The India Young Professionals Visa Scheme allows Indian citizens between the ages of 18 and 30 to live and work in the UK for 2 years.
The India Young Professionals Visa Scheme is an important part of the UK-India Mobility and Migration Partnership, which was signed between the two countries in May 2021.
The scheme is open to Indian citizens who are between the ages of 18 and 30.
The visa entitles the holder to live and work in the UK for up to 24 months.
Anyone issued with a YPS visa can freely enter and leave the UK during the period of the visa’s validity.
To apply for the visa, you must meet the following criteria:
You are ineligible to apply for the visa if you have:
As a YPS visa holder, you may:
As a YPS visa holder, you may not:
It’s free of charge to enter the ballot and successful entrants are selected at random.
You will be sent the results of the ballot by email within two weeks of the ballot closing.
To participate in a ballot you will have to provide the British authorities with the following information:
Visa applications are invited from individuals who have been successful in a ballot.
The period of the first ballot ran from 28 February 2023 to 2 March 2023.
Successful entrants to the first ballot were eligible to apply for one of 2,400 visas.
If you’re successful in the ballot, you’ll receive an invitation to apply for a YPS visa.
You can complete an online application here.
If you intend to apply online for a YPS visa, you must apply for a Youth Mobility Scheme visa and choose ‘India’ as your nationality when prompted.
An important part of the application process when applying for a YPS visa is proving your identity.
How you do this will depend on where you’re from and what type of passport you hold.
You will typically have to:
You may have to visit your nearest visa application centre to prove your identity.
The visa application centre may not be in India so you must be prepared to travel to have your identity confirmed.
The visa application centre may need to keep your passport and other identity
documents while your identity is confirmed.
You have 30 days from the date of the email notifying you of your success in the ballot to complete an online application and pay the visa and immigration health surcharge.
You must travel to the UK within six months of receiving your YPS visa.
For example, if you applied for your visa on 16 March 2023 you must arrive in the UK by 15 September 2023 at the latest.
As part of the application process, you’ll need to prove your identity and provide the following documents:
You will need to demonstrate to the British authorities that an amount equal to or exceeding £2530 has been in your bank account for at least 28 days prior to your application for a YPS visa.
The 28th day of the money being in the account must fall within 31 days of you applying for a visa.
All the documentation you supply to support your application must be in either English or Welsh.
If the originals of the documents you use in your application are not in either of these two languages, you must ensure they have been translated by a certified translation service before you submit them.
The application fee for the YPS visa is £259.
A health surcharge of £940 is also payable with your application fee.
This covers the costs of the healthcare you may need during your stay in the UK.
Once you’ve applied online, proved your identity and submitted the necessary documents, the British authorities will inform you of their decision within three weeks.
You will be notified of the decision via email.
You may be able to have your application decision prioritised. You’ll be told if this option is open to you when you’re invited to apply following the ballot.
The Home Office offers two expedited services:
The priority service costs:
The super priority service costs £956.
You may need to allow extra time when completing your application if you require an appointment to prove your identity at a visa application centre.
The Home Office will let you know if they require you to attend an appointment when you start your application.
You’ll be contacted if your application is expected to take longer than normal to process.
Typically, the visa decision can be delayed if the Home Office needs to:
If your application for a YPS visa is successful, you will be provided with several important pieces of documentation that allow you to prove your status as a visa holder.
This documentation comprises:
You will be issued with a sticker if you gave your biometric information at a visa application centre prior to your application.
You will be provided with these details if you used the smartphone application to prove your identity.
The vignette or online immigration status information will show:
If you need help applying for an India Young Professionals Visa Scheme visa or simply want to learn more about the balloting or application process, WMYV is here to help.
We are an experienced team of immigration lawyers with lots of expertise in guiding applications through the process of applying for a YPS visa.
Reach out to us for more information or to see how we can help you?
No. The results of the ballot are final.
Ballots for UK visas usually open in January and July each year.
Updates on the next ballot will appear on the government website.
Yes, you can enter future ballots if you’re unsuccessful.
Details will be announced on the government website closer to the time the ballot is held.
If you haven’t received an email informing you of the outcome of your application, you should check your email junk and spam folders.
Not usually, but if you turn 31 after your visa has been issued, the visa will remain valid and you can continue to reside in the UK for the full two years of the visa.
You can request that your visa application be cancelled by contacting the Home Office.
If you choose to cancel your visa application, you will only be reimbursed your application fee if UKVI has not started processing your application.
Yes. However, you cannot apply for a visa if you are financially responsible for any children under the age of 18.
If your YPS visa application is unsuccessful, you’ll receive a letter or an email that explains why your application was rejected.
Your refusal letter will explain if you have the right to either an:
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