Youth Mobility Scheme: How It Works & Who Can Apply

What Is the Youth Mobility Scheme?

The Youth Mobility Scheme is a UK visa for young adults who want to live and work in the UK for up to 24 months. It is based on arrangements between the UK and a fixed list of participating countries and territories. In several of those countries it is informally known as a working holiday visa.

It is not a long-term immigration route. It does not lead to settlement, and time spent on it does not count towards indefinite leave to remain.

Eligible Countries and Territories

The list is closed: if your nationality is not on it, you cannot apply for this visa. GOV.UK sets out the full list of eligible countries as follows.

• Ages 18 to 35: Australia, Canada, New Zealand, South Korea
• Ages 18 to 30: Andorra, Iceland, Japan, Monaco, San Marino, Uruguay
• Ages 18 to 30, ballot first: Hong Kong (if you hold a Special Administrative Region passport) and Taiwan
• Ages 18 to 30, British nationality types: British overseas citizens, British overseas territories citizens and British nationals (overseas)

No European Union member state takes part in this scheme. Andorra, Monaco and San Marino are not EU members, and Iceland is not an EU member either.

If you are an Indian national, this is not your route. GOV.UK says there is a different scheme for Indian nationals, the India Young Professionals Scheme visa, which has its own ballot.

The United States is not on the Youth Mobility Scheme list. Neither is any other country not named above.

For country-specific guidance, see our pages for Australia and Canada.

Eligibility Requirements

GOV.UK publishes these requirements:

• Age. You must be 18 or over when your visa starts, or 30 or under when you apply (35 or under for Australia, Canada, New Zealand and South Korea). GOV.UK says you can apply before you turn 18, and you can be over the upper age limit by the time the visa starts.
• Nationality. You must hold one of the nationalities or passports listed above.
• Savings of £2,530. You must have had at least £2,530 in your bank account for 28 days in a row, and day 28 must fall within 31 days of applying.
• No qualifying children. You cannot apply if you have children under 18 who live with you, or children you are financially responsible for.
• No previous use of the scheme. You cannot apply if you have already been in the UK under the scheme.

Some nationalities must also supply a criminal record document with the application: an Andorran certificate of criminal records, an Icelandic criminal certificate for private use (Sakavottorð), a Uruguayan certificate of judicial records (Certificado de Antecedentes Judiciales), or, for San Marino, a letter from the Directorate of Political and Diplomatic Affairs. Each must have been 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.

The Ballot

Two territories on the list use a ballot: Hong Kong (Special Administrative Region passport holders) and Taiwan. If you are from either, you must be selected in the ballot before you can apply for the visa, and you must provide the Home Office email confirming your selection.

Japanese and South Korean nationals no longer need to enter the ballot. GOV.UK says they can apply at any time. British overseas citizens, British overseas territories citizens and British nationals (overseas) do not enter a ballot either, and neither do nationals of Australia, Canada, New Zealand, Andorra, Iceland, Monaco, San Marino or Uruguay.

For 2026 there were 1,000 places for Hong Kong and 1,000 for Taiwan. Ballots were held in February 2026 and July 2026, and GOV.UK says all 2026 ballots have now closed, with details of the next ballot in 2027 to be published on its ballot system page. Entering is free. You enter by email during a 48-hour window, one entry per person.

How Much Does It Cost?

The costs for this visa are:

• Application fee: £340
• Healthcare surcharge: £776 a year on this route, which is £1,552 for 24 months. This is the reduced rate; most other routes pay £1,035 a year.
• Total: £1,892

You also need at least £2,530 in your bank account. That is not a fee — it stays in your account, and you must be able to show it was there for 28 days in a row. For a comparison with other visa fees, see our UK visa fees guide.

How to Apply

GOV.UK says the earliest you can apply is 6 months before you travel. You must apply from outside the UK.

If Your Nationality Does Not Use a Ballot

1. Apply online. Start the application on the GOV.UK Youth Mobility Scheme page. You can save the form and finish it later.
2. Pay the fee and the healthcare surcharge. Both are paid online as part of the application.
3. Prove your identity. You will either scan your document with the ‘UK Immigration: ID Check’ app, or have your fingerprints and photograph taken at a visa application centre. GOV.UK says you will be told which applies when you apply.
4. Provide your documents. A valid passport or other identity and nationality document, a bank statement showing at least £2,530, and tuberculosis test results if you are from a country where that test is required. Documents not in English or Welsh need a certified translation.
5. Wait for a decision. GOV.UK says you will usually get one within 3 weeks.

If You Are From Hong Kong or Taiwan

1. Enter the ballot. Send an email during the published 48-hour window, with your name, date of birth and passport number in the subject line, and your name, date of birth, passport number and mobile number in the body. One entry per person.
2. If you are selected, you have 90 days to submit your application, pay the fee and give your fingerprints and photograph at a visa application centre.
3. Follow the same steps as above. You must include the Home Office email confirming you were successful.

