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High Potential Individual visa: cost and length

The High Potential Individual (HPI) visa is an unsponsored UK route for recent graduates of universities on the Home Office global list. It costs £880 plus £252 for the Ecctis qualification check and the healthcare surcharge, lasts 2 years (3 for a PhD), cannot be extended and does not lead to settlement. It is capped at 8,000 applications a year.

The High Potential Individual visa, usually shortened to HPI, is for people who have recently graduated from a university outside the UK that appears on the Home Office's Global Universities List. It is unsponsored: there is no job offer and no employer. It lets the holder live in the UK, look for work, work in most jobs and be self-employed, for two years, or three if the qualifying degree is a doctorate.

The route has features that catch people out. It is capped at 8,000 applications each year. It cannot be extended. The time spent on it does not count towards settlement. The university must be on the list for the period in which the degree was awarded, and the degree must have been awarded within the five years before the application. This guide sets out what the rules say, what the visa costs as at 10 October 2026, how the money test works, how dependants are treated and what the holder can and cannot do. It describes the rules and does not say whether any person qualifies.

Figures come from GOV.UK's HPI pages, the Home Office fee table dated 8 October 2026 and Appendix High Potential Individual. Check the current figure on GOV.UK before you pay.

What the route is for, and what it is not

Appendix High Potential Individual describes the route as being for recent graduates of highly ranked global universities who want to work, or look for work, in the UK after completing a course equivalent to a UK bachelor's degree or above, with an institution on the Global Universities List. It states that the route is unsponsored, is capped at a maximum of 8,000 applications a year, and is not a route to settlement.

What that means for a reader weighing it up:

  • No job offer is needed. GOV.UK says so directly.
  • No extension. GOV.UK says you cannot extend an HPI visa. You may be able to switch to a different visa, for example Skilled Worker, before the HPI visa expires.
  • No settlement. Time on an HPI visa does not count as time in the UK if you later apply to settle.
  • One use only. You can only apply for an HPI visa once. You cannot apply if you have already been given a Graduate visa, or came to the UK under the Doctorate Extension Scheme. Rule HPI 1.6 also stops anyone who previously had permission under the Student Doctorate Extension Scheme, as a Graduate or as a High Potential Individual.
  • UK universities are not eligible. GOV.UK says that if you are already in the UK on a student visa you may be able to apply for a Graduate visa instead. The Graduate visa is covered in a separate guide.

What it costs

GOV.UK's costs page lists four things an applicant needs money for:

  • £252 to Ecctis to check that the qualification is valid (this includes VAT);
  • £880 application fee, the figure in the Home Office fee table of 8 October 2026 for the HPI route for the main applicant and dependants, whether applying from outside or inside the UK;
  • the immigration health surcharge, usually £1,035 for each year, so £2,070 for a 2-year visa and £3,105 for a 3-year visa;
  • personal savings of at least £1,270 held for the period described below (this is money you must show, not a fee).

Worked examples using only those published amounts:

  • One applicant, bachelor's or master's degree, 2-year visa: £252 + £880 + £2,070 = £3,202.
  • One applicant, doctorate, 3-year visa: £252 + £880 + £3,105 = £4,237.
  • A dependent adult partner on a 2-year visa pays the £880 fee and a £2,070 surcharge: £2,950. A child under 18 pays the £880 fee and £1,552 for the 2-year surcharge, or £2,328 for the 3-year surcharge.

If the applicant has already been assessed by Ecctis, GOV.UK says there is no need to reapply and the earlier certificate can be used. Ecctis checks the qualification and its level, not whether the university is eligible. GOV.UK says that if you get a job in public sector healthcare after paying the surcharge you may be able to get a refund. Biometrics carry no fee.

The surcharge is paid in full when applying, for the whole length of the visa requested.

The university and the qualification

Rules HPI 5.1 to HPI 5.4 award 50 of the 70 required points for the degree requirement. The applicant must, within the 5 years immediately before the date of application, have been awarded an overseas degree-level qualification that the qualification and language assessments provider confirms meets or exceeds the recognised standard of a UK bachelor's or postgraduate degree. The institution must appear on the Global Universities List in respect of the date the applicant was awarded the degree. The award date is the date confirmed by the assessment provider.

GOV.UK explains that the list is based on rankings of universities from around the world and is published by period. The eligibility page links a list for each awards period running from 1 November to 31 October, for degrees awarded from 1 November 2020 to 31 October 2026. The separate list page carries lists labelled by year. Rule HPI 5.2 ties eligibility to the list in respect of the date of award, so the list for your award period is the one to check.

