Which Universities Qualify for the High Potential Individual Visa in 2025?

UK High Potential Individual (HPI) visa is one of the most attractive immigration routes for talented graduates from leading global universities who wish to live and work in the United Kingdom.

An HPI visa allows successful applicants to stay in the UK for 2 years, or 3 years if they hold a PhD or other doctoral qualification. To qualify, applicants must have been awarded an eligible qualification by a university recognised by the Home Office within the last five years.

Importantly, this route does not require a job offer and it allows eligible partners and children to apply as dependants, making it a highly flexible option for individuals and families.

Below is the official list of eligible universities for the 2025 HPI visa, applicable to qualifications awarded between 1 November 2025 and 31 October 2026, organised by country for clarity.

• Australian National University (ANU)
• Monash University
• The University of Melbourne
• The University of New South Wales (UNSW)
• The University of Queensland
• University of Sydney

• KU Leuven

• McGill University
• University of British Columbia
• University of Toronto

• Fudan University
• Nanjing University
• Peking University
• Shanghai Jiao Tong University
• Tsinghua University
• University of Science and Technology of China
• Zhejiang University

• University of Copenhagen

• Institut Polytechnique de Paris
• PSL University
• Sorbonne University
• Université Paris-Saclay

• Heidelberg University
• Technical University of Munich
• University of Bonn
• University of Munich (LMU Munich)

• City University of Hong Kong (CityUHK)
• The Chinese University of Hong Kong (CUHK)
• The Hong Kong Polytechnic University
• The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology
• The University of Hong Kong

• Kyoto University
• The University of Tokyo

• Delft University of Technology
• University of Amsterdam
• University of Groningen

• Nanyang Technological University, Singapore (NTU Singapore)
• National University of Singapore (NUS)

• Seoul National University
• Yonsei University

• Karolinska Institute
• KTH Royal Institute of Technology
• Lund University
• Uppsala University

• EPFL – École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne
• ETH Zurich
• University of Zurich

• Boston University
• Brown University
• California Institute of Technology (Caltech)
• Carnegie Mellon University
• Columbia University
• Cornell University
• Duke University
• Harvard University
• Johns Hopkins University
• Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT)
• New York University (NYU)
• Northwestern University
• Princeton University
• Purdue University – West Lafayette
• Stanford University
• The University of Texas at Austin
• University of California, Berkeley
• University of California, Irvine
• University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA)
• University of California, San Diego (UCSD)
• University of California, Santa Barbara
• University of Chicago
• University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
• University of Michigan-Ann Arbor
• University of Minnesota, Twin Cities
• University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
• University of Pennsylvania
• University of Southern California
• University of Washington
• University of Wisconsin-Madison
• Vanderbilt University
• Washington University in St Louis
• Yale University

The HPI visa offers a number of significant advantages:

• Permission to work in most roles or be self-employed
• Opportunity to live in the UK for up to 2 or 3 years
• Ability to bring eligible partners and children as dependants

If you see your university listed above, you may be eligible for one of the most flexible and attractive pathways in the UK immigration system.

With over 20 years of experience in UK immigration law, Morgan Smith Immigration provides clear, practical advice tailored to your circumstances. We can assess your eligibility, review your qualifications and supporting evidence and prepare and submit a strong application on your behalf. If your qualification was awarded by one of the eligible universities listed above, you may be well placed to take advantage of this opportunity, early and professional guidance can be decisive.

To keep up to date with UK immigration changes, follow Morgan Smith Immigration. If you would like tailored advice or support with a UK visa application, contact our team on  0203 959 3335 or email [email protected].