article 38 of the Ordinance on Admission, Residence and Employment rather than in policy, so it does not move.
How to use this page
Rule changes are only useful if you know which ones apply to your submission date rather than your graduation date. The UK Graduate Route is the clearest example on this page: the date that decides your outcome is the day you submit, and nothing about finishing your course changes it. Read the entry for your country, then open the publisher and confirm before you commit money or a deadline.
Next: what each country requires, with the publisher named, how the money test actually works, the full sourced destination table, how long each authority says it takes, and the rules that decide what may appear here.
This is not immigration advice. It is a record of what named public authorities publish, with the date each was read.
Is the school on the official register?
Type the name as the school writes it. This searches the dated copies we hold of the Australian, Canadian, Japanese and British registers, not a directory.
A listing here means the institution appeared on the official register on the edition date shown. It is not advice, and it is not a guarantee about any application. How the record is built
Questions and experiences
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