Comprehensive Guide to Youth Mobility Visa UK

youth mobility visa

The UK’s Youth Mobility visa allows eligible young individuals from specific countries to experience life in the UK for up to two years, or in some cases up to three years, depending on their nationality.

Compared with other UK work visas, the scheme offers a more flexible and accessible immigration route for younger workers, as it does not require the applicant to be sponsored, or to have a job, or to meet skills or salary thresholds to be eligible.

In this guide to the UK’s Youth Mobility visa, we outline the requirements needed to apply for the scheme, and what visa holders can do in the UK once entry clearance has been granted. We also look at how to apply, what documents are needed, how much it costs, how long it lasts, and the conditions you’ll need to comply with while in the UK.

Section A: What is the UK’s Youth Mobility Visa?

The UK’s Youth Mobility visa scheme is a cultural exchange programme open to workers from certain countries who are aged between 18 and 30, or 18 and 35, depending on their nationality.

Aimed at promoting international cultural exchange and providing opportunities for young people, this visa is available to applicants from eligible countries – Australia, New Zealand, Canada, the Republic of Korea, Hong Kong, Japan, India, Iceland, Monaco, Andorra, Uruguay, Taiwan, or San Marino – as well as British Overseas citizens, British Overseas Territories citizens and British National (Overseas).

To qualify, applicants must be able to show a minimum threshold of savings to support themselves and must not have any dependants accompanying them. The visa permits holders to engage in most types of work and employment and also allows for study opportunities.

Certain nationalities will need to enter a ballot before they can apply, due to high demand for the visa within their country.

Youth Mobility visa holders can live, work, and travel within the UK. In terms of work, visa holders can undertake most forms of paid or unpaid employment in the UK without sponsorship, except as a professional sportsperson or sports coach. Visa holders can also work on a self-employed basis, provided they don’t own any premises from which they carry out a business, except home, the total value of any equipment used isn’t worth more than £5,000 and they don’t employ anyone.

In addition to work, visa holders can undertake privately-funded studies, either on a full or part-time basis, although for some courses they may need to obtain an Academic Technology Approval Scheme (ATAS) certificate.

Youth Mobility visa holders will not be permitted to access public funds while in the UK, to support their studies or otherwise.

1. How Long You Can Stay

With the Youth Mobility visa, you can stay in the UK for up to 24 months. Nationals from Australia, Canada, and New Zealand also have the option to extend their visa for an extra year after the initial two-year period.

You may enter the UK at any point while your visa remains valid and can leave and return as often as you wish during this period. If you reach the age of 31 after your visa has been granted, you can still remain in the UK until your visa expires.

This route is not a path to settlement; you have to leave the UK before the end of your visa and you cannot apply again to come to the UK under this scheme.

2. Youth Mobility Scheme Quotas

The UK has country-based quotas in place for Youth Mobility visas, which means there is a limited number of visas available for citizens of each participating country each year. The quotas for 2024 are as follows:

Youth Mobility Visa Quota By Country 2024

Country Quota (Number of Places)
Australia 35,000
Canada 8,000
Japan 6,000
New Zealand 13,000
Hong Kong 1,000
Taiwan 1,000
South Korea 5,000
San Marino 1,000
Monaco 1,000
Iceland 1,000
Uruguay 500

Applicants from Taiwan and Hong Kong, where demand typically exceeds the available places, must participate in a ballot system before they can apply for the visa.

Section B: Youth Mobility Visa Requirements

The eligibility criteria for a Youth Mobility visa are set out under Appendix Youth Mobility Scheme of the UK’s Immigration Rules. A young person can apply for this type of visa if they’d like to come to the UK on a short-term basis and they satisfy the following requirements:

1. Nationality Requirement

The applicant must be either a British Overseas Citizen, a British Overseas Territories Citizen or a British National (Overseas) — or be from one of the following eligible countries or territories, including: Australia, New Zealand, Canada, Andorra, Monaco, San Marino, Iceland, Hong Kong (SAR passport), Japan, South Korea, Taiwan or Uruguay.

Applicants from Hong Kong (with a SAR passport) and Taiwan must first be selected in the Youth Mobility visa ballot before they can apply for a visa.

Individuals from India should look at the UK’s India Young Professional Scheme.

2. Age Requirement

An applicant must be aged 18 or over on the date their entry clearance will become valid, and aged 30 or under when they apply for their visa.

Under extended provisions, New Zealand, Canadian and Australian nationals aged between 18 to 35 can now come to the UK for up to three years under the scheme.

3. Maintenance Requirement

The applicant must have at least £2,530 in cash savings held in either a current or savings account to show that they can support themselves while in the UK. They’ll need to have had the money available in their account for at least 28 days in a row, where day 28 must be within 31 days of applying for the Youth Mobility visa.

4. Additional Eligibility Requirements

An applicant won’t qualify for a Youth Mobility visa if they have children under the age of 18 who live with them or are financially dependent on them, or they’ve already lived in the UK under the scheme.

An applicant can also be refused a visa under the general grounds for refusal, for example, if they’ve been convicted of a serious offence or previously breached UK immigration laws.

The UK Government allocates a set number of youth mobility visas for each country or territory on an annual basis. Any applications exceeding this annual allocation won’t qualify, regardless of whether the other criteria are met.

Section C: How to Apply for a Youth Mobility Visa

You have to be outside the UK to apply for the Youth Mobility visa. You will need to apply for entry clearance online using the specified form: “Temporary Work or Youth Mobility Scheme”. Anyone seeking to come to the UK under this route must have applied for and obtained entry clearance from UK Visas and Immigration (UKVI) before they arrive in the UK.

After you have completed the form and paid the visa application fee, you will be advised is you need to enrol your biometric information at an overseas visa application centre.

