USA dominates new list of global universities that qualify graduates for UK’s High Potential Individual visa

The latest list of elite global universities that qualify graduates for one of the UK immigration system’s highest accolades has been published. Britain’s High Potential Individual (HPI) visa allows eligible graduates who qualified from the Home Office list of top universities in the year of their degree to move to the UK with dependant family for two years (three years for PhD or equivalent). They are free to work in most jobs without the need of sponsorship, work for themselves, volunteer and travel and return to the UK repeatedly.

Vanessa Ganguin, Managing Partner, Vanessa Ganguin Immigration Law

7 November 2024

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The list of 42 qualifying global universities for those awarded their degree between 1 November 2024 and 31 October 2025 has just been published. United States higher education institutions dominate the list. California Institute of Technology (Caltech), Columbia University, Cornell University, Duke University, Harvard University, Johns Hopkins University, Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), New York University, Northwestern University, Princeton University, Stanford University, University of California Berkeley, University of California Los Angeles, University of California San Diego, University of Chicago, University of Michigan-Ann Arbor, University of Pennsylvania, University of Texas at Austin, University of Washington and Yale University make it 20 US universities – almost half of the total this year.The country with the second highest number of qualifying universities is China, with Fudan University, Peking University, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Tsinghua University and Zhejiang University - all from mainland China, as well as the Chinese University of Hong Kong and University of Hong Kong.There are three Canadian institutions that qualify graduates again this year: McGill University, University of British Columbia and University of Toronto. Japan’s Kyoto University and University of Tokyo feature again, as do Singapore’s Nanyang Technological University (NTU) and National University of Singapore.There are just seven qualifying European universities this year: Germany’s Heidelberg University, Technical University of Munich and University of Munich (LMU Munich); Switzerland’s Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL Switzerland) and ETH Zurich (Swiss Federal Institute of Technology); Sweden’s Karolinska Institute and France’s Paris Sciences et Lettres – PSL Research University.The University of Melbourne is the only Australian university on the list this year, indeed it is the only qualifying institution in the Southern hemisphere. Yet again, there are no universities qualifying from the global south, Africa or South America, a common criticism and a reflection of the rankings in university guides which favour universities with the most resources.The list of eligible higher education institutions is published by the Home Office every November. It comprises the non-UK universities ranked in the top 50 by at least two of the Times Higher Education World University Rankings, Quacquarelli Symonds World University Rankings or The Academic Ranking of World Universities.NB: international students successfully graduating at qualifying UK universities can apply for the Graduate visa – which lasts two years after graduation (three for doctorates).

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Who can apply for an HPI visa?

HPI applicants must have been awarded their qualification in the past five years from a university that was in the qualifying list that year. The date of award will normally appear on the diploma/certificate itself.You can check the list of High Potential Individual visa eligible universities for the date you were awarded your qualification here:

Your qualification must have been verified by Ecctis which provides official global qualification recognition services to the UK Government and there is an English language requirement of at least level B1. Applicants must be able to show cash funds of at least £1,270 on the date of the application and these funds must have been held for a 28-day period prior to the date of the application. Additional funds are required for dependants.

Which family members can join High Potential Individuals and can they settle?

A husband, wife, civil partner, or unmarried partner may accompany a High Potential Individual, as can children under 18 on the date of application. Partners must be in a genuine and subsisting relationship of two years or over. Like most immigration categories, dependants can also apply to switch into another UK immigration category if they qualify for it.It should be noted that a HPI visa does not lead to settlement in the UK, though it does allow switching to another immigration route that may lead to settlement in the UK. At any point before it expires, people on the High Potential Individual visa may switch into other permitted work visas leading to settlement, such as Skilled Worker, Scale up or Global Talent visas.More details on how to apply for the HPI visa.

Vanessa Ganguin is the Managing Partner of Vanessa Ganguin Immigration Law.

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