Graduate visa: the mistakes that get Indian files refused

Either you applied before the university reported your completion to the Home Office, or you did not pass, or the course you finished is not the one on your last Student visa.

What to fix: ask the university's visa compliance team for the date they reported completion, then apply; do not apply before your Student visa expires without the report; if the visa is about to expire, ask the university to report urgently.

The qualification is below the level, the provider is not a track-record HEI, or too much of the course was taken outside the UK (online from India, for example).

What to fix: check the qualification against the list before applying; evidence of UK study periods (attendance, tenancy, travel history) where distance learning was permitted.

A mandatory refusal: you were deported from the UK or formally excluded, and that order is still in force. No visa can be granted until the order is revoked.

What to fix: apply for revocation of the deportation order (normally after 10 years, earlier only in exceptional cases) with a UK regulated adviser; do not submit new visa applications while the order stands; each refusal adds to the record.

The officer considers your behaviour, character or associations make you unsuitable, for example extremism, serious dishonesty not covered by other paragraphs, or a pattern of conduct abroad. Used rarely but it is mandatory.

What to fix: obtain the full reasons (ask for the decision notice and consider a Subject Access Request); character evidence and clearance certificates; this ground usually needs legal representation.

A mandatory refusal for a prison sentence of 12 months or more anywhere in the world, or for repeat offending or serious-harm offences. Sentences under 12 months are considered under 9.4.2 to 9.4.5 (discretionary, with time limits for visitors).

What to fix: always declare convictions; non-disclosure leads to a 9.7.1 deception finding on top; for shorter sentences, show the time elapsed and rehabilitation evidence; get the court record and sentence length in English.

The Home Office says something in your application was false: a fake bank statement, an edited employer letter, an undisclosed previous refusal, or a document an agent made up without telling you. 'Whether or not to the applicant's knowledge' means you are refused even if the agent did it. Where deception is found, a 10-year ban under 9.8.4 usually follows.

What to fix: get your file: Subject Access Request to UKVI for the verification notes; if a document was genuine, obtain written confirmation from the issuer and a statement from them; if an agent submitted documents without your knowledge, gather the agent's receipts, messages and a police complaint; it does not remove the finding but can matter for later applications.