The qualification must be at the same level as a UK bachelor's degree, a UK postgraduate degree, or a UK PhD or doctorate. Applicants pay Ecctis to confirm validity and level before applying. The Ecctis unique person identifier number, or certificate, is a required document. If you are switching from another visa, evidence of your status (a share code if you have an eVisa, or a biometric residence permit, which GOV.UK says can be used for 24 months after its printed expiry date or until 31 December 2026, whichever comes first) is also needed.

English language

Rule HPI 4.1 awards 10 points for English at B2 on the Common European Framework of Reference scale in all four components: reading, writing, speaking and listening. GOV.UK says you can usually prove it in one of these ways:

  • a UK school qualification you began under 18 (a GCSE, A Level, Scottish National Qualification level 4 or 5, or Scottish Higher or Advanced Higher in English);
  • a degree-level qualification taught in English and awarded by a UK institution, even if you studied outside the UK;
  • a degree from an institution outside the UK that was taught in English, with an Ecctis assessment and code confirming it is equivalent to a UK bachelor's degree or higher and was taught in English;
  • passing a Secure English Language Test with an approved provider, at B2 or above.

GOV.UK also lists nationals who do not need to prove English: Antigua and Barbuda, Australia, the Bahamas, Barbados, Belize, the British overseas territories, Canada, Dominica, Grenada, Guyana, Jamaica, Malta, New Zealand, St Kitts and Nevis, St Lucia, St Vincent and the Grenadines, Trinidad and Tobago, and the USA. If you proved English in an earlier successful visa application you may not have to prove it again. The detailed rules, including which test results count, sit in Appendix English Language, so check it for your own evidence.

The money test

Rules HPI 7.1 to HPI 7.4 award the last 10 points for the financial requirement.

  • Amount: at least £1,270 for an applicant applying for entry clearance, or applying for permission to stay having been in the UK for less than 12 months at the date of application.
  • How long: the funds must have been held for a 28-day period. GOV.UK adds that day 28 must be within 31 days of the application date. Appendix Finance sets out which accounts and documents are accepted, and GOV.UK says the guidance on financial evidence has more.
  • Exemption: an applicant who has been in the UK with permission for 12 months or longer on the date of an in-UK application meets the requirement and does not need to show funds.
  • Dependants' funds: held in addition to the main applicant's, at least £285 for a partner, £315 for the first child and £200 for each additional child (HPI 17.3). For example, an applicant bringing a partner and one child needs £1,270 + £285 + £315 = £1,870 in total, held for 28 days. Funds may be held by the applicant, the main applicant, or (for a child) a parent who is lawfully in the UK or being granted entry clearance. Dependants already in the UK for 12 months or more need not show funds.

Those figures are minimums set by the rules. They do not include the fees or the surcharge, which are paid separately through the online application.

The yearly limit of 8,000

The allocation year for the route runs from 1 November to 31 October. Rule HPI 1.6A says the number of applications, both for entry clearance and for permission to stay, must not have exceeded 8,000, the annual total allocation. GOV.UK says that if the limit has been reached you will be told when you apply online.

Two points follow from the wording of the rule rather than from any forecast. First, the limit counts applications from outside and inside the UK together, so in-country switchers share it with people applying from abroad. Second, because the validity requirement in the rules is that the limit must not have been exceeded, an application that falls outside the allocation may be rejected as invalid and not considered (rule HPI 1.7 allows rejection of an application that does not meet the validity requirements). GOV.UK says that, if the limit has been reached, you will be told when you apply online.

Applying, and how long it takes

Both routes of application are online.

  • From outside the UK: the earliest you can apply is 3 months before you travel. You prove your identity with the UK Immigration: ID Check app or at a visa application centre, and you may need an appointment. You provide a passport, proof of English, the Ecctis reference or certificate, and, depending on circumstances, bank statements, proof of relationship for a partner or child, and tuberculosis test results if you are from a listed country. Once you have applied, proved identity and provided documents, GOV.UK says the decision is usually made within 3 weeks. Documents not in English or Welsh need a certified translation.
  • From inside the UK (switching): you must apply before your current visa expires and must not travel outside the UK, Ireland, the Channel Islands or the Isle of Man until you get a decision, or the application is withdrawn. GOV.UK gives usual decisions within 8 weeks.

