India to UK Visa Opportunities – Visa News
Good news if you are looking to move to the UK from India on a work visa or vice versa. The new visa opportunity will open to applicants in early 2023. In this blog, our immigration solicitors look at the new India to UK visa option.
UK Online and London-Based Immigration Solicitors
For advice on immigration law call the expert London immigration lawyers at OTS Solicitors on 0203 959 9123 or contact us online.
The new India to UK visa
The prime minister announced the news of the new UK and India reciprocal visa whilst attending the G20 summit in Indonesia. Rishi Sunak said that he was ‘pleased that even more of India’s brightest young people will now have the opportunity to experience all that life in the UK has to offer – and vice-versa – making our economies and societies richer.'
The UK completed the reciprocal migration agreement shortly prior to Rishi Sunak's first meeting as prime minister with the Indian prime minister Narendra Modi. Reports say the migration deal may have been a precursor to a UK and Indian post-Brexit trade deal.
The visa cap
There will be a cap on the visas available under the UK – India deal. The cap is £3,000 per year for Indian nationals travelling to the UK and for UK nationals applying to enter India on the visa.
The visa length
The visa length is 2 years and it is not intended that the visa will lead to UK settlement but it does give educated Indian nationals and UK nationals to spend time in one another’s countries to gain life and work experience.
The visa eligibility criteria
To secure a visa under the new scheme you need to be:
- Aged between 18 to 30
- Educated to degree level
Work opportunities
The new visa will enable visa holders to work in the UK without needing a sponsoring employer who holds a sponsor licence.
Alternate visa options
If you are an Indian national looking to move to the UK you have several visa options including:
- A student visa if you are an international student who is studying in the UK
- A spouse visa if you are married to a British citizen or to a person with settled status in the UK
- A skilled worker visa if you have an offer of an eligible job and you meet the minimum skill criteria and the job is offering pay of at least the minimum salary threshold for a skilled worker visa and the UK employer holds a sponsor licence to sponsor the employment of skilled worker visa applicants
- A graduate visa if you are an international student who has graduated after studying in the UK. If you meet the eligibility criteria for a graduate visa you do not need to have a job offer before you can apply for a visa and the work you do can be any type of job – you are not restricted to jobs with a standard occupational classification code that are sponsored and pay a salary at a level that meets the skilled worker visa eligibility criteria. However, graduate visa applicants must have studied and graduated in the UK whereas the new visa does not have this requirement
- A senior or specialist worker visa if you are an employee of a company based in India and your employer wants to transfer your employment to its UK company and you meet the eligibility criteria for sponsoring employment under the senior or specialist worker visa
- A start-up visa if you are an entrepreneur who has an innovative, scalable, and viable business idea and wants to set up a business in the UK
- A global talent visa if you have exceptional talent or promise
How can OTS Solicitors help
The specialist immigration solicitors can advise you on the new India to UK visa option and help you work out which visa option best meets your circumstances. For example, if you are a graduate will a skill that is in short supply in the UK with plenty of opportunities to get sponsored employment in the UK on a skilled worker visa you may prefer to apply for this type of work visa. Whilst the visa is a lot less flexible than some other types of visa time spent on the skilled worker visa leads to UK settlement. If you enter the UK on a skilled worker visa then after 5 years in the UK you can apply for indefinite leave to remain to stay in the UK on an indefinite basis provided you meet the residence requirement.
UK Online and London-Based Immigration Solicitors
For advice on immigration law call the immigration lawyers at OTS Solicitors on 0203 959 9123 or contact us online.
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