Visas without a job offer

Graduate Visa

A Graduate visa gives you permission to stay in the UK for at least 2 years after successfully completing a course in the UK.

You must be in the UK when you apply.

Eligibility

You can apply for a Graduate visa if all of the following are true:

• you’re in the UK
• your current visa is a Student visa or Tier 4 (General) student visa
• you studied a UK bachelor’s degree, postgraduate degree or other eligible course for a minimum period of time with your Student visa or Tier 4 (General) student visa
• your education provider (such as your university or college) has told the Home Office you’ve successfully completed your course

You can ask your education provider if you’re not sure whether they’ve told the Home Office you’ve successfully completed your course.

How long you can stay

A Graduate visa lasts for 2 years. If you have a PHD or other doctoral qualification, it will last for 3 years.

Your visa will start from the day your application is approved.

If you want to stay longer in the UK

You cannot extend your Graduate visa. However, you may be able to switch to a different visa.

When to apply

You must apply before your Student visa or Tier 4 (General) student visa expires.

You can apply after your education provider (such as your university or college) has told the Home Office that you’ve successfully completed the course you took with your Student or Tier 4 (General) student visa. You do not have to wait until you’ve graduated or have been given a certificate.

As part of your application, you’ll need to prove your identity and provide your documents.

Your application may take longer if you need an appointment to do this. You’ll find out if you need one when you start your application.

Your partner and children

If your partner and children joined you in the UK as ‘dependants’ on your current Student visa or Tier 4 (General) student visa, they can apply to stay as dependants on your Graduate visa.

If your child was born in the UK during your current Student or Tier 4 (General) student visa, they can also apply.

If their application is successful, their visa will end on the same date as yours.

Getting a decision

Once you’ve applied online, proved your identity and provided your documents, you’ll usually get a decision on your visa within 8 weeks.

You can stay in the UK while you wait for a decision.

Youth Mobility Scheme Visa

You can apply for a Youth Mobility Scheme visa if you:

• want to live and work in the UK for up to 2 years
• are aged 18 to 30 or 18 to 35, depending on where you’re from
• have £2,530 in savings
• have certain types of British Nationality or are from certain countries or territories listed in the eligibility requirements

How long you can stay

You’ll be given a visa to live and work in the UK for up to 24 months.

You can enter the UK at any time while your visa is valid,  and leave and come back at any time during your stay.

If you turn 31 after your visa is issued, you can stay in the UK for as long as your visa is valid.

How long it takes

The earliest you can apply for a visa is 6 months before you travel.

Example

You can apply from 16 January if you plan to travel on 15 July.

As part of your application, you’ll need to prove your identity and provide your documents.

You may need to allow extra time if you need an appointment to do this. You’ll find out if you need one when you start your application.

Getting a decision

Once you’ve applied online, proved your identity and provided your documents, you’ll usually get a decision on your visa within 3 weeks.

India Young Professionals Scheme Visa

An India Young Professionals Scheme visa allows Indian citizens between 18 and 30 years old to live and work in the UK for up to 2 years.

You must be selected in the India Young Professionals Scheme ballot before you can apply for this visa. To enter the ballot you must declare that you’re eligible for the visa – check if you’re eligible before you enter.

Eligibility

To be eligible for the visa, you must:

• be an Indian citizen
• be between 18 and 30 years old
• have an eligible qualification
• have £2,530 in savings

When to apply

If you’re successful in the ballot, you’ll receive an email inviting you to apply for the visa.

You’ll have 90 days from the date of the email to:

• apply online
• prove your identity
• provide your documents

You may need to allow extra time if you need an appointment to do this. You’ll find out if you need one when you start your application.

You must travel to the UK within 6 months of applying for your visa.

Example

If you apply on 16 July 2024 you must arrive in the UK by 15 January 2025 at the latest.

Getting a decision

Once you’ve applied online, proved your identity and provided your documents, you’ll usually get a decision on your visa within 3 weeks.

How long you can stay

You’ll be given a visa to live and work in the UK for up to 24 months.

You can enter the UK at any time while your visa is valid, and leave and come back at any time during your stay.

If you turn 31 after your visa is issued, you can stay in the UK for as long as your visa is valid.

What you can and cannot do

You can:

• study – for some courses you’ll need an Academic Technology Approval Scheme certificate
• work in most jobs
• be self-employed and set up a company – as long as your premises are rented, your equipment is not worth more than £5,000 and you do not have any employees

You cannot:

• extend your stay
• apply for most benefits (public funds)
• include family members on your application – they must apply separately
• work as a professional sportsperson (for example as a coach)

Apply for the Global Talent Visa

You can apply for a Global Talent visa to work in the UK if you’re a leader or potential leader in one of the following fields:

• academia or research
• arts and culture
• digital technology

You must also be at least 18 years old.

