Job offer not needed for visa as UK woos graduates of top varsities

The government of the United Kingdom has announced a new innovation strategy enabling graduates from “top global universities” to move into the country and work.

According to the initiative titled “Build Back Better: our plan for growth”, applicants are not required to have any job offer before they can obtain a visa under the new arrangement.

Kwasi Kwarteng, the UK’s secretary of state for business, energy and industrial strategy, said the development is aimed to boost private sector investment across the country.

Kwarteng added that such is also geared towards strengthening the economy of the UK in the wake of the devastating impact of the coronavirus pandemic.

He added that the scheme will also allow eligible individuals to extend their visas and settle in the UK provided they meet certain requirements.

The secretary of state disclosed that the country has already established the office of talent — which is the first of its kind — to help bring talent to the UK.

“We are making the United Kingdom the easiest country in the world for top Innovative Talent to enter, continuing our proud history of talented researchers and teams seeking opportunities here and creating the future,” the report read.

“For the first time, we have created a dedicated cross-departmental unit, the Office for Talent, driving a proactive approach to bringing talent to the UK.

“Furthermore, as part of our plan for growth, the UK government will introduce a new High Potential Individual route to make it as simple as possible for internationally mobile individuals who demonstrate high potential to come to the UK.

“Eligibility will be open to applicants who have graduated from a top global university. The UK government will explore the scope to expand eligibility to other characteristics of high potential.

“There will be no job offer requirement, giving individuals the flexibility to work, switch jobs or employers and make contributions to the UK economy.

“The route will also allow eligible individuals to extend their visa and settle in the UK, subject to meeting specific requirements.

“A scale-up route will also support UK scale-ups by allowing talented individuals with a high skilled job offer from a qualifying scale-up at the required salary level to come to the UK.

“Scale-ups will be able to apply through a fast-track verification process to use the route, so long as they can demonstrate an annual average revenue or employment growth rate over a three-year period greater than 20%, and a minimum of 10 employees at the start of the three-year period.

“UK Government will explore whether scale-ups who can demonstrate an expectation of strong growth in future years may also qualify following a review.

“The route will allow eligible individuals to work, switch jobs or employers. Individuals will be able to extend their visa and settle in the UK, subject to meeting specific requirements.”