HPI visa UK: university list, cost and new rules

150 universities instead of 80: the UK Budget of October 28, 2026 nearly doubles the visa for graduates of the world's top institutions. No employer needed, but the visa has hard limits on time and numbers.

In detail

What did the October 28, 2026 Budget change?

Britain rarely hands out visas without an employer attached, and now it has nearly doubled one of them. In the Budget delivered on October 28, 2026, the government announced that the HPI visa will open to graduates of the world's top 150 institutions. The current list covers about 80.

HPI stands for High Potential Individual. The visa is granted on a single fact: a bachelor's, master's or doctoral degree from a university on the Home Office's official global list. No job offer, no sponsor, no minimum salary. The degree must have been awarded within the last 5 years.

The cap grows with the list. Right now the route accepts at most 8,000 applications a year, with the year running from November 1 to October 31. The government promised a proportional increase, which points to roughly 15,000, but the exact figure and start date will come with the Home Office's changes to the Immigration Rules. Most of the Budget's immigration package is pegged to spring 2027.

What else changes for foreigners in the UK?

HPI is one piece of a wider package. The government's own summary: tighten the system for low and medium-skill migration while improving the offer to international talent. Here is what else made it into the Budget:

• Graduate visa. It was due to shrink from two years to 18 months for everyone from January 2027. Two years will now stay for graduates of high-compliance universities (institutions whose students rarely breach visa rules) with strong labour market outcomes. The criteria and the list of qualifying universities have not been published yet.
• Skilled Worker visa. From spring 2027 occupation-specific salary floors drop from the median to the 25th percentile, the level earned by the lowest-paid quarter of workers in that job. The new-entrant discounts merge into one, and the PhD discount disappears. The full route is covered in our UK work visa guide.
• Six months to find a new job. From 2027 the highest-paid sponsored workers who lose their job will get up to 6 months to find a new sponsor instead of the standard 60 days.
• Tax for employers. The Immigration Skills Charge and Certificate of Sponsorship fees an employer pays for a worker no longer count as that worker's taxable benefit. The rule applies to payments made on or after October 28, 2026.
• Global Talent visa. More than 100 research-intensive businesses can already endorse scientists directly, and more will be added by spring 2027. How the route works is in our Global Talent visa guide.

For wealthy families the Budget also promised to make it easier to move to the UK with existing trusts and to review the balance of the residence-based tax regime. How UK tax residency works today is explained in UK tax residency.

Who is the HPI visa for?

HPI is the shortest route into Britain for a graduate of a strong university. It fits if you have:

• a degree from a university on the global list, awarded within the last 5 years;
• English at B2 level (proven by a test, a UK degree or a degree taught in English);
• £1,270 in your account for at least 28 consecutive days;
• a wish to test the job market, try a couple of employers or launch your own project without a sponsor.

You can work in almost any capacity: employed, self-employed or as a volunteer. Professional sport is the exception. A partner and children can come as dependants and also get the right to work.

How much does the HPI visa cost and how long does it take?

The fee is not what makes this visa expensive. The health surcharge is. Costs for one adult in 2026:

The health surcharge for a partner is the same; for a child it is £776 a year. Decisions on applications from abroad usually arrive within 3 weeks, and within 8 weeks inside the UK.

The catch: why HPI is not a path to settlement

Now the fine print. The HPI visa is granted once for 2 years (3 for PhD holders) and cannot be extended. Time on it does not count towards ILR (Indefinite Leave to Remain, the UK's permanent residence). You also cannot switch to HPI from a Graduate visa.

So HPI is best treated as a two-year audition. In that window you need an employer to sponsor a work visa, a dossier for Global Talent, or a business under the UK startup visa. Only then does the settlement clock start ticking, and that clock is getting longer: see our piece on the 10-year route to ILR, and the road to a passport on UK naturalisation.

One more caveat. The 8,000 cap has not been exhausted overnight so far, but a longer list means more competition. Apply early in the visa year, from November 1, rather than in the final weeks before October 31.

Which legal routes into the UK work right now?

Investors looking for a replacement for the closed Tier 1 visa should read our breakdown of the UK investor visa.

Not ready for Britain yet? Alternatives

If your degree is not on the list or the 5-year window has closed, the neighbours offer similar visas. Germany issues an opportunity card for job seekers: see Germany's Chancenkarte and the German work visa. France grants a multi-year Talent Passport. All routes for strong professionals are collected under talent visas, and if you are still choosing where to study, start with our study abroad guide.

Our UK visa services

We take applicants from the first degree check to the residence card, and then help them move from a temporary visa onto a route that leads to settlement.

We also handle the practical steps: a bank account, housing in London, Manchester or Edinburgh, and company registration for your own project. The big picture is on our United Kingdom page.

FAQ