1. High Potential Individual Visa Overview

The High Potential Individual Visa is available to recent graduates of top global universities who wish to work, or look for work, in the UK. The route is unsponsored and is capped at a maximum of 8,000 applications per year, with the allocation year running from 1 November to 31 October.

The High Potential Individual route does not lead directly to settlement in the UK. However, before your leave expires, you may be able to apply from within the UK to switch into another immigration route which does lead to settlement. Applicants may be joined or accompanied by a partner and dependent children who meet the relevant dependant requirements.

2. Requirements for a High Potential Individual Visa

In order to qualify for a High Potential Individual Visa, you will need to satisfy UK Visas and Immigration that:

• You are aged 18 or over;
• You have, in the last 5 years, been awarded an overseas degree level academic qualification from an institution which appears on the Global Universities List;
• You are competent in the English language to at least CEFR Level B2 in all 4 components equivalent to IELTS 5.5;
• You have enough money to support yourself without relying on public funds;
• You have not previously been granted permission under the Student Doctorate Extension Scheme, as a Graduate or as a High Potential Individual;
• The annual cap for the route has not been reached;
• If you have received, in the last 12 months before the date of application, an award from a Government or international scholarship agency covering both fees and living costs for study in the UK, you have written consent to the application from that Government or agency;
• You have provided a valid TB certificate, if required.

The exact requirements you will need to satisfy may vary depending on your circumstances. You may want to speak to an immigration lawyer for expert advice.

3. Global Universities List and Overseas Degree Requirement

In order to qualify for a High Potential Individual Visa you will need to have been awarded an overseas degree level academic qualification.

Your overseas degree level qualification must have been awarded in the 5 years immediately before the date of your High Potential Individual Visa application.

The institution which awarded your degree must appear on the Global Universities List in respect of the date when you were awarded your degree. The Global Universities List is a list of universities published by the Home Office, which is compiled on an annual basis and consists of all non-UK universities that have been included within the top 100, subject to any exclusions the Home Secretary considers appropriate, of at least two of the following ranking systems:

• Times Higher Education World University Rankings;
• Quacquarelli Symonds World University Rankings;
• The Academic Ranking of World Universities.

The High Potential Individual Visa Global Universities Lists for the last 6 years can be viewed below. You should select the list for the month and year you were awarded your qualification:

You will need to provide confirmation from Ecctis that your qualification meets or exceeds the recognised standard of a UK bachelor’s or UK postgraduate degree. Ecctis will also confirm the date when you were awarded your degree. Ecctis will not check whether your university is eligible, so you must check the relevant Global Universities List separately.

If you are an international student who has completed an eligible UK degree then you may qualify for the Graduate Immigration Route instead.

4. HPI Visa Compared With the Graduate Visa

The High Potential Individual route and the Graduate route are both unsponsored work routes. Neither requires a job offer or sponsorship by a UK employer, and neither leads directly to settlement. In each case, applicants who wish to remain in the UK long term will usually need to switch into another immigration route before their permission expires.

There are also important differences for dependants. Under the High Potential Individual route, a dependent partner and dependent children may apply, provided the relevant relationship, age, care, financial and suitability requirements are met. Under the Graduate route, dependants are more restricted. A partner or child will generally need to have been a dependant on the applicant’s Student or Tier 4 permission, although a child born in the UK during that Student or Tier 4 permission may also qualify.

5. When Should You Apply for a High Potential Individual Visa?

Timing is important when preparing a High Potential Individual Visa application. Your overseas degree level qualification must have been awarded in the 5 years immediately before the date of your application. This period should be calculated by reference to the date your qualification was awarded, as confirmed by Ecctis, rather than simply by reference to the date you completed your course or attended a graduation ceremony.

You should also check the Global Universities List that applies to the month and year in which your qualification was awarded. It is not sufficient that your university appears on a later or earlier list; the relevant question is whether the awarding institution appears on the list for the date of award.

Applicants should allow sufficient time to obtain the required Ecctis assessment before applying. Leaving the application until close to the end of the 5-year eligibility period may create practical difficulties if further documents are required, if the Ecctis assessment takes longer than expected, or if the annual allocation of places has already been reached.

6. High Potential Individual Visa English Language Requirement

In order to qualify for a High Potential Individual Visa you will need to demonstrate English language ability on the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages in all 4 components reading, writing, speaking and listening to at least level B2 upper intermediate.

