High Potential Individual Visa for Top Global Talents
The UK government has announced exciting and new immigration system that seeks to attract graduates from top global universities. The new visa regime called the “High Potential Individual Visa” would offer direct work visas to graduate of the world’s top 50 universities. Graduates would not need any UK affiliation before application.
Highlights of New UK Visa
1. Two year work visa for bachelor’s and master’s degree
2. Doctorate degree qualify for three years visa
3. Work visa permits spouse and children entry to the UK
4. Work visas can be changed to employment visa leading to ILR- indefinite leave to remain.
5. Degree must not be more than five years
The UK Labour Challenge
The new UK visa regime seeks to mitigate a series of labour issues in the UK. Since Brexit and coupled with COVID-19, there has been a gap in employment market. In logistics and manufacturing, employers seek entry level works.
The BBC quoted Chancellor Rishi Sunak as saying: “The route means that the UK will grow as a leading international hub for innovation, creativity and entrepreneurship. We want the businesses of tomorrow to be built here today, which is why I call on students to take advantage of this incredible opportunity to forge their careers here.”
These immigration changes follows the re-introduction of the postgraduate work visa. This allows graduates to stay for up to two years and seek employment.
Requirements and Eligibility for UK Visa for Top Global Talents
In addition to the basic requirement of being a recent graduate of a top 50 university. Applicants must still meet specific criteria before receiving the new UK work visa. So of the requirements are
- Proficiency in English language. Applicants must have a good command of English up to intermediate B1. This is the ability to communicate with fluency. This is mostly confirm through a English language test like IELTS
- Security and Criminal Check.
- Maintenance funds of at least £1,270
UK Visa Top 50 Universities
The eligible universities are from France, Sweden, United States, Singapore, Japan, China, Switzerland, Hong Kong and Australia.
To determine the top 50 universities, three specific rankings were selected.
- Times Higher Education world university rankings.
- Academic Ranking of World Universities.
- Quacquarelli Symonds world university rankings.
| Alphabetical Rankings Lists 2021 (establishments from Top 50 rankings which appeared on 2 or more lists) | Country |
|---|---|
| California Institute of Technology (Caltech) | USA |
| Chinese University of Hong Kong (CUHK) | Hong Kong |
| Columbia University | USA |
| Cornell University | USA |
| Duke University | USA |
| Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL Switzerland) | Switzerland |
| ETH Zurich (Swiss Federal Institute of Technology) | Switzerland |
| Harvard University | USA |
| Johns Hopkins University | USA |
| Karolinska Institute | Sweden |
| Kyoto University | Japan |
| Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) | USA |
| McGill University | Canada |
| Nanyang Technological University (NTU) | Singapore |
| National University of Singapore | Singapore |
| New York University (NYU) | USA |
| Northwestern University | USA |
| Paris Sciences et Lettres – PSL Research University | France |
| Peking University | China |
| Princeton University | USA |
| Stanford University | USA |
| Tsinghua University | China |
| University of British Columbia | Canada |
| University of California, Berkeley | USA |
| University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) | USA |
| University of California, San Diego | USA |
| University of Chicago US | USA |
| University of Hong Kong | Hong Kong |
| University of Melbourne | Australia |
| University of Michigan-Ann Arbor | USA |
| University of Munich (LMU Munich) | Germany |
| University of Pennsylvania | USA |
| University of Texas at Austin | USA |
| University of Tokyo | Japan |
| University of Toronto | Canada |
| University of Washington | USA |
| Yale University | USA |