The Home Office recently released further details about the ‘Indian Young Professionals Scheme’ which we covered in our earlier article here.
Initially, the Home Office implied that this would operate as its own separate visa scheme. This led to some concerns about how this would work in practice and whether this might lead to further fragmentation of the immigration routes. It is now clear, however, that the Home Office has opted to integrate this route into the pre-existing T5 Youth Mobility Scheme visa (albeit with additional requirements). The T5 visa will be rebranded as the Youth Mobility Scheme on 11 October 2021.
How can Indian nationals make use of the Youth Mobility Scheme?
This visa route will allow up to 3,000 Indian nationals aged between 18 and 30 years old to come to the UK.
The Home Office have indicated that India will be subject to an ‘invitation to apply arrangement’. These sorts of arrangements already apply to Youth Mobility visa applicants from Japan, Taiwan, Hong Kong and the Republic of Korea.
In practice, this means that eligible Indian nationals will need to submit an “expression of interest” to the Home Office. The Home Office will then select 3,000 individuals at random (by ballot) who will be invited to apply for a visa under this scheme. Ballots typically open twice a year in January and July and are open for 48 hours. The vast majority of places are issued in the January ballot with any remaining places issued in July. This means that anyone who is interested in applying will need to act quickly, making sure they register their interest in line with the ballot requirements.
Indian nationals who want to apply will need to show that they have £2,530 in available funds to support themselves (like all other applicants). However, unlike any other nation under this Scheme, Indian nationals will have additional eligibility requirements. They must provide evidence that they:
- Hold a qualification equal to RQF Level 6 or above (a bachelor’s degree); or
- Have at least three years’ work experience in a professional role (in occupations listed in Appendix Skilled Occupations – this includes scientists, engineers, IT specialists etc).
This is why the scheme was initially dubbed the ‘Young Professionals’ Scheme.
The original Memorandum of Understanding of the Migration and Mobility Partnership which introduced this visa route mentioned that applicants must ‘be able to express themselves in the language(s) of the host country’. This requirement is nowhere to be found in the latest statement from the Home Office. We can only speculate as to why this requirement has been dropped, but perhaps the increased labour and candidate shortage may have pushed the Home Office to impose slightly less onerous criteria.
Those who are successful in their applications can live, study, and work in the UK for a period of 2 years. Whilst in the UK, they cannot access public funds. They also cannot extend their stay past the 2-year mark. However, since the “switching rules” changed at the beginning of this year, Youth Mobility visa holders can now change into the Skilled Worker category without leaving the UK. This makes things much simpler and easier for someone wanting to change their visa category to remain in the UK on a longer term basis.
Interestingly, although the applicants must demonstrate their “professional” status when applying, they are not required to take up employment at all, and, if they do so, they are not limited to working in “professional” roles. Instead, they can work in virtually any role for any employer with no minimum skill level or salary threshold requirement. This new route will therefore be potentially welcome news for employers recruiting for skilled workers who do not meet the minimum salary requirements for a Skilled Worker visa.
There are some limitations on what holders of this visa can do however. For example, they are not permitted to take up employment as a professional sportsperson. There are also restrictions surrounding self-employment.
What about Students or Workers?
This Scheme is not exclusive to those who wish to come to the UK for employment – this visa route can also be used by individuals hoping to study in the UK. The ONS found that 50% of non-EU immigration into the UK was for formal study and government data shows that 55,465 Indian nationals obtained visas to study in the UK in 2019/2020. That said, it is unlikely that Indian nationals would make use of this Scheme as opposed to the Student Visa route (which was granted to 49,844 Indian nationals in 2019/20) given the cap on numbers and additional eligibility criteria.
Workers might also find this visa useful, particularly where they intend to enter the UK to undertake contract or agency work at all levels.
Does this help organisations with the candidate shortage?
It is no secret that there is currently a serious labour shortage issue in the UK. Some industries are suffering more than others. Between June and August 2021, the number of job vacancies rose above 1 million for the first time since records began. The CBI estimates that a labour shortage could last up to 2 years.
Although a focus on training and apprenticeship incentives may be beneficial in the long-term, a short-term solution is needed and, based on the recent temporary work visa announcements, it appears the Government has identified immigration as being at least part of the solution.
With this in mind, the extension of the Youth Mobility Scheme to Indian nationals may provide some small relief in certain sectors.
There is high demand for labour in the medical and IT industries, specifically for medical practitioners, programmers and software developers, and tech analysts. Research suggests that approximately 20% of health and social workers and 14% of IT workers working in the UK were born in India. As such, we might see uptake within these sectors to make use of this new visa route. However, the cap on numbers and the random ballot allocation will no doubt limit the impact this will have.
Indian nationals will be able to apply using this visa route from 1 January 2022.
If you would like to discuss what these new changes mean for you or your organisation, or if you have any other questions about the UK’s immigration system or your specific personal circumstances, please get in touch with a member of the Business Immigration Team.