Recent graduates applying for entry clearance or leave to remain as a High Potential Individual will satisfy the English language requirement if they:

• Are a national of a majority English-speaking country;
• Have passed an approved Secure English Language Test at the required level in each required component;
• Have been awarded a degree taught in English;
• Obtained a GCSE, International GCSE, A level, Scottish National Qualification at level 4 or 5, Scottish Higher or Advanced Higher in English language or literature, awarded following education undertaken in a UK-based school which began while they were under 18; or
• Have already shown that they met the requirement, at the level required for their current application, in a previous successful application for entry clearance or permission to stay.

7. High Potential Individual Visa Financial Requirement

Subject to the exemption below, you will need to have cash funds of at least £1,270 available.

You will need to have held the money for at least 28 consecutive days ending not more than 31 days before the date of your High Potential Individual Visa application.

If you are applying for permission to stay and have been in the UK with permission for 12 months or more at the date of application, you will meet the financial requirement and will not need to show funds.

8. High Potential Individual Visa Fees and Processing Times

At the time of drafting, the Home Office application fee for a High Potential Individual Visa is £880. Applicants must also pay for an Ecctis assessment of their qualification, currently stated as £252 including VAT, and the Immigration Health Surcharge.

The Immigration Health Surcharge is currently £1,035 per year for most adult applicants. This means that an HPI applicant granted 2 years’ permission will pay £2,070, while an applicant granted 3 years’ permission will pay £3,105. Dependants must each pay a separate visa application fee and Immigration Health Surcharge. For dependant children under 18, the healthcare surcharge is charged at a lower child rate.

Applicants should also budget for any dependant maintenance funds, biometric appointment charges or optional document-scanning services that may apply. Where a dependant applies at the same time or separately, their costs should be checked individually before submission.

As a general indication, applications made from outside the UK are usually decided within 3 weeks once the applicant has applied online, proved their identity and provided their documents. Applications to switch from within the UK are usually decided within 8 weeks. Priority or super priority services may be available in some cases, but availability depends on the route, location and method of application.

Fees, healthcare surcharge amounts, Ecctis charges, processing times and priority service availability can change and should be checked before applying.

9. Switching into the High Potential Individual Visa Route

If you currently have leave to remain in another immigration category, you may extend your stay by switching into the High Potential Individual Visa route unless you have, or were last granted, permission as a Visitor, Short-term student, Parent of a Child Student, Seasonal Worker, Domestic Worker in a Private Household or outside the Immigration Rules. 

If you have, or last had, permission as a Student, you must also have completed the course of study for which your Confirmation of Acceptance for Studies was assigned, or meet the alternative PhD study condition. The alternative PhD condition requires you to be studying a full-time course leading to the award of a PhD with a higher education provider which has a track record of compliance and to have completed at least 24 months of study on that course.

10. Duration of a High Potential Individual Visa

If your application for a High Potential Individual Visa is approved, the period of permission you will be granted will depend on the qualification that you relied on to meet the Global Universities List overseas degree requirement:

• PhD or other doctoral level qualification – 3 years
• All other degree qualifications – 2 years

11. Conditions of Stay as a High Potential Individual

If your application for a High Potential Individual Visa is approved you will be permitted to work including self-employment and voluntary work, apart from as a professional sportsperson or sports coach. You will also be able to study except where the course is with an education provider which is a Student sponsor and would meet the approved qualification and level of study requirements of the Student route. Study or research is also subject to the ATAS condition in Appendix ATAS where applicable. You will not be permitted to access public funds.

12. Extension, Settlement and Long Residence

It is not possible to apply for an extension of a High Potential Individual Visa. However, before your leave expires, you may be able to apply from within the UK to switch into another immigration route. You will need to satisfy the requirements of the immigration route that you wish to extend into.

The High Potential Individual Visa does not lead directly to settlement in the UK. Time spent with HPI permission will not count towards the qualifying period for settlement on a different work route, such as Skilled Worker. However, before your leave expires, you may be able to apply from within the UK to switch into another immigration route which does lead to settlement, such as the Skilled Worker route or the Innovator Founder route. You will need to satisfy the requirements of the immigration route that you wish to extend into. Details of all the main immigration routes, including whether they lead to settlement, are available on our website.

