With the upcoming changes within business immigration (please read our article here), the Home Office issued a new Appendix 5 (Temporary Worker) Youth Mobility Scheme. The new Immigration Rules governing this category came into effect on 1^st January 2022.

The Youth Mobility Scheme is available to persons aged 18 to 30 from participating countries and territories, enabling them to come to the UK on a cultural exchange programme and to experience life in the UK for up to two years. Applicants can only come to the UK through this route once. The new Youth Mobility Scheme requirements are very similar to those that are currently in place:

• Those seeking to come to the UK through this route must apply for entry clearance before their arrival and the application must be made from outside the UK.
• During the application process, the applicants must establish their identity and nationality by providing a passport, pay any application fee (currently £244) and Immigration Health Charge (£1,248), and provide required biometric information.
• Nationals of Australia, Canada, Monaco, New Zealand, Hong Kong, Japan, South Korea, Taiwan, citizens of British Overseas, British Overseas Territories or British National (Overseas) have Deemed Sponsorship Status.
• Nationals of San Marino, Iceland, and India must be sponsored by a Tier 5 Sponsor.
• An applicant may need to provide a tuberculosis certificate, depending on their country of residence or where they have resided in the six months prior to their application.
• Applicants must have funds of £2,350 held for a 28-day period as specified in the Finance Appendix.
• Applicants with any children aged under 18 who are either living with them or financially dependent upon them are not eligible to apply in this category.

The Home Office’s ballot

Nationals of Japan, Taiwan, Hong Kong, the Republic of Korea and India, require applicants to use the Home Office’s ballot process, which allows the Home Office to select at random who will be invited to apply for entry clearance from the pool.

Additional requirements for applicants from India

An additional requirement for Indian citizens is being introduced, whereby the applicants are expected to meet one of two conditions:

1. Education: an applicant must hold a qualification equal to or above RQF level 6, and provide a letter from the issuing institution; or
2. Work experience: an applicant must have a minimum of three years’ work experience in a professional role equivalent to an eligible occupation listed in Appendix Skilled Occupations.

Family Members

Applicants cannot bring their dependants.

Settlement/Indefinite Leave to Remain

The Youth Mobility Scheme is not a route to settlement (unless time spent within the UK on the Youth Mobility Scheme can count towards 10 years of continuous lawful residence for settlement).

There is no right of appeal if the application is refused. A refusal can be challenged by way of Administrative Review, however, legal advice should be sought before making the application in order to ensure the applicants meet all the requirements. The Home Office will consider personal history and immigration history, therefore if you have been previously refused or there are other personal or immigration issues which could affect your new application, with their extensive experience in assisting clients with complex immigration history, Robert Sookias and Jarmila Entezari will be happy to assist.