High Potential Individual: two years for recent graduates of listed universities

Eligibility requirements

• A bachelor's, master's or doctoral qualification, equivalent to the UK level, awarded by an eligible overseas university in the five years immediately before the application. The university must be on the Global Universities List for the month and year the qualification was awarded, not the current list.
• An Ecctis (formerly UK NARIC) confirmation that the qualification is genuine and at the required UK level. Ecctis does not assess whether the university is on the list; that is checked against the published list.
• English at CEFR B2 in reading, writing, speaking and listening, proven by an approved test, an Ecctis-confirmed degree taught in English, or qualifying nationality.
• Maintenance funds at the level set by GOV.UK, held for 28 days, unless the applicant has held UK permission for at least 12 months.
• No previous grant under the HPI, Graduate or Doctorate Extension Scheme routes; the Rules permit only one grant of HPI permission.
• Validity and suitability requirements; applications may be made from outside the UK or by switching from eligible routes.

Legal framework

Build the evidence

Prepare records that substantiate the relevant criteria. The final checklist depends on the applicant, route and filing authority.

• Degree certificate and transcript, with the award date, and the Ecctis statement of comparability (or an existing Ecctis assessment).
• A printout of the Global Universities List entry for the award month and year.
• Passport, tuberculosis certificate where required, and evidence of English at B2.
• Bank statements covering 28 days for the maintenance requirement, unless exempt.
• Dependants' relationship evidence and their own maintenance funds.

How to apply

1. 01

   Confirm the list and the date

   Check the university against the Global Universities List for the award month and year. Many refusals arise from using the wrong year's list or a qualification awarded more than five years before the application.

2. 02

   Obtain the Ecctis confirmation

   Apply to Ecctis for the HPI statement, which confirms the level of the qualification. Allow for processing time before the visa application.

3. 03

   Apply within the yearly limit

   Submit the online application with the Ecctis reference, English and funds evidence, and pay the fee and the Immigration Health Surcharge for the full two or three years. The yearly limit is applied in the order applications are received.

4. 04

   Use the period deliberately

   The permission allows employment, self-employment and business activity (except as a professional sportsperson). Treat the two years as the period in which to secure a sponsor, an endorsement or a Global Talent case.

5. 05

   Switch before expiry

   Apply in-country for Skilled Worker (sponsor, RQF 6 role, £41,700 or the going rate, B2), Innovator Founder (endorsement), Global Talent or a family route before the HPI permission ends. HPI time does not count towards settlement on those routes.

After approval & family planning

• Partners and children may apply as dependants for the same period and may work and study.
• There is no extension. Time on HPI does not count towards the continuous residence period for settlement in any work route, although it counts towards the ten-year long residence route if the person remains lawfully in the UK.
• A move to Skilled Worker starts the five-year clock; a move to Innovator Founder or Global Talent starts a three-year clock. Plan the switch around the earned settlement proposals, which have not changed the operative Rules.

What this route builds, and what it opens

WG assesses every route on three returns: the knowledge it adds, the cognitive capability that sustained work abroad develops, and the institutional opportunity it opens or closes. Real work is the mechanism in each case.

Programme context. Where a participant is a recent graduate of a listed university, this route may be assessed as a preparatory period before a managerial role with a qualifying affiliate; it does not itself satisfy any affiliate-service requirement. Read the framework ↗

Frequently asked questions

Points to consider

• The route is best used with a concrete plan for the switch. Two years passes quickly where a sponsor must be found, a licence obtained and a B2 test taken.
• The yearly limit means timing of the application within the 1 November to 31 October year can matter; apply early in the year where possible.