From May 30, 2022 the UK Home Office will commence accepting applications for the new High Potential Individual Visa. The route is designed to support UK businesses by widening the pool of highly qualified individuals available and making the UK an attractive location for the most talented global graduates.
The new short term work visa will enable recent graduates from the top global universities who want to work or look for work in the UK, to obtain a valid visa and entry without having a prior offer of employment. These are targeted individuals at the early stages of their career, who have the potential to benefit the UK workforce.
Candidates must have successfully completed an eligible course of study equivalent to a UK Bachelor’s degree level or above in the 5 years prior to the application, with an institution listed on the Global Universities list. Successful applicants will be granted a two-year visa (or three-year for those holding a PhD) and will be permitted to bring dependants with them, and also to transfer into other long term employment routes, if they meet eligibility requirements, on the visa’s expiry. It is a selective, points-based route open only to graduates from a limited number of institutes (those listed within the top 50 of at least 2 ranking systems). Applicants will need to be awarded a total of 70 points, 50 of which will need to come from the Global Universities List degree requirement (to be confirmed via ECCTIS), 10 for English Language requirement and 10 from a financial requirement.
In preparation for the launch of the High Potential Individual Visa launch, UK Visas and Immigration (UKVI) has released the latest global universities list relating to qualifications awarded between November 1, 2021 and October 31, 2022 and includes the 50 top ranking non-UK universities. The below link from the UK Government website shows the list of eligible Universities from the last 6 years. Interested Individuals can use this link to check if their qualification is suitable for the High Potential Individual Visa route.
High Potential Individual visa: global universities list - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)
For further information on immigration in the U.K., please contact the Sterling Lexicon immigration team.
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