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High Potential Individual Visa

→ UK Immigration and Visa Advice → HIGH POTENTIAL INDIVIDUAL VISA - UK

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UK Visa Advice

In 2025, contact VisaConnect's Visa Consultants and UK Immigration lawyers for advice and assistance with your High Potential Individual Visa application. Schedule a meeting at our offices in Parramatta, Sydney, Australia, Singapore and Hong Kong.

Eligibility - High Potential Individual Visa Route UK

From 30 May 2022, the UK government opened a "highly selective" visa scheme for graduates of the world's top-ranked universities, which it hopes will enhance the country's skill base.

The eligibility criteria for the High Potential Individual visa route are as follows:

  • Highly skilled overseas talent to support "growth and innovation"
  • Open to bachelors, masters or PhD graduates from institutions on a "Global Universities List" of 50 institutions
  • The list, published by the Home Office annually, will feature institutions outside the UK that are ranked in at least two of three renowned rankings. The rankings part of the initiative are: Times Higher Education World University rankings; Quacquarelli Symonds World University rankings; and The Academic Ranking of the World Universities
  • Institutions likely to feature on the list include those such as ETH Zurich in Switzerland, Canada's University of Toronto, The University of Tokyo of Japan and a range of top-ranked institutions in the US.
  • Qualifications must have been awarded no more than five years before the date of the application
  • The visa will last for two years for bachelors and masters grads, and three years for PhD holders

Eligible US Universities

As at 2 June 2022, of the 37 eligible universities included on the most recent list, 20 are in the United States. They are:

  • California Institute of Technology
  • Columbia University
  • Cornell University
  • Duke University
  • Harvard University
  • Johns Hopkins University
  • Massachusetts Institute of Technology
  • New York University
  • Northwestern University
  • Princeton University
  • Stanford University
  • Yale University
  • University of California (at Berkeley, Los Angeles and San Diego)
  • University of Chicago
  • University of Michigan
  • University of Pennsylvania
  • University of Texas at Austin
  • University of Washington

Eligible Other Universities

As at 2 June 2022, the following Worldwide Non-US Universities are also eligible for the High Potential Visa:

  • Chinese University of Hong Kong (CUHK) – Hong Kong
  • Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL Switzerland) – Switzerland
  • ETH Zurich (Swiss Federal Institute of Technology) – Switzerland
  • Karolinska Institute – Sweden
  • Kyoto University – Japan
  • McGill University – Canada
  • Nanyang Technological University (NTU) – Singapore
  • National University of Singapore – Singapore
  • Paris Sciences et Lettres – PSL Research University – France
  • Peking University – China
  • Tsinghua University – China
  • University of British Columbia – Canada
  • University of Hong Kong – Hong Kong
  • University of Melbourne – Australia
  • University of Munich (LMU Munich) – Germany
  • University of Tokyo – Japan
  • University of Toronto – Canada

Benefits - High Potential Individual Visa UK

1. Attracts Top Graduates - The new visa will enable the UK to attract the most sought-after graduates while also enhancing the UK's skill base. However, unnamed sources warn that the new route could risk undermining the graduate route, which requires talented students to study in UK universities before gaining access to work.

2. Work in the UK - Participants under the new scheme will be able to work in any job in the UK without the need for sponsorship and without graduating from a UK university, but must meet a £1,270 GBP financial requirement to cover living costs in addition to English language requirements.

3. Switch Visas and Apply for UK Settlement - Applicants will also have the option to switch to other routes, which could lead to settlement in the UK. It is unclear how many graduates the route will attract, but the government said the number is unlimited.

4. Government Application Fees - Government Fees for the High Potential visa will be £715 GBP for both the main applicant and dependants.