The earliest an application can be submitted for a Youth Mobility visa is 6 months prior to travel. A decision should then be made by UKVI within 3 weeks. It may be possible to pay for a faster decision using one of the priority services, provided these services are available in the country where your application is made. If you application is successful, you will have 90 days to enter the UK.

1. Youth Mobility Visa Ballot

Applicants from Taiwan and those from Hong Kong with an SAR passport have to enter the Youth Mobility ballot to have a chance to apply for the visa.

The ballot is used because the number of applicants from these countries exceeds the annual quota, and this selection process is used to ensure a fair distribution of the visa slots available to young people from countries with high demand.

The ballot for the Youth Mobility Visa typically opens twice a year, in January and July. During these periods, applicants can submit their expressions of interest online. The ballot is open for a limited time, usually 48 hours, during which all entries are collected. After the ballot closes, a random selection process takes place to choose successful applicants. The ballot results are final, and there is no appeals process. The selection is random, and all eligible applicants have an equal chance of being chosen.

To enter the ballot, you need to visit the official UK government website during the open ballot period. You will be required to provide basic personal information and confirm your eligibility. Ensure you have all necessary documents ready, as you may need to provide details such as your passport number and proof of funds.

Once you have submitted your expression of interest, you will receive a confirmation email. It is crucial to keep this email for your records, as it will contain your unique reference number.

The results of the ballot are typically announced a few weeks after the closing date. Successful applicants will receive an email with instructions on how to proceed with their visa application. If you are selected, you will be given a specific timeframe within which you must submit your full visa application. It is important to adhere to this deadline, as failure to do so will result in losing your place.

If you are not selected in the ballot, you can enter the next ballot when it opens, provided you remain eligible. You could also take advice on alternative visas for the UK.

2. Youth mobility Visa Supporting Documents

As part of the youth mobility visa application process, an applicant will need to provide a number of documents, including:

Document Description
Valid Passport Must be valid for the duration of your stay in the UK
Proof of Funds Bank statements showing at least £2,530
Biometric Information Fingerprints and photograph
ATAS Certificate (if needed) Required for certain study courses

How you prove your identity will depend on where they’re from and what type of passport they hold. They’ll either have their photograph and fingerprints taken at a visa application centre to obtain a biometric residence permit, or be able to use the ‘UK Immigration: ID Check’ app to scan their identity document.

The applicant may need to provide additional documents depending on their circumstances, for example, Indian citizens will need to provide documentary evidence to satisfy an extra eligibility requirement: either that they hold a qualification of at least RQF level 6, or they have at least 3 years’ work experience within a professional role equivalent to an eligible occupation listed in Appendix Skilled Occupations under the rules.

Further, if the applicant is a national or a citizen of a country, or had a passport issued by a territory, that doesn’t have ‘Deemed Sponsorship Status’ (DSS), they must provide evidence of sponsorship that’s been issued to them no more than 6 months before the date of application. For example, Australia, Canada, Monaco, New Zealand, Hong Kong, Japan, South Korea and Taiwan have DSS, while San Marino, and Iceland do not.

Section D: Application Fees & Timeline

1. Youth Mobility Visa Costs

The cost of applying for a youth mobility visa is £298. There will be an additional cost if using one of the priority services to get a faster decision — of either £500 for the priority service (for a decision within 5 working days from an applicant enrolling their biometric information) or £100 for the super priority service (for a decision within 24 hours).

The youth mobility visa applicant will also be liable to pay a fee to enrol their biometric information and the Immigration Health Surcharge (IHS) as part of their application, at the discounted rate. This will need to be paid upfront, but will then allow the successful visa holder to access the NHS in the UK for the duration of their stay.

Fee Type Amount
Application Fee £298
Immigration Health Surcharge £776 per year for Youth Mobility
Biometric Information Fee £19.20

2. Timeline

The earliest you can apply for a Youth Mobility visa is 6 months before you travel. To help with planning, the following table sets out the outline timings to expect through the application process:

Step Description Estimated Time
Prepare Documents Gather all required documents 1-2 weeks
Submit Online Application Complete and submit the application form 1 day
Attend Biometric Appointment Provide fingerprints and photograph 1-2 weeks
Wait for Decision Application processing 3 weeks
Travel to UK Move to the UK once visa is approved Varies

Section E: Restrictions & Conditions

While the Youth Mobility visa offers an appealing route for qualifying nationals, visa holders are subject to a number of restrictions and conditions, which must be complied with while in the UK.

1. Youth Mobility Visa Permissible Activities

Youth Mobility visa holders enjoy a range of permissible activities during their stay in the UK. They are allowed to work in most jobs without restrictions on the type or sector, and they can pursue self-employment, provided they do not own premises, have more than £5,000 invested in their business, or employ others. They can also engage in voluntary work without any restriction.

Studying is also a permissible activity for Youth Mobility visa holders. They can enrol in courses of study, both full-time and part-time, at various educational institutions across the UK. However, for certain subjects, they may need to obtain an Academic Technology Approval Scheme (ATAS) certificate.

The visa also permits holders to travel freely in and out of the UK while it remains valid.

Despite these opportunities, there are specific prohibitions that Youth Mobility Visa holders must adhere to. They cannot work as a professional sportsperson or coach, which includes any paid roles in playing or coaching sports. Working as a doctor or dentist in training is also not allowed unless they have a primary medical degree from a UK institution that is a recognised or listed body or an institution approved by the UK Health and Care Professional Council.

The visa does not permit holders to bring family members or dependants to the UK, and they generally cannot switch to another visa category from within the UK; any application for a different type of visa must be made from outside the country. Accessing public funds is also prohibited, so visa holders cannot receive most welfare benefits or social housing.