Candidates that have graduated from the best universities around the globe can apply for the High Potential Individuals visa to work within the UK. The best benefit of this visa type is that applicants do not need a valid job offer to work within the UK.
The UK government offers various routes for immigrants to settle and work in the UK, however, this particular visa is focused on bringing in top-tier talent to the UK. This visa was launched recently in May 2022. The visa provides benefits to both talent and current employers within the UK as it facilitates the transition to a global pool. To facilitate your application, you can also reach out to a reliable immigration attorney.
High Potential Individual Visa
This visa type is primarily aimed at immigrants that are highly skilled and are looking to move to the UK. This included entrepreneurs, artists, engineers, doctors, and more. As long as they can benefit to the UK economy and have graduated from a top-tier university, they are eligible for this category.
The UK has set up this route to allow current businesses to access the global talent pool to obtain the best talent for their organizations. Doesn’t matter what sector they’re in, IT, communications, digital marketing, vaccine development or more, the UK would like to welcome them to contribute to the UK Economy.
The duration of the High Potential Visa depends on the educational background. More priority is given to Ph.D. or Doctorate level degree holders due to their vast experience. Applicants with a Ph.D. will be granted a visa that is valid for up to 3 years, whereas applicants with all other types of degrees would qualify for up to 2 years.
Benefits of Applying Through the High Potential Individual Visa Route:
As mentioned above, the UK does not require highly skilled immigrants to have a valid job offer when applying for their visas. The UK benefits
Visa Requirements for High Potential Individuals
Here are some of the requirements that you’d need to fulfill to obtain a High Potential Individual visa for the UK:
- Must be awarded a degree from a university listed on the Global Universities List within the last 5 years.
- Must have proof of language proficiency (at least IELTS 4.0 or CEFR Level B1
- Proof of funds is required to depict the ability to sustain themselves without the need for government support
- Must be at least 18 years old
- A TB certificate may be required in certain cases.
Degree Requirements
As mentioned above, an applicant must be an overseas graduate with a degree from a university indexed within the Global Universities list. This qualification should not be older than 5 years at the time of your application for the High Potential Individual Visa.
The Global Universities List ranks universities according to preset criteria, i.e. the top fifty universities from the Academic Ranking of World Universities and Times Higher Education World University Rankings are accepted.
Language Requirements for the High Potential Visa
Proficiency in English is required for all applicants in components such as listening, speaking, writing and reading. As mentioned above, the applicant must be at least B1 level.
Other ways to fulfil the language requirements include:
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- Obtaining a degree that had English as the primary language
- A Level/GCSE in English
- IELTS or other approved language test
Financial Requirements
The financial requirements for this visa type is not as strict as other visa routes. For example, applicants would only require to show proof of £1,270 at least and it will have to be held for at least 28 days within your account before you apply.
However, if you already have been staying in the UK with permission to stay, you will not have to provide proof of funding.
Other Conditions of Stay
After obtaining approval for your visa application, you will be fully permitted to apply for work or begin working right away. Individuals would also be able to take courses to whatever they’d like, to sharpen their skillset. However, it is important to remember that they will not be able to access public funds.
Applying For an Extension
It is very important for applicants to realize that they cannot obtain an extension for this visa route. However, during their period of stay, applicants can easily switch to any other immigration route to stay within the UK. The requirements for that immigration route will need to be fulfilled accordingly.
Conclusion
If you’re considering moving to the US for job opportunities, you may want to reconsider, as this visa route offers an extremely simple way to step into the global job market.
