The government of the United Kingdom (UK) is expected to commence the issuance of a new visa that allows holders of first degrees, masters, and doctorates to travel to the country and secure jobs in the fields of science, technology, innovation, and entrepreneurship from May 30.
The special visa known as a High Potential Individual (HPI) visa would allow applicants to relocate to the UK without a previous job offer or sponsorship and is targeted at attracting high-skilled foreign university graduates to the UK.
According to the UK Minister of Safe and Legal Migration, Kevin Foster, “If you’ve been resident in the UK for more than 12 months, you might not need to meet this requirement. Graduates with a bachelor’s or master’s degree will be given a two-year visa. Ph.D. or other doctoral-level graduates will get visas valid for three years. This visa can only be granted once and will not be available to those who have already had a graduate visa”.
The British government stated that in order to be eligible for the HPI visa, applicants must have been awarded a degree from one of the top 50 global universities published by the Home Office.
According to reports, no Nigerian and African university was featured in the global rankings list and the UK government also said the list would be compiled annually.
Furthermore, applicants must have been awarded a degree, equivalent to and not less than a UK Bachelor’s degree.