The UK offers several High Potentia Individual Visas for overseas workers. These visa routes aim to bring employees on a short-term or long-term basis to their UK branches. The aim of these visa routes is to simplify the process of hiring talent from outside the UK.
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A High Potential Individual Visa is a UK visa route available to individuals who have completed their studies at a university that is included in the eligible universities’ list. If you have completed an approved course from an eligible university, you can seek this visa route.
This particular type of visa does not require you to have a job offer from the UK in order to apply.
In most cases, you can stay in the UK for up to two years on this visa. If you have applied after a doctoral-level qualification from an eligible university, you may be allowed to stay in the UK for up to three years.
One of the unique things about a High Potential Individual Visa is that it affords you a lot of flexibility for your stay in the UK. You can work at most jobs, be self-employed, study, and even have your partner and children live with you in the UK if they meet the immigration requirements. You can also travel outside the UK and return without any immigration restrictions.
However, a High Potential Individual Visa can’t be used to apply for permanent residency in the UK. It is also not possible to seek an extension of the visa. You can apply for other visa types, such as the Skilled Worker Visa, once your High Potential Individual Visa expires.
If you intend to apply for this type of visa, you can consult a reliable immigration solicitor UK at the London-based Adam Bernard’s law office. Our immigration lawyers can help you through every stage of the application process.
Once you know that your particular university and your qualification in a given year are eligible for UK High Potential Individual Visa, you must meet other requirements.
These include the following:
An immigration solicitor can help you determine whether or not you meet these requirements. You can also consult some of the best immigration solicitors in London at our office if you are not sure about any aspect of the visa application before you submit it.
You must meet specific requirements to be eligible for this visa category. The most notable of these requirements pertain to your education at an eligible university.
The eligibility of an international university can vary from one year to the year, depending on its position in academic ranking lists. A given university may be eligible for one year and not meet the eligibility criteria the next year. This is why your eligibility will also depend on the year of your qualification.
An international university is deemed eligible for a year if it appears on at least two of the three following academic ranking lists in that year:
Another requirement for the High Potential Individual Visa is that your qualification from an eligible university must be at the same level as a UK Bachelor’s, postgraduate, PhD, or doctoral degree.
You can consult the Education Counseling and Credit Transfer Information Service (ECCTIS) to determine whether or not your university and your qualification are eligible for this visa type. Our immigration lawyers can also offer guidance in this regard.
You must provide the following documents as a part of the visa application process:
Other documents may be required during the application process. Our immigration lawyers can best advise you on how to proceed with the application and ensure that it is free from any errors or omissions.
The basic application fee for a High Potential Individual Visa is £715. You must also pay a healthcare surcharge of £624. The healthcare surcharge is an annual fee, so you are required to pay this surcharge amount for every year of your stay in the UK.
If you are awarded a two-year visa, the surcharge amounts to £1,248. For applications with doctoral qualifications, the surcharge for a three-year visa would total £1,872.
ECCTIS also charges a fee to verify your eligibility for the visa application. You are charged £210 for using ECCTIS when applying from outside the UK. For applications from within the UK, the ECCTIS fee is £252.
If you are not sure about the actual fees you must pay, you can consult an immigration solicitor UK at our law office.
The application process for a High Potential Individual Visa depends on whether you are applying from inside the UK or from outside the UK.
If you are applying from outside the UK, you must submit an online application.
During the application process, you will be required to provide valid proof of identification and submit biometric details.
Depending on your country of origin, you can submit the biometric details by booking an appointment with the nearest visa application centre. Alternatively, you may be asked to scan your identity document using the ‘UK Immigration: ID check’ online app.
If your biometric details are required, you must travel to the nearest visa application centre and provide these details.
If you are applying from inside the UK, you can switch from another visa type to the High Potential Individual Visa. If you have your partner or children living with you, they will also have to apply separately to switch to a different visa category. Applications from within the UK are also to be submitted online.
You can not apply to switch to a High Potential Individual Visa if you hold certain types of UK visas.
For instance, if you have a Graduate Visa, a Domestic worker in a private household visa, a Short-term student visa, a Parent of a Child Student Visa, a Seasonal Worker Visa, or a Visit Visa, you can’t make the switch.
In these cases, you must leave the UK and apply from abroad if you seek a High Potential Individual Visa.
You can consult some of the best immigration solicitors in London at our law office to get detailed help and guidance on the application process.
You will get a letter or email from the Home Office stating the decision on your visa application. If the application is successful, you are sent a sticker or vignette in your passport. The vignette allows you to receive a Biometric Residence Permit. You must get a BRP within ten days of arriving in the UK or before the expiry date of the vignette.
If your application is refused, the letter of refusal will lay out the reasons for refusal. The Home Office will also return your passport and let you know whether or not you can seek a review or appeal the refusal. You can then file an appeal or seek a review by consulting one of the best immigration solicitors in London at our law office.
The Home Office process applications submitted from outside the UK within three weeks. So you can expect a decision on your visa application within 21 days from your date of submission. For applications submitted from within the UK, the processing time is up to eight weeks.
The actual processing time can also vary depending on other factors. For instance, if your application has missing details or contains documents that must yet be verified, the Home Office may take longer to process it.
This is why it is always a good idea to consult an immigration solicitor UK when submitting a visa application in this category. Our qualified immigration lawyers can help you ensure that your application is complete and optimized for a quick decision. We are home to some of the best immigration solicitors in London, so you can be sure of expert advice.
The immigration lawyers at the London-based Adam Bernard’s have extensive experience in handling UK visa and immigration cases. We can help you meet the various requirements and improve your odds of successfully receiving a visa.
We have some of the best immigration solicitors in London who offer tailored advice and guidance depending on the unique circumstances of your visa application. When you hire an immigration solicitor UK, you receive help through every stage of the application process, whether you are about to apply, have already submitted an application, or want to apply for a review or appeal a refusal.
Call us now at 0207-100-0505 to schedule a free consultation and discuss your case with an immigration solicitor UK.
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