Table Of Contents:
- What is the UK High Potential Individual Visa
- Eligibility
- Documents Required
- How to Apply
- Final Thoughts
The UK High Potential Individual visa aims to attract top international talents to the UK. These talented individuals are the ones who have graduate, postgraduate, PhD, or doctorate-level qualifications from top eligible universities. The list of eligible universities from around the world is based on their rankings. The visa allows foreign talents to come to the UK to work, look for work, do business, or do voluntary work in the UK. The UK High Potential Individual visa is different from other work visas, as this visa does not require the applicants to have a job offer or sponsorship from a UK organization.
What is the UK High Potential Individual Visa?
This is a type of work visa. The visa allows top talents who have been awarded a qualification by an eligible university in the last 5 years to come to the UK to work, look for work, be self- employed, be an entrepreneur, or do voluntary work in the UK. The applicants do not need a job offer or certificate of sponsorship from a UK employer. They can change jobs or employers while in the UK. The overseas qualification of the applicants must be equivalent to a UK degree, UK postgraduate degree, or UK PhD or doctoral-level qualification.
The UK high potential individual visa allows the applicants to do almost all types of jobs except work as a professional sportsperson or sports coach.
The applicants can bring their partner and dependent children under 18 to the UK as well. The applicants can also apply to switch to this visa if they are already in the UK on another valid visa, except for a graduate visa or short-term visa, such as a UK visit visa, student visa, parent of a child student visa, etc.
You will be granted leave of up to 2 years if you have graduate-level qualifications and up to 3 years if you have a PhD or other doctoral qualification.
You cannot apply to extend the visa. However, you can apply to switch to another visa, such as a UK skilled worker visa.
Eligibility
As the name suggests, the UK High Potential Individual visa is for those eligible foreign individuals who have attained their degree or above-level qualification from highly ranked global universities. You also need to meet the English language requirements, financial requirements, and TB test requirements (if applicable). Here are the eligibility requirements one must meet for UK high-potential individual visa:
1. Age & Educational Requirement –
You must be aged 18 or over on the date of application. You must have earned an educational qualification from overseas that is equivalent to a UK degree, UK postgraduate degree, UK PhD, or doctoral-level qualification. You must have earned your qualification from an eligible overseas university. These highly ranked or eligible universities are based on their global ranking.
The list of eligible universities is updated from time to time by the UK Home Office. You can check the latest list from 1 November 2024 to 31 October 2025 here. You must have earned a qualification in the last 5 years.
To check if your qualification is valid and at the right level, you will need to apply to Ecctis. You don’t need to apply to Ecctis if you have previously been assessed by it.
2. Financial Requirements –
You must prove that you can support yourself financially in the UK. To prove this, you must have at least £1,270 in your bank account available for at least 28 days in a row within 31 days of applying for this visa.
You don’t need to show this amount in your bank account if you are already in the UK on another visa for 12 months or more.
You don’t need to have a job offer or sponsorship to apply. If your spouse/partner and dependent children are also applying, they will also have to meet the financial requirement individually.
3. English Language Requirements –
Unless exempt, you must meet the English language requirements. This means you must prove that you can read, write, speak, and understand English to at least CEFR level B1.
If you are a national of an English-majority-speaking country, you don’t need to prove your knowledge of English.
Others can prove their knowledge of English by passing an approved English language test or if they have been taught their degree or above-level course in English.
4. 70 Points Requirements –
The UK high-potential individual visa falls under the point-based system. You must earn at least 70 points to be eligible to apply for the visa.
You will be awarded points as follows:
- For meeting educational requirements—50 points
- For meeting financial requirements—10 points
- For meeting the English Language Requirement—10 Points
There are no tradable points here.
5. TB Test Requirement –
You must prove that you are free from tuberculosis if you come from a country where taking a TB test is mandatory.
Documents Required
In order to prove you meet the eligibility requirements mentioned above, you need to submit various documents. You also need to submit your identity documents and your immigration status documents. You should go through the checklist of documents properly before applying for a UK high-potential individual visa. You may be asked for more documents by the UKVI, and accordingly, you need to provide them as and when required.
Here is the list of documents that includes but is not limited to the following:
1. Proof of Your Identity and Nationality –
Proving your identity and nationality is crucial for the application. As part of the application, you need to prove it. To prove this, you need to submit your passport or other valid travel document to prove your identity and nationality.
2. Proof of Your Educational Qualification –
The UK High Potential Individual visa is for foreign nationals who have earned educational qualifications from eligible overseas universities. Ecctis will assess your educational qualifications. You need to submit your unique person identifier number or certificate. This would have been given to you by Ecctis when they checked your qualification.
3. Proof of Financial Capacity –
In order to prove that you can support yourself financially while in the UK, you need to submit documents such as bank statements to show your personal savings of at least £1,270.
4. Proof of Your Immigration Status –
If you are already in the UK on another visa and applying to switch to a UK high-potential individual visa, you need to submit one of the following documents to prove your immigration status:
- Your BRP (biometric residence permit) card. You can use it for 18 months after its expiry. You can see the expiry date printed on the card.
- An eVisa to prove your immigration status online. You will need to get a share code for this.
5. TB Test Certificate –
You may have to submit a tuberculosis test certificate to prove that you are free from the disease. This is required if you are from a listed country.
6. Certified Translations of Documents –
If your documents are not in English or Welsh, you need to get them translated into either of these two languages and submit certified translation copies of such documents as part of the visa application.
How to Apply?
You might be applying for the visa from inside the UK or outside the UK. In both situations, you need to submit supporting documents, pay the application fee and immigration health surcharge, and prove your identity.
You must apply within 5 years of the day you were awarded your qualification from an eligible university.
If you are currently in the UK on a student visa and applying to switch to a UK high-potential individual visa, you must also have:
- Completed the course in the UK you were sponsored to study, or
- Studied for a PhD for at least 2 years.
You should follow the below steps to apply:
1. Apply and Submit Documents –
You must apply online through gov.uk. If you are applying from inside the UK, you must apply before your current visa expires. You also need to upload the supporting documents.
2. Pay the Fees –
You need to pay the following fees:
- £210 for Ecctis to check your qualification is valid (£252 if you’re applying from the UK).
- £880 application fee
- £1,035 Immigration Health surcharge per year
3. Prove Your Identity –
Depending on where you come from and what type of passport you hold, you can prove your identity in one of the following ways:
- By scanning your identity document on the ‘UK Immigration: ID Check’ app.
- By enrolling your biometric information (your fingerprints and photograph) at a visa application center (if applying from outside the UK) or at UKVCAS (if applying from inside the UK).
To enroll your biometric information at VAC or UKVCAS, you need to book an appointment first. If you have not uploaded your documents online, you can get them scanned at a VAC or UKVCAS.
4. Wait for the Decision –
It usually takes 3 weeks to receive a decision from the Home Office if you have applied from outside the UK and 8 weeks if applied from inside the UK.
It may take longer depending on your circumstances.
5. Receive a Decision –
If the Home Office is satisfied with the information and evidence provided by you or your representative, you should be granted a UK high potential individual visa.
Final Thoughts
The UK High Potential Individual visa allows international students to come to the UK to explore career opportunities here. The visa does not require you to have a job offer or sponsorship like other UK work visas. All you need is a graduate or above-level qualification from an eligible foreign university. The visa allows you to work, look for work, be self-employed, be an entrepreneur, and do voluntary work.
You will be granted a leave of up to 2 or 3 years depending on your qualification. You should check the eligibility criteria, the documents required, and the application process before you apply.
For a smooth UK high-potential individual visa application process, you should take the services of an immigration lawyer or agency.
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