India offers visas for U.K graduates under YPS scheme

The Indian High Commission in London opened its visa application process for U.K nationals to enroll under the new Young Professionals Scheme (YPS) on February 28. According to the scheme, an Indian or British citizen aged under 18-30 can apply to live and work in either country for a period of two years.

The Indian High Commission in London opened its visa application process for U.K nationals to apply for the new Young Professionals Scheme (YPS) on February 28. The move has been made to coincide with the ballot opened by the British High Commission in New Delhi for Indian graduates.

The move is in line with the reciprocal scheme signed off by Prime Minister Narendra Modi and U.K Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, at the G20 summit in Indonesia last November. According to the scheme, an Indian or British citizen aged under 18-30 can apply to live and work in either country for a period of two years. However, there is a certain set criteria for applicants applying for a visa under the scheme like a graduate degree and sufficient funds to support their stay.

Indian High Commissioner to the U.K Vikram Doraiswami announced the scheme on his official twitter handle stating, “Under the Young Professionals Scheme, announced about a month ago, young citizens of India and the U.K can visit each other for up to two years at a time”.

The Indian High Commission’s website has been updated with details for applicants at a fee set at 720 pounds. The application is to be made under the E-1 Visa through the VFS Global visa service provider, indicating the purpose as “application under the India-U.K YPS programme”. According to the guidelines, each applicant is required to show funds equivalent to INR 2,50,000 held for a minimum period of 30 days.