Youth Mobility Scheme Requirements

The Youth Mobility Scheme has published requirements covering nationality, age, savings, documents and children. This guide sets out each one as GOV.UK states it.

Checked 13 March 20267 min readWritten by the Rowan Editorial Team

Section: Youth Mobility
Reading time: 7 min
Last checked: 13 March 2026
Source: The published Immigration Rules and GOV.UK guidance, linked throughout this guide.
Rowan does not: Look at your own case, tell you which route to choose, or say what the Home Office will decide. This guide shows the published rules and where to read them.

In short

Nationality: a closed published list. If you are not on it, you cannot apply.
Age: 18 or over when the visa starts, and 30 or under when you apply (35 or under for Australia, Canada, New Zealand and South Korea).
Savings: £2,530 held for 28 days in a row, with day 28 within 31 days of applying.
You cannot apply if you have children under 18 who live with you, or children you are financially responsible for.
You cannot apply if you have already been in the UK under the scheme.

Nationality, age, savings, documents and children are the five things the published requirements turn on. This guide sets out what GOV.UK says about each, including the exact wording of the age test and the 28-day savings rule, which are the two most often misread.

Nationality

You must hold one of the nationalities or passports on the published list. It is closed — there is no route onto the scheme for a nationality that is not on it.

Australia, Canada, New Zealand, South Korea — ages 18 to 35
Andorra, Iceland, Japan, Monaco, San Marino, Uruguay — ages 18 to 30
Hong Kong (Special Administrative Region passport) and Taiwan — ages 18 to 30, and you must be selected in a ballot first
British overseas citizens, British overseas territories citizens and British nationals (overseas) — ages 18 to 30

GOV.UK says there is a different scheme for Indian nationals, the India Young Professionals Scheme visa. The United States is not on the Youth Mobility Scheme list, and no European Union member state takes part.

Age

The published test has two limbs, and both matter:

you must be 18 or over when your visa starts, and
you must be 30 or under when you apply — or 35 or under if you are from Australia, Canada, New Zealand or South Korea.

GOV.UK adds two consequences that are easy to miss: you can apply for the visa before you turn 18, and you can be over the upper age limit by the time the visa starts. Being 30 when you apply and 31 when the visa begins does not stop you. GOV.UK also says that if you turn 31 after the visa is issued, you can stay for as long as it is valid.

Savings

You need at least £2,530 in your bank account. The money must have been available for at least 28 days in a row, and day 28 must fall within 31 days of applying for the visa.

It is not a fee. The money stays in your account — it is there to show you can support yourself when you arrive. You provide a bank statement with the application. GOV.UK publishes separate guidance on financial evidence, and our financial documents guide covers what statements normally have to show.

Children

GOV.UK says you cannot apply if you have:

children under the age of 18 who live with you, or
children you are financially responsible for.

Separately, you cannot bring family members in on your application — a partner or child must apply for their own visa. If you have a child while you are in the UK on this visa, GOV.UK says the child does not automatically become a British citizen, and that you can apply online for their visa as your dependant, providing a full UK birth certificate showing both parents. You must do that if you want to travel in and out of the UK with the child.

Documents

Every applicant must provide:

a valid passport or other document showing identity and nationality
a bank statement showing at least £2,530 in savings
tuberculosis test results, if you are from a country where the test is required

Anything not in English or Welsh needs a certified translation. Some nationalities must provide more:

Andorra — an Andorran certificate of criminal records
Iceland — an Icelandic criminal certificate for private use (Sakavottorð)
San Marino — a letter from the Directorate of Political and Diplomatic Affairs confirming you are suitable for the scheme
Uruguay — a Uruguayan certificate of judicial records (Certificado de Antecedentes Judiciales)
Hong Kong and Taiwan — the Home Office email confirming you were successful in the ballot

Each of the four criminal record documents must have been issued less than 6 months before you apply. GOV.UK does not publish a “no unspent convictions” test specific to this route; the general suitability requirements in the Immigration Rules apply here as on other routes.

One Use Only

GOV.UK says you cannot apply if you have already been in the UK under the scheme. That holds whether or not you used the full 2 years.

Extending is different from applying again. If you are from Australia, Canada or New Zealand you can apply once to extend your visa by one year after the 2-year period ends, provided you are living in the UK and hold a valid Youth Mobility Scheme visa.

The Ballot

Only Hong Kong (Special Administrative Region passport) and Taiwan applicants have to be selected in a ballot before applying. GOV.UK says Japanese and South Korean nationals no longer need to enter it and can apply at any time, and that British overseas citizens, British overseas territories citizens and British nationals (overseas) do not enter it either.

There were 1,000 places for Hong Kong and 1,000 for Taiwan in 2026, allocated across ballots in February and July. GOV.UK says all 2026 ballots have closed and that details of the next ballot in 2027 will be published on its ballot system page. Selected applicants have 90 days to apply.

Next Steps

The requirements sit alongside the costs. The application is on GOV.UK, and the earliest you can apply is 6 months before you travel.

Related guides:

Questions and answers

What are the basic requirements for the Youth Mobility Scheme?

You must hold one of the nationalities or passports on the published list, be within the age range for it (18 to 35 for Australia, Canada, New Zealand and South Korea; 18 to 30 for everyone else), have had at least £2,530 in your bank account for 28 days in a row, have no children under 18 living with you and no children you are financially responsible for, and not have been in the UK under the scheme before.

How much savings do I need?

£2,530. GOV.UK says you must have had the money available for at least 28 days in a row, and day 28 must be within 31 days of applying for the visa. It is proof of funds, not a fee — the money stays in your account.

Do I need to provide a criminal record certificate?

It depends on your nationality. GOV.UK requires a criminal record document from applicants from Andorra, Iceland, San Marino and Uruguay, issued less than 6 months before you apply. The general suitability requirements in the Immigration Rules apply to this route as they do to others.

Do I need a job offer?

No. You do not need a job offer or a sponsor to apply. Once in the UK you can work in most jobs and can study, and you can be self-employed on the conditions GOV.UK publishes.

This guide is general information about published immigration rules. It is not advice about an individual application under s.82 Immigration and Asylum Act 1999, and Rowan is not regulated by the Immigration Advice Authority. Immigration rules change several times a year. For advice on a particular situation, contact an adviser authorised by the Immigration Advice Authority or an immigration solicitor. Always check GOV.UK for the authoritative current rules.

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