Graduates from the world’s top 50 non-UK universities can now apply to come to Britain through a newly launched visa scheme. Successful applicants with a bachelor’s or master’s degree will be given a two-year work visa, while PhD-holders can apply for a three-year visa.
Ministers are hoping the “high potential individual” route, which launched yesterday (May 30) will attract the “brightest and best” at the beginning of their careers to work in the UK.
UKHospitality has backed the launch saying it is a “positive indication the UK wants to welcome global talent with open arms”.
The scheme will be available to alumni of the top non-UK universities who graduated in the past five years. Graduates will be eligible regardless of where they were born and will not need a job offer in order to apply.
UKHospitality chief executive Kate Nicholls said: “This announcement is a positive indication the UK wants to welcome global talent with open arms, and that very much includes hospitality, a sector in which where there are incredible opportunities at the higher end of skilled roles.
There are opportunities here for our world class hospitality schools, too, so we hope these openings will be extended to them, too, in order to showcase our excellence and attract the best candidates. That would be greatly enhanced, however, if there was also an increased use of youth mobility schemes with other nations, and bilateral arrangements built into forthcoming trade deals. It is important the communications that accompany the move convey to talent around the world that the UK is the place to be.”
Commenting on the launch Chancellor of the Exchequer Rishi Sunak said: This new visa offer means that the UK can continue to attract the best and brightest from across the globe. 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.
The UK is already home to some of the most ground-breaking start-ups, on the forefront of R&D and an incredibly diverse and exciting place to live – come and join in!
Home Secretary Priti Patel said: I am proud to be launching this new and exciting route as part of our points-based immigration system which puts ability and talent first – not where someone comes from.
This government is delivering for the British people by bringing in the high skills and talent our country and businesses need.
The UK Government is making the country the best place in the world for innovative and talented people to live, work and be successful – and to usher in an unprecedented new era of global collaboration and innovation. With record levels of investment into its research base, as well as being home to world-leading tech companies and four of the world’s top universities, the UK offers unique opportunities for recent graduates.
The new High Potential Individual route is intended to attract those at the early stages of their careers, who demonstrate exceptional promise, providing a highly desirable and able pool of mobile talent from which UK employers can recruit.
Successful applicants will be given a 2-year work visa (3-year for those with a PhD) and will be permitted to move into other long-term employment routes. Great innovation is built from a diverse workforce and the new route will ensure the UK continues to nurture talent from around the world.
The visa forms part of a series of changes to the immigration system after leaving the EU to restore control over our borders, so that the UK can welcome people based on the skills they have to offer and the contribution they can make, not where they come from.
The new points based system is will ensure that the UK is open to business and continues to be at the forefront of innovation. The Global Business Mobility route opened on 11 April to simplify and improve various routes to enable businesses to expand.
Later this year, the Scale-up visa route will follow to ensure businesses are supported during periods of growth and are able to recruit talent by enabling them to bring employees to the UK.
