Starting from Monday, May 30, 2022, a new United Kingdom (UK) visa, which will allow holders of first degrees, masters, and doctorates to travel to the country and work in fields such as science, technology, innovation, and entrepreneurship, will be opened.
Under the High Potential Individual (HPI) visa, applicants will stand a chance to relocate to the UK without a prior job offer or sponsorship.
However, while several Nigerians may have been eligible to apply for HPI visa, some of the requirements exempted those who graduated from Nigerian universities.
Why Nigerians that studied in home schools are eligible for UK High Potential Individual visa
According to the UK government, in order to qualify for the HPI visa, applicants needed to have been awarded a degree from an overseas university. The university has to be one of the top global universities as published in the global universities list by the Home Office.
The government noted that the list would be compiled annually and would comprise institutions included in the list of the top 50 universities in at least two of the following ranking systems: Times Higher Education World University rankings, Quacquarelli Symonds World University rankings, and the Academic Ranking of the World Universities.
Also, the applicants must have been awarded a degree, equivalent to or not less than a UK bachelor’s degree.
Meanwhile, checks showed that Nigerian universities do not appear in any of these global rankings.
Explaining the necessity of the new visa route, UK Minister of Safe and Legal Migration, Kevin Foster stated that “the new High Potential Individual route will make it as simple as possible for internationally mobile individuals who demonstrate high potential to come to the UK. It will enable those who have already demonstrated their potential through academic achievement to come to the UK without a prior job offer.
“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 a 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.”
