UK’s new talent visa requires ‘no job offer’; Apply by May 30th- Get the details here…

Faced with a shrinking talent pool following Brexit, the United Kingdom (UK) has devised a new visa scheme to attract graduates from the world’s finest colleges. The High Potential Individual (HPI) visa program will be offered to applicants beginning May 30. As part of the new visa, highly talented foreign university graduates will be permitted to work and reside in the UK for two to three years, depending on their degree level. This benefits UK firms since they will be able to recruit HPI visa holders without having to pay their sponsorship payments. After arriving in the UK, visa holders can seek work in any industry.

Kevin Foster, Minister for Safe and Legal Migration, said in a statement: ‘The new High Potential Individual route will make it as straightforward as possible for globally mobile individuals who exhibit high potential to come to the UK. It will allow people who have previously proved their potential via academic accomplishment to come to the UK without a prior work offer.’

WHO CAN APPLY?
Those who have achieved a degree from a qualified university outside the UK during the last five years. People of any nationality who are at least 18 years old. The candidate must hold a degree from one of the institutions listed on the British government’s Gov.uk website each year. It will include schools from outside the UK that are ranked in the top 50 in at least two of the following international rankings:

• Times Higher Education World University Rankings
• Quacquarelli Symonds World University Rankings
• The Academic Ranking of World Universities

The names may change year to year, but they are likely to include Harvard, Stanford, and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in the United States; the University of Toronto in Canada; Peking University and Tsinghua University in China; and the University of Tokyo in Japan.

CRITERIA

• To qualify for the visa, you do not need a work offer or sponsorship.
• You can travel to the United Kingdom and work for yourself or as a volunteer.
• This visa may only be obtained once and is not eligible for anyone who has previously had a Graduate visa.

ENGLISH REQUIREMENT

• If your degree was not taught in English, you must at least pass the B1.
• If your degree was taught in English, you will require a certificate from the awarding body or a university transcript.
• If the degree was obtained outside of the UK, Ecctis will need to validate that the qualification fulfills the requisite standard of a UK bachelor’s, master’s, or doctoral degree.

COST
The visa will cost you at least £715.

FINANCIAL REQUIREMENT

• You must have at least £1,270 in your bank account for a continuous 28-day period no later than 31 days
• If you have been in the UK for more than a year, you may not be required to complete this condition.

WHAT MAKES A GRADUATE VISA DIFFERENT?

• The HPI visa is only accessible to graduates of schools outside of the United Kingdom.
• The UK graduate visa permits persons who have finished a degree in the UK to stay in the country for at least two years after graduation.

DURATION

• Graduates with a bachelor’s or a master’s degree will be offered a two-year visa.
• PhD or other doctoral-level graduates will be granted three-year visas.

DEPENDENTS

• You are permitted to bring your dependents, such as a partner or children under the age of 18.
• A spouse, civil or unmarried partner is referred to as a ‘partner’.
• Unmarried partners, on the other hand, will have to demonstrate that they have lived together for at least two years and that their relationship is real, according to sources.

IF YOUR VISA EXPIRES…
You cannot apply for permanent residency immediately. Instead, before your visa expires, you can apply for visas under the skilled worker, start-up and innovator, exceptional talent, or scale-up categories.