GOV.UK says ballot results are final and cannot be appealed, and that you can enter a future ballot if you are unsuccessful, as long as you still meet the requirements.

What Can You Do on This Visa?

GOV.UK sets out what you can and cannot do. See our page on work rights for the detail. You can:

• Work in most jobs
• Study — for some courses you will need an Academic Technology Approval Scheme certificate
• Be self-employed and set up a company, as long as your premises are rented, your equipment is worth no more than £5,000 and you have no employees
• Enter the UK at any time while the visa is valid, and leave and come back during your stay

You paid the healthcare surcharge with your application, which covers your use of the NHS on the same basis as a UK resident.

What You Cannot Do

• Work as a professional sportsperson, for example as a coach
• Extend your stay, unless you are from Australia, Canada or New Zealand
• Get public funds
• Bring family members in on your application — they must apply separately
• Use the scheme a second time

Extending, and What Happens at the End

If you are from Australia, Canada or New Zealand, GOV.UK says you can apply to extend the visa by one year after the 2-year period ends. To do that you must be living in the UK and hold a valid Youth Mobility Scheme visa. You can extend only once. The extension costs the same £340 fee plus £776 healthcare surcharge, you should apply no more than 28 days before your current visa expires, the new visa runs from the day after the old one ends, and the decision usually comes within 8 weeks. GOV.UK says you must not travel outside the UK, Ireland, the Channel Islands or the Isle of Man until you get that decision.

If you are from anywhere else on the list, the visa cannot be extended.

Switching to a Skilled Worker Visa

You can apply to switch to a Skilled Worker visa from inside the UK. The Youth Mobility Scheme is not on the list of visas GOV.UK says cannot switch to that route. You must apply online before your current visa expires, and you need a job offer from a licensed sponsor.

The Skilled Worker visa has a general salary threshold of £41,700 a year or the going rate for the job, whichever is higher, and the job must normally be at degree level (RQF level 6) for applications made on or after 22 July 2025. That route can lead to settlement after 5 continuous years; time on the Youth Mobility Scheme does not count towards it.

Other Options

• Apply to switch to another visa. Other routes, such as a Student visa, can be applied for from inside the UK if their requirements are met.
• Leave the UK. If you do not extend or switch, you must leave before your visa expires. Overstaying can lead to a ban on returning.
• Apply from outside the UK. You can leave and apply for a different visa from abroad.

English Language

GOV.UK does not list an English language requirement for the Youth Mobility Scheme. Other routes do. An application to switch to a Skilled Worker visa needs English at level B2 of the Common European Framework, and settlement applications have their own English requirement. GOV.UK exempts nationals of a published list of countries from proving it, which includes Australia, Canada and New Zealand but not Japan, South Korea, Taiwan, Hong Kong, Iceland, Andorra, Monaco, San Marino or Uruguay.

Processing Times

• Applying from outside the UK: usually 3 weeks.
• Applying to extend from inside the UK (Australia, Canada, New Zealand only): within 8 weeks.

GOV.UK says you may be able to pay for a faster decision, and that you will be told whether that is available to you when you apply. Check current waiting times in the GOV.UK guidance on visa decision waiting times.

Points People Get Wrong

• The age rule. The test is that you are 18 or over when the visa starts, or 30 or under (35 or under for the four higher-age countries) when you apply. Being over the upper limit when the visa starts does not stop you.
• The savings rule. £2,530 must have been in the account for 28 days in a row, and day 28 must fall within 31 days of the application. A balance that only reaches £2,530 the week before does not meet it.
• The ballot window. Ballots are open for 48 hours. Missing the window means waiting for the next one.
• Extending. Only Australian, Canadian and New Zealand nationals can extend, and only once, by one year.
• Using the scheme twice. GOV.UK says you cannot apply if you have already been in the UK under the scheme.

Comparing It to Other Visas

• Skilled Worker. The Youth Mobility Scheme needs no sponsor but is capped at 24 months (36 for those who can extend) and does not count towards settlement. The Skilled Worker visa requires a licensed sponsor and a qualifying salary, and can lead to settlement.
• Student. A Student visa limits paid work during term time and does not permit self-employment. The Youth Mobility Scheme permits work in most jobs, and self-employment on the conditions above.
• Ancestry. Commonwealth citizens with a UK-born grandparent may qualify for the Ancestry visa, which is granted for 5 years and can lead to settlement.

Next Steps

Check whether your nationality is on the eligible countries list and which age range and ballot rule apply to it, then read the GOV.UK Youth Mobility Scheme page.

Questions and answers