NEW Youth Mobility Scheme Visa UPDATES!

There have been some really exciting updates to the UK Youth Mobility Scheme visa! For a lot of people, this is the easiest visa to apply for and be approved for, especially not needing to be skilled or already employed by the UK business. So what’s changed?

To refresh: the Youth Mobility Scheme visa is available to certain passport holders between 18-30. You don’t need to be married to a British person, have British ancestry, be a skilled worker or be already given employment from a UK business.

Important updates to the Youth Mobility Scheme visa UK

Age Eligibility

The first update has to do with the age you’re allowed to apply for this visa. Originally, all applicants have to be aged 18 to 30 – there was no variations depending on nationality.

Now you can be 18 to 35 if you’re from New Zealand, Australia, Canada or South Korea.

Andorra, Japan or Uruguay have been added in where you must be aged 18 to 30 without needing to first apply to a ballot.

How long you can stay?

Originally, you can live and work in the UK for up to 24 months, but there were no variations based on nationality.

Now If you’re from Australia, New Zealand or Canada you’ll be able to apply to extend your visa by one year. Please note: this year-extension is not free, unfortunately…

Nationality changes for the Youth Mobility Scheme visa

Some more changes have come through based on various nationalities:

You must be selected in the Youth Mobility Scheme ballot before you can apply for your visa if you’re from:

  • Hong Kong, if you have an SAR passport
  • Taiwan

But if you’re from Japan or South Korea, you no longer need to enter the ballot before you apply. Instead, they can apply at any time if you meet the eligibility criteria.

If you’re from Hong Kong or Taiwan, you must provide a valid email from the Home Office confirming you were successful in the Youth Mobility Scheme ballot.

If you’re from India

There’s a new scheme entirely for Indian nationals called the India Young Professionals Scheme visa. This visa allows Indian citizens between 18 and 30 years old to live and work in the UK for up to 2 years but you must be selected in the India Young Professionals Scheme ballot before you can apply for this visa.

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

Any other changes?

Other details and requirements have stayed the same (at least for now) but it’ll be interesting to see if any further changes are approved in the future.