Rule HPI 1.5ZA bars a switch if your last permission was as a Visitor, Short-term Student, Parent of a Child Student, Seasonal Worker, Domestic Worker in a Private Household, or outside the Immigration Rules. Students can switch only after completing their course, or after at least 24 months of a full-time PhD with a compliant provider (HPI 1.5A). GOV.UK also says you cannot switch to the HPI visa if you are on a Graduate visa.

You must be 18 or over. If in the last 12 months you received an award from a government or international scholarship agency that covers both fees and living costs for study in the UK, you need written consent to the application from that agency (HPI 1.4).

What the visa allows

GOV.UK says that with an HPI visa you can work in most jobs, look for work, be self-employed, do voluntary work, live in the UK with eligible dependants, and travel abroad and return. Rule HPI 9.2 sets the conditions: no access to public funds; work (including self-employment and voluntary work) is permitted apart from work as a professional sportsperson (including as a sports coach); and study is permitted except with an education provider that is a Student sponsor, where the course would meet the approved qualification and level of study requirements of the Student route. Study or research is subject to the Academic Technology Approval Scheme condition. GOV.UK summarises this as: you can only study if your chosen course is not eligible for a Student visa.

Period of grant (HPI 9.1): 3 years if the qualification relied on is a PhD or other doctoral-level qualification, and 2 years for all other degrees. A partner's permission ends on the same date as the main applicant's, and a child's ends on the same date as their parents' permission.

Because the visa cannot be extended and is not a route to settlement, many holders consider what comes next from the start of the visa. A switch to another route, for example Skilled Worker, must be made before the HPI permission expires, and each route has its own requirements. The guides on Skilled Worker salary and the Graduate visa cover those requirements.

Partners and children

Partners and children can apply as dependants. A partner can show a marriage or civil partnership recognised in the UK, two years living together in a relationship, or two years in a relationship where living together is not possible, with evidence of an ongoing commitment. A child must live with the main applicant unless away in full-time education and must not be married or in a civil partnership. Each family member makes a separate application and pays the fee and surcharge, quoting the main applicant's application number. For switchers, children who have turned 18 during the stay are included in the switching rules.

The same statuses that block a main applicant from switching also block a dependant (visit visa, short-term student, Parent of a Child Student, seasonal worker, domestic worker in a private household, immigration bail, or permission outside the Immigration Rules). Children born in the UK do not automatically become British citizens, and GOV.UK says you must apply for their dependant visa if you want to travel in and out of the UK with them.

When people use a regulated adviser

The route itself is mostly a documentary application: the university list, the Ecctis assessment, the English evidence and the funds. Where people pay for regulated help it is usually to check how the list applies to a degree awarded near a period boundary, to check an unusual set of qualifications, or to plan how an HPI visa fits with a later switch. Only IAA-registered advisers, solicitors and a few other regulated persons may lawfully give immigration advice in the UK. See the guides on checking an adviser is registered and on questions to ask before paying.

The Migratio directory lists IAA-registered advisers (with their level) and SRA-regulated solicitors, each with their regulator and registration number. Migratio is not regulated by the IAA or the SRA and does not give immigration advice. This page explains how the rules work; it does not tell you what to do in your case.

Questions people ask

How much does the High Potential Individual visa cost?

£880 for each applicant, £252 to Ecctis for the qualification check (including VAT), and the healthcare surcharge, usually £1,035 per year for adults (£2,070 for 2 years, £3,105 for 3 years). You must also hold at least £1,270 in savings unless you are exempt.

How long is an HPI visa?

2 years, or 3 years if the qualification relied on is a PhD or other doctoral-level qualification (rule HPI 9.1). It cannot be extended.

Can I apply for settlement with an HPI visa?

No. Appendix High Potential Individual states that the route is not a route to settlement, and GOV.UK says time on the visa does not count if you apply to settle later. You may be able to switch to a different visa before it expires.

Is there a limit on HPI visas?

Yes. The route is capped at 8,000 applications a year, counted from 1 November to 31 October (rule HPI 1.6A). GOV.UK says you will be told when you apply online if the limit has been reached.

Do I need a job offer for the HPI visa?

No. GOV.UK says you do not need a job offer. You need a qualifying degree from a university on the Global Universities List, English at B2, and the funds.

Can I apply for an HPI visa more than once?

No. GOV.UK says you can only apply once, and you cannot apply if you have already been given a Graduate visa.

Sources

Last checked 2026-10-10.

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