The cap, which is currently set to 8,000 applications per year, will be increased as the government expands eligibility for the High Potential Individual (HPI) visa under plans announced in last week’s Budget.
The HPI visa, which was introduced in 2022, allows graduates from a list of eligible global universities to stay in the UK for two years, or three years if they are a PhD student. No job offer or sponsor is needed to qualify.
Under the plans, the HPI visa will be expanded to graduates of the world’s top 150 institutions, up from 80 currently.
It is unclear at the moment which new institutions will be added to the Global Universities List (GUL), which consists of non-UK universities which are ranked within the top 100 of at least two of the following ranking systems: Times Higher Education World University Rankings, Quacquarelli Symonds World University Rankings and the Academic Ranking of World Universities.
The current list features universities such as Stanford University, the University of Sydney and the University of Hong Kong.
A Home Office spokesperson said: “The High Potential Individual visa supports our immigration white paper commitment to allow more top international talent to use our immigration system.”
The High Potential Individual visa supports our immigration white paper commitment to allow more top international talent to use our immigration system.
UK Home Office spokesperson
“Further details on how we will enhance our pool of world-leading talent and support the growth the country needs will be set out in due course.” they added.
Speaking to The PIE News, Russell Hodges, manager (solicitor) at immigration firm Fragomen, said the continued expansion is “welcome news” for graduates looking to come to the UK and that a higher cap should “attract a wider talent pool.”
“When the scheme was first introduced, eligible universities were dominated from those located in certain regions – such as the US – and was considered more restrictive in nature.”
Hodges added the HPI scheme “serves as a useful trial period to determine whether long-term investment into working graduates is desirable,” as UK companies manage rising sponsorship costs and higher skill and salary thresholds.
“Retaining a relatively flexible mechanism to attract talented graduates from leading global universities remains a lucrative avenue into the UK labour market, despite tighter controls existing elsewhere across the UK immigration landscape.”
Nick Hillman, CEO of the Higher Education Policy Institute (HEPI), said that while the expansion will benefit those that meet the criteria, he had wider concerns about the UK’s international education policy.
“[The expansion of the HPI visa] does nothing to hide from the catastrophic decline in the overall number of international visas currently underway… nor does it tackle the continued under-funding and new restrictions being imposed on higher education institutions.”
The HPI visa expansion comes amid wider changes to post-study visas announced in the 2026 Budget. The government said the graduate visa will be extended to two years for international graduates of “high-compliance universities” with strong labour market outcomes, while other graduates will be entitled to stay for 18 months. Further details on which institutions will qualify for the longer period have yet to be announced.
