The conditions of the high potential individual visa allow a stay of two or three years in the UK for graduates holding a master’s degree or a PhD, respectively.
The UK government’s announcement of a new work visa option aimed at attracting top graduates has elicited some backlash because the list of eligible institutions features no universities from Africa, Latin America or South Asia.
Applicants need to have financial resources to acquire the visa and to sustain themselves while searching for employment. The high potential individual visa doesn’t pertain to international students who are already registered at universities in the UK. Each of these universities appeared in at least two of the following ranking systems: the Times Higher Education world university rankings, the Academic Ranking of World Universities and the Quacquarelli Symonds world university rankings.
What does this tell us about inequality in higher education? Attending the highly ranked eligible institutions requires the means to pay for fees, accommodation and living costs. For example, almost all the US institutions on the list are private colleges that charge high fees. Many high-performing students from the global South can’t afford to attend. Many brilliant students will, therefore, never be eligible to access the high potential individual visa.
Should something change? Countries are entitled to make their own decisions. But some countries are making short-term populist decisions, rather than longer term strategic decisions for the benefit of their own citizens and the world. The call from Rishi Sunak, the UK’s Chancellor of the Exchequer, for students to “take advantage of this incredible opportunity to forge their careers here” is hardly realistic. A visa of this duration is simply not long enough to genuinely forge a career beyond an initial experience.
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