A new UK visa category for Indians should be introduced into the Immigration Rules: the Young Professionals Scheme visa.
On 4th May, UK Home Secretary Priti Patel and India’s Foreign Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar signed the Migration and Mobility Partnership agreement.
This agreement aims to support both Indian and British citizens to live and work in the other country. It also has the purpose to enhance the prevention and fight against illegal migration from India to the UK.
The most important feature of this agreement in terms of immigration is the creation of a 2-year visa for 18-30 years old nationals. Both governments wish to improve mobility for young professionals for both countries. This new visa will allow Indian and British citizens to live and work in each other’s country without being sponsored by a company.
This visa is very similar to an existing category in the UK Immigration Rules called the Youth Mobility Scheme route, opened to citizens of Australia, Canada, Hong Kong, Japan, Monaco, New Zealand, Republic of Korea, San Marino and Taiwan.
You can find below a summary of the cumulative requirements for the new Young Professionals Scheme visa:
- The applicant must be aged between 18 and 30 years old (inclusive) and can apply up to 3 months before being 18.
- The applicant needs to hold a diploma/degree which validates as far as possible at least 3 years’ higher education corresponding to the qualification required for the employment on offer or have professional experience of comparable level in the sphere of activity concerned.
- The applicant should be able to express themselves in the language(s) of the host country.
- The applicant must be able to demonstrate that they have sufficient financial resources to meet their needs during their authorised period of stay.
Therefore, Indian nationals meeting the above requirements will be able to come to and work in the UK for up to 2 years. However, this visa can only be granted once and cannot be renewed. Furthermore, successful applicants cannot be accompanied by any dependents (including spouse and children).
Moreover, Indian nationals holding a Young Professionals Scheme visa will be able to switch to a Skilled Worker visa in the UK, provided that they meet all the necessary requirements.
Lastly and most importantly, the number of Indian nationals benefitting from this visa may not exceed 3000 per year under the Scheme.
Should you have any questions relating to the Young Professionals Scheme visa, please contact our expert team of London immigration lawyers at Barar and Associates at barar.london@bararassociates.co.uk or call us on 020 7487 8370. You can access more information about us via https://bararassociates.com/
