The United Kingdom (UK), has revealed plans to issue visas that will now allow Nigerian degree holders to work in specific sectors in the UK, marking a positive move for the West African country.
The fields which Nigerian bachelor, master and doctorate degree holders will function include science, technology, innovation and entrepreneurship.
The new visa policy, according to the United Kingdom, will commence on May 30, even as it said applicatants must possess a degree that is equivalent to a first degree in the United Kingdom.
United Kingdom Minister of Safe and Legal Migration, Kevin Foster, while speaking about the new United Kingdom visa policy, said the High Potential Individual visa route aimed at high-skilled foreign university graduates.
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The graduates, Foster added, will be permitted to work and live in the UK for two or three years, saying that at the expiration of the visa, such category of persons will be able to request for permit using the skilled worker, start-up and innovator, exceptional talent, or scale-up route.
“The new High Potential Individual route will make it as simple as possible for internationally mobile individuals who demonstrate high potential to come to the UK. It will enable those who have already demonstrated their potential through academic achievement to come to the UK without a prior job offer.
“If you’ve been resident in the UK for more than 12 months, you might not need to meet this requirement. Graduates with a bachelor’s or a master’s degree will be given a two-year visa. Ph.D. or other doctoral-level graduates will get visas valid for three years. This visa can only be granted once and will not be available to those who have already had a Graduate visa,” Foster said.
While further saying that the list will be an annual list, the United Kingdom stated that only institutions included on the list of top 50 universities in at least two of Times Higher Education World University rankings, Quacquarelli Symonds World University rankings, and the Academic Ranking of the World Universities will be qualified.
