Tier 5 (youth mobility scheme) visa
The Tier 5 visa replaced the Working Holidaymaker Visa. In order to qualify for a Tier 5 visa you must accrue 50 points under the UK Home Office’s points-based system – 40 for attributes and 10 points for maintenance.
- You are granted leave to stay in the UK for up to a maximum of 2 years and may work in the Uk during this time.
- You may not start a business, work as a Doctor in training or play professional sports through the Tier 5 visa.
- Once your two years is up, you must return to your home country and you may apply for a Tier 1 or Tier 2 visa from there.
- South Africans are ineligible as South Africa does not have a similar programme.
- You may not apply if you have dependent children.
- You must accrue 50 points to be eligible.
How to accrue your 50 points
Age {10 Points}
You will earn 10 points if you are aged between 16 and 30.
Sponsorship {30 points}
You can qualify for these 30 points by a) being a national of a country listed on the Deemed Sponsorship status list or b) being a national of a country that meets the qualifying criteria for the Youth Mobility Scheme if you have been issued a certificate of sponsorship by your country or c) being a British national living overseas.
Maintenance Funds {10 Points}
It is vital that you can prove that you have the means to support yourself and your dependants until such a time that you are settled and have a job. You will need to show that you have at least £1600 in the bank when you apply.
Any questions?
See our Tier 5 Working Holiday Visa forum for recent posts
If you would like to find out more, please visit 1stcontactvisas.com. Alternatively you could call 0808 141 5508 (UK), 0800 003 163 (SA) or 1800 039 300 (Australia) to speak to a friendly and qualified 1st Contact visa consultant.
