UK India Young Professionals Scheme 2024: Ballot opens at 2.30 pm today; 3,000 visas up for grabs

NEW DELHI: The United Kingdom will open the India Young Professionals Scheme today for Indian citizens aged between 18 and 30 years to live and work in the UK for a span of two years. The UK government will offer 3,000 visas to eligible Indian youths.

The selection for the UK Youth Mobility Visa is done through a ballot system. The ballot for the Youth Professionals scheme for Indians will open at 2.30 pm India Standard Time (IST) on February 20 and will close at 2.30 pm on February 22.

Applicants will have to enter their name, date of birth, passport details, a scan or photo of your passport, phone number, email address. The successful entries will be picked at random and will be intimated about the results by email within 2 weeks of the ballot closing.

Most of the 3,000 places available under the scheme will be filled in the February ballot. The ballot selection process for the remaining places will be done in the July ballot. However, candidates can only submit one entry per person for each ballot. 2,400 visas were made available to eligible Indians in the first ballot last year.

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UK Young Professionals Scheme: Eligibility

It’s free to enter the ballot. However, they will have to pay for the visa, which costs GBP 298 or Rs 26,632.86. “You should only enter if you plan to apply for the visa, which costs £298, and are able to meet the financial, educational and other requirements,” it said. Candidates should make sure that they meet the eligibility criteria before applying for the 2-year work visa.

• Should be an Indian national or citizen between 18 and 30 years old
• Applicants should be at least 18 years old on the date they plan to travel to the UK
• Should have completed a bachelor’s degree or above
• Should have GBP 2,530 or Rs 2,64,319 in savings to support self in the UK
• Should not have any children under the age of 18 who live with you or who you’re financially responsible for.

It’s important to note that the candidates should first apply to be selected in the scheme before proceeding to apply for a visa. Those who have already been in the UK under this scheme to Youth Mobility visa scheme will not be considered eligible.