Client Affairs
UK's High Potential Individual Visa Scheme Goes Live

The new programme is in some ways a revival of a similar scheme run in the UK from 2002 to 2008. The UK has shut a "golden visa" structure but appears keen to keep doors open to specific classes of immigrant in order to fix skill shortages and boost enterprise.
One door closes but another opens. That, at any rate, appears to
be the case with the UK government’s official launch of the High
Potential Individual route, aimed at bringing highly skilled
immigrants to the UK. This has come a few months after the
UK suspended its Tier 1 Investor Visa programme, aimed
at HNW people willing to pay at least £2 million ($2.52 million)
to invest in the country.
The High Potential Individual option – now live – has some
qualities in common to the former Highly Skilled Migrant
Programme which ran from 2002 to 2008 under the former Labour
Party-led government of Tony Blair.
Since the UK voted to quit the European Union in 2016, pressure
has risen on policymakers to make the country more attractive to
immigrants with money and skills. This is a delicate political
balance, because fears about unchecked immigration helped fuel
Brexit in the first place. The Tier 1 Investor Visa fell victim
to worries that it was a conduit for dirty money – a complaint
levelled at similar “golden visa” schemes.
Russians have been keen applicants for these visas, and the UK
slammed the doors once Russian military forces invaded Ukraine in
late February. Such visas also have been attacked for favouring
the wealthy.
The new HPI scheme will, proponents hope, allow the UK to move on
and develop a programme that meets urgent needs. It has been
welcomed by JPIN, an India investment bank focused on
cross-border opportunities.
"I suspect that a combination of upskilling home-grown talent as
well as leaning on the pillars of other thriving economies will
help with combatting the skills shortage. It certainly looks as
though this is the UK's strategy – especially by introducing the
HPI visa scheme, which will help bring in talent from other
countries to fill the current gap,” Gaurav Singh, founder of the
firm, said in a statement.
The HPI is open to applicants who have graduated from a top
global university, allowing them to live and work in the country
without needing a sponsor.
UK job vacancies are at an all-time high, with 1.29 million
positions available – almost 500,000 (25 per cent) more since the
pandemic began. With 131,000 vacancies in the professional
services sector – encompassing key areas such as technology and
engineering – the gap creates a significant supply-side
constraint. The hope is that HPIs will alleviate the
pressure.
JPIN says more than a third of the UK workforce (36 per cent)
cite a lack of skilled workers as being the biggest factor in
stunting the growth of businesses. Specifically, one-in-four
respondents referred to the distinct lack of tech talent as being
a key issue, it said.
“Recruiting tech talent is now one of the main areas of focus for
businesses, with the lack of skilled workers in this sector
beginning to really impact UK firms. It’s clear that a large
number of companies are wanting to transform and digitalise their
operations in light of a challenging economic climate; however,
there simply aren't enough skilled workers in the country to fill
this gap,” he said.
Changing visa regime
As reported already by this news service, the UK government
appears to be adjusting visa regimes to attract inward talent and
investment but in ways that aren’t freighted with controversial
political baggage.
The Innovator Visa system, for example, appears to be an example
of a more pro-enterprise format.
“The innovator visa, whilst a good concept, has a high turn away
rate, and is promoted aggressively (certainly by agents in the
Middle East) as an easy route to UK residence, which it certainly
isn’t, nor do I think it will create the large business flows
that the UK is looking for (or perhaps they are NOT looking for
large inflows),” a figure in the sector told this news
service.
“The newly-announced 'High Potential Visa' is an interesting
angle, aimed at 'opening borders to top talent’. It takes a leaf
out of the UAE’s playbook (we had the `Genius Visa’ two years
ago). It looks very similar to the old UK Highly Skilled Migrant
Programme (closed in 2008) that encouraged the highly skilled to
come and look for work, or set up [on] their own,”
he said.
“The HPI visa will be open to applicants who have graduated from
a top global university and will allow you to live and work in
the UK without the need for a sponsor. This means that graduates
do not need an offer for an eligible skilled job in the UK from a
Home Office-approved sponsor and you’ll be able to come to the UK
to find work, be self-employed or do volunteer work,” he
continued. “So the process of going to the UK should be a lot
quicker and simpler for internationally mobile smart
individuals,” he added.
This news service also
wrote about views on the UK's Innovator visa a few days
ago.