Ministers hope that the “high potential person” path would attract the “best and the brightest” graduates from across the world at the start of their careers. Graduates from 50 non-UK (United Kingdom) institutions can apply to come to Britain under a new visa system.
“We want the enterprises of tomorrow to be established here now,” Chancellor of the Exchequer Rishi Sunak said in a news release. “That is why I call on students to take advantage of this fantastic chance to forge their careers here.”
Graduates from 50 non-UK universities, including Harvard, Duke, and Cornell, are eligible for the initiative.
“The new High Potential Individual route is meant to attract people at the beginning of their careers who show extraordinary potential, offering a highly attractive and able pool of mobile talent from which UK firms may recruit,” according to a government news statement.
To be eligible for a two-year work visa, candidates must have finished a bachelor’s or master’s degree from one of a list of prominent colleges. PhD holders are eligible to apply for a three-year work visa. After these years, successful applicants can pursue long-term job opportunities, such as a skilled worker visa.
Applicants are also not need to have a job offer in order to apply. They must, however, demonstrate that they can speak and comprehend English at the level of B1 on the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages (CEFR).
“The visa is part of a series of adjustments to the immigration system following the UK’s exit from the EU to regain control over our borders so that we can welcome individuals based on their talents and contribution, not where they come from,” the UK government stated.
According to the government website, the visa application price is £715 and applicants must also pay a “healthcare premium” of roughly £ 624 every year.
The HPI visa is available to graduates from a list of 50 universities chosen by the UK government. There are 20 universities from the United States represented, including Harvard, Yale, New York University, and Northwestern University. Kyoto University in Japan, the University of Hong Kong, and Peking and Tsinghua Universities in China all appear on the list.
The HPI visa comes as part of a slew of measures in the UK aimed at making it easier for firms to expand following the country’s withdrawal from the European Union.
In July 2021, the UK established a ‘graduate path’ visa as part of its points-based immigration policy, in which persons seeking for a work visa in the UK are rewarded points if they satisfy specific requirements. International students who have graduated from UK institutions are eligible to stay in the country for at least two years and work or search for job. Applicants do not require a work offer to apply for this visa, as they do for the HPI visa.
