The UK will now offer you a visa if you’ve studied at these top universities

The United Kingdom says it will now offer work visas to graduates from the world’s top universities, as it aims to encourage talented graduates in areas such as science, engineering and research to bring their talents to the UK through a ‘high potential individual’ route.

Under the scheme announced on Monday (30 May), 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 country’s government said.

From engineering to cyber security to advanced medical research, the UK will be able to welcome talented individuals to drive both economic growth as well as technological and medical advances, it said.

“The race to attract the brightest and best international talent is fierce and inviting talented individuals from international universities will complement the pool of high achieving graduates from UK universities.”

The list of eligible universities is based on a global universities list 2021, and includes colleges in the US, Sweden, Japan, Canada, Hong Kong, Singapore, France, Germany, Australia and China.

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 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, the government said.

The visa, the government said, forms part of a series of changes to the immigration system after leaving the EU to restore control over the country’s 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”.

Read: The university degrees and subjects to study to become a millionaire in South Africa