Before you apply for a visa

You can usually only apply for a Global Talent visa if you have successfully applied for an endorsement to prove that you are a leader or potential leader.

You can apply for the visa without an endorsement if you’ve won an eligible award. Find out which awards are eligible.

Find out what you can do with a Global Talent visa and how to apply for an endorsement if you work in one of the following fields:

• academia or research
• arts and culture
• digital technology

Apply from outside the UK

Before you apply for the Global Talent visa, you need to have either:

• won an eligible award
• successfully applied for an endorsement to prove that you are a leader or potential leader in your field

If you’re applying for an endorsement

Find out how to apply for an endorsement before you apply for a visa.

When you have an endorsement, you can apply for this visa if:

• you’ve been endorsed by an organisation approved by the Home Office
• you’re applying within 3 months of receiving your endorsement letter
• the organisation that endorsed you has not withdrawn its approval

How long you can stay

You can live and work in the UK for up to 5 years at a time.

If you want to stay longer in the UK

There’s no limit to how long you can stay in the UK in total, but you will need to renew (‘extend’) your visa when it expires. Each extension can last from 1 to 5 years – you choose how long you want the extension to be.

You may be able to get indefinite leave to remain so you can settle in the UK after 3 or 5 years, depending on which field you work in and how you apply.

How long it takes

As part of your application, you’ll need to prove your identity and provide your documents.

You may need to allow extra time if you need an appointment to do this. You’ll find out if you need one when you start your application.

Your partner and children

Your partner and children can also apply to join you or stay in the UK as your ‘dependants’ if they’re eligible.

If your partner or child’s application is successful, their visa will usually end on the same date as yours. If a child’s parents have visas with different expiry dates, the child’s visa will end on the earlier date.

Extend your visa

You can usually apply to extend your stay in the UK if either:

• you applied for the Global Talent visa based on an endorsement, and the organisation that endorsed you has not withdrawn its approval
• you applied for a Global Talent visa based on an eligible award you won, and the award has not been withdrawn

You must be able to show that you earned money in your expert field during your time in the UK by sending evidence toward your application, for example payslips.

Your partner or children will need to apply separately to extend their visa. They can either apply at the same time as you, or at any time before their current visa expires.

You should apply before your current visa expires.

Applicants who currently have a Tier 1 (Exceptional Talent) visa can extend under the Global Talent category.

Switch to this visa

You might be able to apply to change (‘switch’) to a Global Talent visa if you’re already in the UK on a different type of visa.

Your partner or children will need to apply separately to switch their visa. They can either apply at the same time as you, or at any time before their current visa expires.

You should apply before your current visa expires.

Eligibility

To switch to a Global Talent visa you must be in the UK and have either:

• won an eligible award
• proven that you are a leader or potential leader in one of the fields covered by the visa – this is also called getting an endorsement

If you’re currently in the UK on a Student visa, you must also have either:

• completed the course you were sponsored to study
• studied for a PhD for at least 24 months

If you’re applying for an endorsement

The fields you must prove you’re a leader or potential leader in are:

• academia or research
• arts and culture
• digital technology

You must apply to switch to the Global Talent visa within 3 months of getting an endorsement.

You cannot apply for the visa if the organisation that endorsed you has withdrawn its approval.

Who cannot apply to switch to this visa

You cannot apply to switch to this visa if you’re currently in the UK in one of the following circumstances:

• on a visit visa
• on a short-term student visa
• on a Parent of a Child Student visa
• on a seasonal worker visa
• on a domestic worker in a private household visa
• on immigration bail
• you were given permission to stay outside the immigration rules, for example on compassionate grounds

You must leave the UK and apply for a Global Talent visa from abroad if you’re in one of these categories.

Getting a decision

Once you’ve applied online, proved your identity and provided your documents, you’ll usually get a decision on your visa within:

• 3 weeks, if you’re outside the UK
• 8 weeks, if you’re inside the UK

You may be able to pay to get a faster decision.

UK Ancestry Visa

You can apply for a UK Ancestry visa if you’re one of the following:

• a Commonwealth citizen
• a British overseas citizen
• a British overseas territories citizen
• a British national (overseas)
• a citizen of Zimbabwe

You must also:

• prove one of your grandparents was born in the UK, the Channel Islands or the Isle of Man
• meet the other eligibility requirements

Your partner and children

Your partner and children can apply to join you in the UK as your ‘dependants’ if they’re eligible.

A ‘dependant’ is any of the following:

• your partner
• your child under 18
• your child aged 18 or over who was previously on your or your partner’s visa as a dependant

You’ll need to provide evidence of your relationship when you apply.