You may also be eligible to extend your stay until you qualify for settlement on the basis of Long Residence, provided you meet the Long Residence requirements, including 10 years’ lawful and continuous residence and, where applicable, the requirement to have had permission on your current immigration route for at least 12 months on the date of application.

13. Planning Your Next Visa Before Your HPI Leave Expires

A High Potential Individual Visa will usually be granted for 2 years, or 3 years where the applicant relies on a PhD or other doctoral level qualification. The route cannot be extended in the same category and does not lead directly to settlement, so applicants who wish to remain in the UK should plan their next application well before their HPI leave expires.

Depending on the applicant’s circumstances, possible next routes may include Skilled Worker, Scale-up, Global Talent or Innovator Founder. Each route has its own requirements and evidential demands. For example, a Skilled Worker application will require sponsorship, an eligible role and salary evidence; a Global Talent application may require endorsement or reliance on an eligible award; and an Innovator Founder application will require a suitable business proposal and endorsement.

Planning ahead is important because sponsorship, endorsement, salary, business and other route-specific evidence can take time to prepare. Waiting until shortly before HPI leave expires may leave insufficient time to resolve issues with a sponsor, endorsing body, job offer, salary level, business plan or supporting documents.

Time spent in the UK with permission as a High Potential Individual may count towards the 10-year long residence route, provided the applicant meets the lawful and continuous residence requirements. However, HPI time does not by itself place the applicant on a direct route to settlement. Applicants should therefore consider, at an early stage, whether their next route supports their longer-term immigration plans.

14. High Potential Individual Visa Dependants: Evidence, Funds and Practical Issues

A High Potential Individual may be joined or accompanied by a dependent partner and dependent children. A dependent partner will need to provide evidence of the relationship, such as evidence of a marriage or civil partnership recognised in the UK, or evidence of a durable relationship similar to marriage or civil partnership for at least 2 years. Where the couple have not lived together throughout that period, evidence of an ongoing commitment to each other will be important.

Dependants must also meet the financial requirement, unless they are applying for permission to stay and have been in the UK with permission for at least 12 months at the date of application. The current maintenance requirement is £285 for a dependent partner, £315 for the first dependent child and £200 for each additional dependent child. These funds must be in addition to any funds required by the main applicant and any other dependants, and must normally have been held for 28 days in accordance with Appendix Finance.

Children may apply as dependants if they meet the relevant requirements in Appendix Children, including the relationship, care, age and independent life requirements. A child who has turned 18 may still be able to apply where they remain eligible under the continuing-dependant exception, for example where they already have permission as the dependent child of the same parent and are not leading an independent life.

A child born in the UK does not automatically become British by birth merely because their parent holds permission as a High Potential Individual. If the child needs to travel in and out of the UK, or remain in the UK with immigration permission, an application should be made for permission as a dependant. A full UK birth certificate showing the names of both parents will normally be required.

Dependants granted permission under the High Potential Individual route will usually be granted permission in line with the main applicant. They may work, including self-employment and voluntary work, but must not work as a professional sportsperson or sports coach. They may study, subject to any applicable ATAS requirement, and must not access public funds.

15. Common Reasons for High Potential Individual Visa Refusal

A High Potential Individual Visa application may be refused if the applicant has relied on the wrong Global Universities List. The relevant list is the list that applies to the date on which the qualification was awarded, not the date of application or the most recent list available.

Applicants should also avoid assuming that an Ecctis assessment confirms that their university is eligible. Ecctis will assess matters such as the qualification’s equivalence and date of award, but the applicant must still ensure that the awarding institution appears on the correct Global Universities List.

Other common reasons for refusal include applying outside the 5-year period from the date the qualification was awarded, providing financial evidence that does not meet the requirements of Appendix Finance, or applying despite having previously been granted permission under the Graduate route, the High Potential Individual route or the Doctorate Extension Scheme.

An application may also be refused where a required TB certificate or scholarship consent letter has not been provided. In addition, suitability or credibility concerns, including concerns about documents, false representations or inconsistencies in the application, may lead to refusal and may have wider immigration consequences.

If a High Potential Individual Visa application is refused, the appropriate remedy will depend on the reason for refusal and the applicant’s circumstances. In some cases, an administrative review or a fresh application may be appropriate; in others, the defect may not be capable of being remedied.particularly following the grant of settlement.

16. High Potential Individual Visa FAQs