India, U.K sign and exchange letters for Young Professionals Scheme

The launch of the scheme, which was conceived as part of an India-U.K. Migration and Mobility MoU signed in May 2021, was announced in November at the G20 summit

The governments of India and the U.K. marked Pravasi Bharatiya Divas on January 9, 2023 by kicking off the Young Professionals Scheme, which will permit up to 3,000 of their degree-holding citizens aged between 18 and 30 to live and work in each other’s countries for a period of two years.

The launch of the scheme, which was conceived as part of an India-U.K. Migration and Mobility MoU signed in May 2021, was announced in November at the G20 summit in Bali, where U.K. Prime Minister Rishi Sunak held talks with Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

Speaking at the High Commission of India in London, after a ceremony where letters were signed and exchanged between the two countries,  High Commissioner Vikram Doraiswami, said the scheme, which will run for a period of three years initially,  would hopefully be “up and running in March”. 

However, he indicated there were still some processes that had to be completed before a March launch.

“But that is conditional on everything actually been put in place. So we don’t want to make a formal announcement of a date until we are a 100% certain.”

Young Indians and Britons would be able to travel to each other’s countries and either work, study, or visit, for two years. The scheme allows for exchange visas for up to 3,000 individuals per year.

“It isn’t even necessary for you to have a job in hand, when you do this,” Mr Doraiswami explained. “You can actually look for a job in the U.K. or in India … and that will give you a chance to study, to work … to experience a country, essentially.”