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What Is The UK’s New High Potential Individual Visa Or HPI Visa?

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Want to know what is the new HPI Visa or the High Potential Individual Visa? Who is eligible for the new UK visa? Let us find out.

The UK is working hard towards making itself the hub for entrepreneurship, creativity and innovation and is tapping student power to achieve this. The UK recently reintroduced the student visa scheme to allow international students in the UK to work and stay in the country for up to 2 years after graduation.

In addition, they have recently announced a High Potential Individual (HPI) visa scheme designed specifically for students from the world’s top universities.

HPI Visa

Read: Different Types Of UK Visas – A Complete Guide

What is the HPI Visa In The UK?

The HPI visa allows alumni from the top universities outside the UK to live and work in the UK for specific time durations. Graduates with a bachelor’s or master’s degree from eligible universities can get a work visa for 2 years while Ph.D. holders can get a 3-year visa. T

hey do not need a job offer to be eligible for this visa. Also, the candidate’s nationality does not influence visa eligibility. There is no cap currently on this visa category. As the visa validity draws to a close, eligible candidates can switch to a long-term employment visa. The HPI visa cannot be extended.

High Potential Individual Visa Eligibility

To be eligible for this visa, the applicant must meet the below criteria:

  • Must have graduated from one of the eligible universities within the last 5 years with a Bachelor/ Master’s/Ph.D. degree
  • Must be able to read, speak and write English to at least the B1 level. This can be proved by any one of the following:
    • Must clear the SELT exam
    • Must have a level 4 or 5 GCSE
    • Must have a degree taught in English
  • Must have at least £1270 available to support oneself in the UK

Eligible Universities

To be eligible for this visa, the applicant should have graduated from a university that is listed in at least two of the following rankings:

For 2022, the eligible universities are:

  1. California Institute of Technology (Caltech), USA
  2. Chinese University of Hong Kong (CUHK), Hong Kong
  3. Columbia University, USA
  4. Cornell University, USA
  5. Duke University, USA
  6. Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL Switzerland), Switzerland
  7. ETH Zurich (Swiss Federal Institute of Technology), Switzerland
  8. Harvard University, USA
  9. Johns Hopkins University, USA
  10. Karolinska Institute, Sweden
  11. Kyoto University, Japan
  12. Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), USA
  13. McGill University, Canada
  14. Nanyang Technological University (NTU), Singapore
  15. National University of Singapore, Singapore
  16. New York University (NYU), USA
  17. Northwestern University, USA
  18. Paris Sciences et Lettres – PSL Research University, France
  19. Peking University, China
  20. Princeton University, USA
  21. Stanford University, USA
  22. Tsinghua University, China
  23. University of British Columbia, Canada
  24. The University of California, Berkeley, USA
  25. The University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA), USA
  26. The University of California, San Diego, USA
  27. University of Chicago US, USA
  28. University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong
  29. University of Melbourne, Australia
  30. University of Michigan-Ann Arbor, USA
  31. University of Munich (LMU Munich), Germany
  32. University of Pennsylvania, USA
  33. The University of Texas at Austin, USA
  34. University of Tokyo, Japan
  35. University of Toronto, Canada
  36. University of Washington, USA
  37. Yale University, USA

Documents Required For The HPI Visa

  • Valid passport
  • Graduation degree
  • Proof of sufficient command over the English language
  • Academic Qualification Level Statement/ Academic Qualification Level Statement and English Language Proficiency Statement from Ecctis
  • Proof of relationships with partner/children if they are also to be included in the visa application
  • Police character certificate

UK High Potential Individual Visa – Cost Of Application

  • Application fee: £715
  • Health surcharge for 2-year visa: £1248
  • Health surcharge for 3-year visa: £1872
  • Fee for Ecctis to validate qualification: £210

In the case of canceling an application, the application fee can be refunded only if the UK Visas and Immigration has not started processing the application.

Dependents

The applicant’s partner and dependent children can also be included on this visa. Eligible dependents are:

  • Civil partner/ husband/ wife
  • An unmarried partner who has been in a relationship with the applicant for the last two years
  • Children under the age of 18 years
  • Children over the age of 18 years who are already in the UK as the applicant’s dependents. In this case, they must also be:
    • Unmarried
    • Not in any civil partnership
    • Be financially supported by the applicant
    • Not have any children of their own
    • Live with the applicant or in a full-time boarding school/ college/ university

If dependents are being included in the visa application, the applicant must prove the availability of additional funds for sustenance.

  • For the applicant’s partner: £285
  • For 1 child: £315
  • For every additional child: £200

How To Apply For The UK’s HPI Visa

Applicants from outside the UK can submit their applications online here. The same application number may be used to apply for dependent visas. The identity proof method depends on the applicant’s nationality. This will be indicated when the application is submitted. If you cannot complete the application in one session, the form can be saved and continued later.

Once the application is submitted and the applicant’s identity has been proved, a decision is usually given within 3 weeks.

Switching To The HPI Visa

Applicants already in the UK cans witch to an HPI visa as long as they are not holding one of the below visas:

  • Visit visa
  • Short-term student visa
  • Graduate visa
  • Parent/child student visa
  • Seasonal worker visa
  • Immigration bail
  • Or if they have been allowed to stay in the country on compassionate grounds

Eligibility and visa fees remain the same. Applicants will have to submit their biometric information and can apply online from here. A decision is usually given within 8 weeks of submitting the application.

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