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UK launches new visa for world's top graduates No need a job offer

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Graduates from the world's top universities now have a new route into the United Kingdom.

The High Potential Individual (HPI) visa is aimed at attracting high-skilled foreign university graduates - who will be allowed to work and stay in the U.K. for two or three years, depending on their degree level.

Applicants won't need a job offer or sponsorship and holders of this visa will be free to come to the UK to work, set up as self-employed and volunteer.

 

In a joint announcement, UK Cabinet ministers Rishi Sunak and Priti Patel said the new "exciting" category under the post-Brexit points-based system is aimed at attracting the “best and brightest” talent from around the world, regardless of nationality. Successful applicants will be given a two-year work visa, with a three-year visa offered to those with a PhD, without the need for a specific job offer in hand.

The new High Potential Individual route will make it as simple as possible for internationally mobile individuals who demonstrate high potential to come to the UK,” Immigration Minister Kevin Foster said. “It will enable those who have already demonstrated their potential through academic achievement to come to the UK without a prior job offer.”

“The route means that the UK will grow as a leading international hub for innovation, creativity and entrepreneurship.