A one year masters is still the quickest respectable route from a Pakistani bachelors to a foreign degree and a work visa. It is also the route people most often mistime.
What the year costs, all in
Tuition for a taught masters sits in a wide band, and living costs outside London are far kinder than inside it. Budget realistically rather than optimistically, because the visa itself asks you to prove you can afford the year.
- Tuition, typically the largest single line
- Maintenance funds held in an eligible account for 28 straight days
- Immigration health surcharge for the full length of the visa
- Visa application fee and biometrics
- Flights, first month deposit and setup costs on arrival
The timeline that works
For a September intake, start twelve months out. Applications open roughly a year ahead, offers come through the winter, the deposit and CAS follow, and only then does the visa file open.
January intakes exist and are genuinely useful if you missed September, but the course choice is narrower. Tell us which you are aiming at before you pick universities, not after.
What refusals usually come down to
Almost never the grades. The recurring problems are funds that dipped below the threshold inside the 28 day window, a sponsor relationship that was not evidenced, and a credibility interview the student had not prepared for.
We rehearse the interview and audit the bank statements line by line before anything is submitted.
After the degree
The Graduate Route currently allows a period of work after study without a job offer in hand. That window is the point of the whole exercise, so choose a city with an employer base in your field rather than the cheapest postcode.