Applications invited for special UK visa route

The UK-India Young Professionals Scheme (YPS) 2025 ballot will open next week. This bespoke visa scheme offers Brits and Indians the unique opportunity to live, study, travel, and work in the other country for up to two years.

Indian nationals aged 18 to 30 must enter the ballot on gov.uk to be considered for one of the 3,000 spots available under the scheme. The ballot is scheduled to open on 18 February and close on 20 February. Applicants do not need to pay to enter the ballot, and successful entries will be picked at random.

Applicants must be at least 18 years old on the date they plan to travel to the UK. They must also have a qualification at UK bachelor’s degree level or above and have proof of £2,530 in savings to support themselves in the UK. Applicants should ensure they meet all eligibility requirements before entering the ballot.

Lindy Cameron, British High Commissioner to India, said:

The Young Professionals Scheme is an excellent programme which helps build a modern understanding of our countries among Brits and Indians alike. I strongly encourage people from all corners of the country to apply – from Itanagar to Coimbatore, from Leh to Surat, and from Bhubaneshwar to Indore.

Further information

• launched in February 2023, the UK-India Young Professionals Scheme (YPS) is a bespoke, reciprocal scheme under which UK and Indian nationals who are aged 18 to 30 can live, study, travel and work in the other country for up two years. The opening of the ballot will be announced on GOV.UK. See eligibility conditions for entering the YPS ballot

• the YPS ballot for Indian nationals wanting to travel to the UK is free to enter. Those selected from the ballot will be notified via email within two weeks of the ballot closing and will be invited to apply for the visa. They will then have 90 days from the date of the email informing them of their success in the ballot to make an application to the UK Home Office via the online application form, provide their biometrics and pay all associated fees, including the visa application fee and immigration health surcharge

• selected applicants must mandatorily return to India after completing two years in the UK under this scheme

• there were over 2,100 YPS visas issued to Indian nationals in the year ending December 2023

• all UK visa customers should beware of visa agents or any such agencies that promise a visa under this scheme by paying money. See guidance on protecting yourself from any kind of visa and immigration fraud

• official guidance for Brits looking to travel to India under the scheme can be found on the website of the High Commission of India in London

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