How to apply for a Tier 5 Visa
In June 2015, I moved from Canada to the UK, specifically to London. I’m originally from a small town outside of Toronto and had lived in Canada all my life until that point. When I first told people I was moving, their first reaction was "how?!" The assumptions around an arduous visa process reminded me that few people were aware of the Youth Mobility scheme I had applied to.
The Youth Mobility Scheme is a series of partnerships between mostly commonwealth countries, so that citizens between the age of 18 and 30 may live and work in different countries than their native state. There are individual agreements between each country, so in my case, the agreement between Canada and the United Kingdom is that the government of Canada sponsors me for 2 years to go live and work in the United Kingdom, categorised as Tier 5.
Applying to the Youth Mobility Scheme
In order to be granted the visa, you must make a formal application. I have applied twice (which I will explain later), so I can also explain how the process has changed over time. In 2013, the application was comprised of two forms you had to fill out. One was all your information, including your parent’s citizenship, travel history, whether you are travelling alone or supporting a spouse or family, etc. The second part is a points based eligibility form - essentially, this is a checklist to ensure you meet the criteria for the program which are as follows:
You are a citizen of a member country of the scheme
You are between the age of 18 and 30
You have sufficient funds required
So in my case, I was Canadian, 25 years old and had bank statements to show I had the funds required. The amount they require does change a little, but I believe it's around $3-4,000. This amount signifies a balance to get your settlement started as well as pay for your flight home when your 2 years expire.
Originally, to fill out all these forms, you printed them off from the Visa UK website. There was a beta version of the site being rolled out, so some countries were able to fill the forms out directly online. Once you have done that, you must make your payment for the visa (approx. $300) plus additional fees to cover the shipping of your documents to-and-from the New York Home Office for review. When your payment has been received and approved, you are able to make an appointment at your closest Visa Application Centre. In Canada, there is a VAC in Vancouver, Edmonton, Toronto and Ottawa.
Booking an appointment at the Visa Application Centre
So now it's getting exciting! You have your appointment. For this, you bring your forms, your proof of funds (bank statements, or a letter from the branch), a photo that meets UK standards (which can be done at any passport photo location), as well as all of your passports. You have biometrics taken (fingerprints and a photo) on location and they review your forms to make sure you have everything you need. The application is then sent to the Home Office and you wait for your answer! You are able to expedite your application, but it is pretty costly and standard wait time wasn’t too long.
Your application status will be issued via email, informing you if you have been issued the Tier 5 Visa or not, and your documents will then be sent back to the address you indicated on the shipping waybill at your appointment. It took about 3 business days for my documents to arrive from the day I was issued the visa via email. If you are granted your visa, there will be a sticker added to your passport with the visa number, along with your photo and the date it starts and expires.
That’s all! a bit of paperwork, a fee and then an appointment to get a 2-year visa to the UK.
Second chances
In my personal experience, I mentioned that I applied twice. Back in August 2013, I had applied to a job in the UK and so I also applied and expedited the visa in hopes I would get the job. Sadly, the job opportunity fell through but I was still granted the visa. I had decided to continue working in Toronto to gain more experience before I would make my move - so I was technically living and working in Canada despite an available visa for the UK.
It’s important to remember that visas cannot be cancelled, so be sure of the start date you indicate on your application (no more than 3 months in advance of your application submission) and your fees are also not refunded once you have had your appointment. My situation was quite unique in that I had never actually entered the UK once I had this visa, and so I had believed I had a chance to apply for the program again. The technical criteria that makes you ineligible for the pgram is if you have entered the UK under the scheme before - which I had not actually done.
My travel history included two visits to London in May 2011 and June 2012, but had not returned after my visa was issued in August 2013. Fast forward to March 2015 and though I only had a few months left on my first visa, I wrote to the Home Office requesting an opportunity to be a part of the program. The program is non-renewable and non-extendable, so it was a very grey area and no forum or FAQ section shed any light on what the outcome of my request might be. I had spoken to a representative on the UK Visa hotline and the feedback I was given was to explain my situation in the “additional details” section of the application.
I was terrified that my dream of moving to London wouldn’t be possible, but submitted my second application and explained that I wanted to be able to use the full two years of the program, instead of the 4 months I had left on my active visa issues in 2013. The application had since changed from 2011, where it was all online and now required a UK address of where you’d be staying. Lucky for me, a friend’s sister lived there and I was able to use her address on my form. Otherwise it was quick and painless, and automatically received confirmation of receipt from the Home Office with a wait time of approximately 9 working days. Exactly 9 working days later, I received an email that my application was approved!
I still remember that moment vividly. I was sitting at my desk on my own at work and when I read the email I was just so overwhelmed I got up and went for a walk outside. I hadn’t told my company that I had planned on resigning, or even moving to the UK, so I wanted to be able to really take it all in. I stood on the sidewalk and called my mom in tears - tears of happiness. I was going to make this happen for myself, 4 years after my first visit to London when I knew it would be my home.
Staying beyond your visa
As I’ve said, the program is not renewable, so once your 2 years are up, you technically have to leave if you don’t have any other visas. I had another trick up my sleeve to ensure that would never happen to me! But I would work through it once I was in London.