When to apply

The earliest you can apply is 3 months before you travel to the UK.

You must apply online for a UK Ancestry visa before you travel to the UK.

Extend your visa

You can apply to extend your visa and stay in the UK for a further 5 years. You must apply before your current visa expires.

You can extend this visa as many times as you like, as long as you still meet the eligibility requirements.

You can also apply to settle in the UK permanently if you’ve lived in the UK for 5 years on this visa.

Your partner or child’s visa will not automatically extend if you extend yours. If they do not extend their visa, it will be valid until its original end date.

They can either apply at the same time as you, or at any time before their current visa expires.

Getting a decision

You should get a decision on your visa within 3 weeks when you apply from outside the UK.

You may be able to pay to get a faster decision.

Indefinite Leave to Remain

You may be able to apply for indefinite leave to remain if you’ve spent 5 years in the UK on a UK Ancestry visa.

Indefinite leave to remain is how you settle in the UK. It’s also called ‘settlement’. It gives you the right to live, work and study here for as long as you like, and apply for benefits if you’re eligible. You can use it to apply for British citizenship.

Eligibility

You must prove that you:

• are 17 or over
• have enough money without help from public funds to support and house yourself and any dependants
• can and plan to work in the UK

Your ancestry

You must show that you have a grandparent born in one of the following circumstances:

• in the UK, the Channel Islands or the Isle of Man
• before 31 March 1922 in what is now Ireland
• on a ship or aircraft that was either registered in the UK or belonged to the UK government

You can claim ancestry if:

• you or your parent were adopted
• your parents or grandparents were not married

You cannot claim UK ancestry through step-parents.

High Potential Individual (HPI) Visa

A High Potential Individual (HPI) visa gives you permission to stay in the UK for at least 2 years. To apply, you must have been awarded a qualification by an eligible university in the last 5 years.

How long you can stay

An HPI visa usually lasts for 2 years. If you have a PhD or other doctoral qualification, it will last for 3 years.

If you want to stay longer in the UK

You cannot extend your HPI visa. However, you may be able to switch to a different visa, for example a Skilled Worker visa.

Apply from outside the UK

You must apply online for a High Potential Individual (HPI) visa.

Check which documents you’ll need to apply.

There’s a different process if you are already in the UK and are switching to the HPI visa from another visa.

When to apply

You must apply within 5 years of being awarded a qualification from an eligible university.

Your partner and children

Your partner and children can also apply to join you or stay in the UK as your ‘dependants’ if they’re eligible.

If your partner or child’s application is successful, their visa will usually end on the same date as yours. If a child’s parents have visas with different expiry dates, the child’s visa will end on the earlier date.

Getting a decision

Once you’ve applied online, proved your identity and provided your documents, you’ll usually get a decision within 3 weeks.

You’ll be contacted if your application will take longer, for example because:

• your supporting documents need to be verified
• of your personal circumstances, for example if you have a criminal conviction

Switch to this visa

You might be able to apply to change (‘switch’) to a High Potential Individual (HPI) visa if you’re already in the UK on a different type of visa.

Your partner or child’s visa will not automatically switch to this visa if you switch yours. They can either apply at the same time as you, or at any time before their current visa expires.

You must not travel outside of the UK, Ireland, the Channel Islands or the Isle of Man until you get a decision. Your application will be withdrawn if you do.

When to apply

You must apply within 5 years of being awarded a qualification from an eligible university.

If you’re currently in the UK on a Student visa, you must also have either:

• completed the course you were sponsored to study
• studied for a PhD for at least 24 months

Who cannot apply to switch to this visa

You cannot apply to switch to this visa if you’re currently in the UK:

• on a visit visa
• on a short-term student visa
• on a Parent of a Child Student visa
• on a seasonal worker visa
• on a domestic worker in a private household visa
• on immigration bail
• because you were given permission to stay outside the immigration rules, for example on compassionate grounds

You must leave the UK and apply for an HPI visa from abroad if you’re in one of these categories.

You cannot switch to this visa if you’re on a Graduate visa.

How long it takes to get a decision

You’ll usually get a decision within 8 weeks of your application date.

You’ll be contacted if your application will take longer, for example because:

• your supporting documents need to be verified
• you need to attend an interview
• of your personal circumstances, for example if you have a criminal conviction.

You may be eligible for or have rights in any of the above categories depending on your visa status or circumstances.

We are a UK law firm based in Kidderminster, near Birmingham and our solicitors are fully authorised by the Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA). 

For expert legal advice and services, contact AAN Joseph Solicitors on 015 6254 6550 or admin@ajs.org.uk