Living with friends at the time of applying for the Graduate visa

[funkysoul]

Hello! I have been in the UK for more than 5 years, had two visas (one for a year of Masters and one for the PhD) and just finished my PhD. Whenever I changed my address, I would notify the university and update it on my police certificate. But I was not aware, unfortunately, that there was also a procedure to notify the HO (I assumed that amending the details of my university account would be sufficient). I only found out about the procedure to notify the HO of a change when I was trying to figure out how to/whether notify the police if I leave the country for a long time. I am planning to apply for the Graduate visa but also stay in my home country for a few months after I receive it.
My questions: 1) Will the fact that I have not been notifying the HO of my changes of address affect my application for the Graduate visa? Should I not apply? What will have the least effect on my future visa applications? 2) Should I notify them of a change of address I have just had before I apply for the visa? 3) Am I meant to notify the HO and the police when I leave the country for an extended period of time and reside in my home country on the Graduate visa? I imagine it’s difficult to do as there are no documents I can think of attaching?

[funkysoul]

My address also was constantly checked by the university’s Visa Compliance team during visa checks so perhaps they reported it? They never flagged it up to me that I do not have the correct address on record or anything like that.

[sah10406]

1) No
2) No
3) No

You are over-thinking everything!

[funkysoul]

1) No
2) No
3) No

You are over-thinking everything!

Thank you!

[funkysoul]

Hello! Is “living with friends” (they own the house with a mortgage) an acceptable response to a question of where I live currently in the Graduate visa application form? Is this and the address enough information, or do I need to add contact details of my friend who owns the house, like I would do with a landlord? Prepare a bill as evidence? Thanks! I’ve only rented before so trying to make sure that I’m doing everything correctly.

[sah10406]

Is “living with friends” (they own the house with a mortgage) an acceptable response to a question of where I live currently in the Graduate visa application form? Is this and the address enough information, or do I need to add contact details of my friend who owns the house, like I would do with a landlord? Prepare a bill as evidence

These questions are just asking facts about you. They are not connected with the validity of your application or the eligibility rules of the Graduate visa.

If you seriously think that living with your friends may be grounds for refusal of a Graduate visa, you need a reality check. Re-read Appendix Graduate, UKCISA's guide to the Graduate visa, and the General Grounds for Refusal:

https://www.gov.uk/guidance/immigration ... x-graduate

https://ukcisa.org.uk/Information--Advi ... uate-route

https://www.gov.uk/government/collectio ... d-guidance

See also my previous reply about overthinking everything.

[funkysoul]

Thank you very much! I have understood that these are not relevant for the eligibility. But I would like to go through the process as quickly and smoothly as possible as I would like to leave the country in summer so I would not want to waste time by submitting any more evidence etc. if this is something that may come up. Thank you, I will submit my application now.

[lolo2]

If you follow the instructions in the guidance for the Graduate route and what documents are required, you should not be asked for any "more evidence". I don't know the specific questions in the Graduate route form but most likely the application process is similar than any other including the one you followed when applied for the student visa.

Living with friends is completely acceptable, many foreigners do.

There is no reason to worry that much.