High Potential Individual

High Potential Individual is a straightforward and unsponsored immigration route which permits applicants with an eligible degree qualification (minimum bachelors' level) from a non-UK ‘top global university’ to undertake full-time employment or self-employment in the UK, at any skill level, for:

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three years if they have been awarded a PhD or other eligible doctoral level qualification, or
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two years, for all other eligible degree qualifications

The route is set

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Latest Immigration News

Law Society extends funding for immigration and asylum solicitor accreditation

The Law Society of England and Wales has announced an extension of its funding contribution agreement with the Ministry of Justice to support immigration and asylum solicitor accreditation. The deal, originally introduced last year, will now run until 31 December 2025 and has been expanded to cover exam and application fees for casework assistants and trainee casework assistants, in addition to senior caseworkers. This initiative aims to alleviate financial burdens on immigration firms, with individual savings of up to £782.40 for initial accreditation and £482.40 for reaccreditation (for senior caseworkers). For casework assistants there will be a saving of £717.60 for accreditation, and for trainee casework assistants a saving of £277.20 The Law Society views this as a positive step towards addressing capacity issues in the sector and encouraging talent retention, following recent legal aid fee increases.

Fees to be increased again, and new airside transit ETA exemption

The Home Office has laid before Parliament the draft Immigration and Nationality (Fees) Order 2025, to amend the Immigration and Nationality (Fees) Order 2016, SI 2016/177. When approved, this will increase the maximum fees that can be charged for various listed immigration and nationality services. Once it comes into force, amendments will then be made to the Immigration and Nationality (Fees) Regulations 2018, SI 2018/330 to change the specific fees. The Explanatory Memorandum (EM) to the draft Order states that the fee raises are to reduce the reliance of the migration and borders system on taxpayer funding, and that there will be a wider package of changes implemented to the Fees Regulations 2018 in due course. In most cases, according to the EM, the anticipated fees will be at the relevant maximum amount. The proposed increases include the Electronic Travel Authorisation (ETA) fee rising from £10 to £16, the Certificate of Sponsorship (CoS) fee increasing from £239 to £525 (note that this is only for certain sponsored routes, others such as Temporary Worker will go from £25 to £55, according to the EM), the naturalisation as a British citizen fee rising from £1,500 to £1,605 and the naturalisation as a British overseas territories citizen fee rising from £1,000 to £1,070. See below for a table setting out all proposed increases.

the3million and ILPA issue joint letter to Home Office addressing difficulties linking passports and other documents to eVisas

the3million and the Immigration Law Practitioners' Association (ILPA) have jointly submitted a letter to the Home Office regarding ongoing difficulties in linking passports and other identity documents to electronic visas (eVisas). These issues, occurring amidst the expanded roll-out of the Electronic Travel Authorisation (ETA) scheme, include errors when adding documents, missing functionality, and problems with specific document types. In December 2024, the Home Office implemented a mitigating measure which permitted expired Biometric Residence Permits (BRPs) and Biometric Residence Cards (BRCs) to be accepted by carriers however, this will not assist those who are not, or are no longer, in possession of such an expired document. Difficulties with the ‘update your UK Visas and Immigration account details’ include:

Immigration weekly highlights—16 January 2025

Welcome to the 16 January 2025 highlights from the Immigration team, which provides links to key news stories from the last week, as well as a round-up of new and updated content in Immigration.