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Tier 5 Youth Mobility Visa

A Tier 5 Youth Mobility Visa is only available to certain people who want to come to the UK. This visa allows you to work and study in the UK for a period of 2 years. If you do plan on working in the UK you will need to apply for a National Insurance Number. Over this 2-year period you come and go out of the UK as many times as you want. You must between the age of 18 & 30 in order to apply. Unfortunately you can’t apply if you have children or children that are financially dependent on you.

How to apply for a UK T5 Youth Mobility

In order to apply you must provide some documentation and prove you have savings of at least £1,890. The £1,890 in savings is to ensure you have enough money in your account to support you during your stay in the UK.

You must make sure you apply in advance of your planned trip. It can take around 3 weeks to get a decision on your application but allow at least 6 weeks to be safe. You can apply any time up to 6 months before your planned trip.

The application costs £244.00 and you will have to pay a Healthcare surcharge. The healthcare surcharge is £300 a year for students and Tier 5 Youth Mobility applicants. So if you were planning on staying 2 years then the cost would be £600. Both applications shouldn’t take more than 30 minutes to complete.

Application for Healthcare surcharge – Click Here

Application for T5 VISA – Click Here

Once you have applied you can’t extend your visa, get access to public funds or bring a family member with you. All applicants must apply separately. Part of the application process is collecting a BRP (Biometric Residence Permit) card when you arrive in the UK. Your BRP card is basically an ID card containing your VISA information. This BRP card must be collected within 10 days of entering the UK. It will be most likely be sent to your planned UK address or will need to be collected from a local post office. If you are planning on working in the UK you will need to apply for a National Insurance Number. You can find your lost national insurance number online.

What Nationalities can apply for a T5 Youth Mobility?

Unfortunately there are only a few certain nationalities that can apply. You can get a T5 Youth Mobility if your British oversea citizen, a British overseas territories citizen or a British national (overseas). Below are the countries that can apply.

  • Australia
  • Canada
  • Japan
  • Monaco
  • New Zealand
  • Hong Kong
  • Republic of Korea
  • Taiwan

If you are from Hong Kong or the Republic of Korea you must also get a Certificate of Sponsorship. This basically shows that you have a job offer already in the UK. The certificate is actually reference number and not on a piece or paper or document. Your reference number will hold information about the job that has already been offered to you.

What documents do I need to apply for a T5 Youth Mobility Visa? 

A valid passport with a blank page is require along with a tuberculosis test result (if required) and proof of at least £1,890 in your bank account. Proof of your savings can be provided in the form of a bank statement. Not all countries will require a TB test, see here https://www.gov.uk/tb-test-visa/countries-where-you-need-a-tb-test-to-enter-the-uk for the list of countries that require one. Chances are you probably won’t, rarely countries eligible for tier 5 visas are listed. We didn’t list which countries do cause they change all the time.

Any documents you provide that aren’t in English must be certified translated. If you apply outside of the UK (Most likely) then you will need to make a trip to your local VISA application centre. As the centre you will need to provide a fingerprint and have your photograph taken. This information will be used for your BRP card.

What can I do in the UK on my T5 Youth Mobility Visa?

There’s not much you can’t do on your Tier 5 Youth Mobility Visa. While in the UK you can study but you may need an Academic Technology Approval Scheme certificate for some courses. Your VISA will allow you to pretty much work in most jobs and industry’s during your time. The only exceptions are professional job roles such as doctors, dentist or sportsperson such as a coach. During your time you will have to pay UK tax.

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