Overview
The Youth Mobility Scheme (sometimes called the working holiday visa) is a temporary work visa for young people from a small number of eligible countries and territories. It gives two years of unrestricted leave to live, work and study in the UK, with no employer sponsorship required and no restriction on the type of work you do.
There is no straightforward path to extension or settlement on this route. When your YMS leave ends, you either leave the UK or switch to a different visa such as a Skilled Worker visa, the Graduate route (if you studied in the UK), or a partner visa. Planning that transition from the day you arrive is the smart approach, and it is something our Glasgow advisers help with from the start.
Note for 2026: Eligible nationalities and age limits have changed in recent years as new bilateral agreements have been signed. The ballot system applies to some nationalities. Check gov.uk for the current list of participating countries before applying.
This page covers the full YMS application from Glasgow: who is eligible, how the ballot works, what the application involves, and how to plan your next visa step. We act for applicants across Glasgow, Edinburgh and the wider Scotland area.
Key Benefits
Eligibility confirmed before you apply
Nationality, age and the ballot process each have precise rules that change when new bilateral agreements are signed. A Glasgow adviser confirms your eligibility category, whether a ballot applies to you, and what the current application window looks like before you commit to a fee.
Ballot and application handled together
Where a ballot is required, missing the registration window means waiting a full year. We track ballot dates for each eligible nationality and walk you through registration so you do not lose your place in the allocation.
Financial evidence prepared correctly
The application requires proof of sufficient funds held in a personal bank account for at least 28 consecutive days. We confirm the current threshold, check your statements are in the format the Home Office accepts, and flag any gaps before you submit.
Next-visa planning from day one
YMS cannot be extended. If you want to stay in the UK after your two years, you need to qualify for a different route, usually Skilled Worker, Graduate or a partner visa. We map your options at the assessment so you are not caught short when your leave approaches its end.
Our Service Packages
Advice Package
A one-to-one consultation with a Glasgow immigration adviser. We confirm your nationality and age eligibility, explain whether a ballot applies, outline the financial evidence required, and give you a written action plan to your application date.
From £150 + VAT
Application Package
Full end-to-end YMS application. We handle ballot registration where required, prepare all supporting documents, complete the online form and submit on your behalf. Includes advice on next-route options at the start of your leave.
From £600 + VAT
Document Check
Already prepared your own application? Our advisers review your financial evidence, the completed form and all supporting documents before you submit, with a written list of anything that needs correcting.
From £250 + VAT
Refusal Review
If your YMS application was refused, we review the refusal letter against the Immigration Rules, advise whether administrative review or a fresh application is the stronger route, and refer you to a representative for tribunal advocacy where an appeal is the right path.
From £350 + VAT
What is the Youth Mobility Scheme Visa?
The Youth Mobility Scheme (YMS) is a temporary work visa for young people from countries and territories that have a bilateral agreement with the UK. It is sometimes called the working holiday visa. A successful application gives you two years of leave to live, work and study in the UK with no employer sponsorship, no job offer required and no restriction on the type of work you take on. Some nationalities receive three years.
People come to our Glasgow office on the YMS for many reasons. Some have a job lined up in the city; others want to arrive, explore and see where life takes them. What they all have in common is a two-year clock that cannot be extended, and a decision about what comes next that is best made before it starts. We help with both.
Who is eligible for the Youth Mobility Scheme
Eligibility turns on three things: your nationality, your age, and whether your country uses a ballot system.
Nationality. The scheme is open only to nationals of countries and territories with a bilateral agreement with the UK. The current list includes Australia, Canada, New Zealand, Japan, South Korea and others. New agreements are signed periodically, so the list has changed in recent years. We confirm your nationality’s status at the first assessment.
Age. The standard age range is 18 to 30. Some nationalities have a higher upper limit, up to 35, under the terms of their individual agreement. You must be within the eligible age range on the date you apply. There is no way to pause or defer the clock.
Ballot. Where the number of applicants from a particular nationality exceeds the annual allocation, places are allocated through a ballot. You register during the ballot window, wait to be selected, and then apply. Missing the window means waiting a full year. Not all nationalities are subject to a ballot; some can apply directly at any time.
You can hold a YMS visa only once. If you have previously held YMS leave for the UK, you cannot apply again.
How the ballot works
Where a ballot applies, the process runs in distinct stages. The Home Office opens a registration window, typically running for a set number of days. You register your interest, providing basic personal details. The Home Office then selects applicants at random from the pool. If you are selected, you receive an invitation to apply and a window in which you must submit the full visa application. If you are not selected, you must wait until the following year’s ballot.
The practical risk is missing the registration window entirely, which is easy to do if you are not actively monitoring the dates. We track ballot windows for all eligible nationalities and contact Glasgow clients when registration is about to open, so missing it is not a risk you need to manage alone.
What you can do on a Youth Mobility Scheme Visa
The YMS gives you broadly unrestricted access to the UK labour market. You can work for any employer in any sector, change jobs without notifying the Home Office, work self-employed and freelance, and study. The restrictions are narrow: you cannot work as a professional sportsperson, and you cannot access public funds. In practice, for most young people coming to Glasgow to work, the YMS provides the same working freedom as settled status.
You can live anywhere in the UK, including Glasgow, Edinburgh, Aberdeen or anywhere in Scotland. There is no regional restriction, no minimum salary requirement and no requirement to have a job when you arrive. Many Glasgow employers, particularly in hospitality, technology and the creative industries, actively hire YMS holders because of the administrative simplicity.
The funds requirement
You must show that you have sufficient funds held in a personal bank account, available for at least 28 consecutive days ending no more than 31 days before the date you apply. The required amount is set by the Home Office and confirmed on gov.uk. The account must be in your name. Funds held jointly, in a business account, or in an account with a condition attached do not generally qualify.
The bank statements you submit must cover the required 28-day window and clearly show the opening balance, transactions and closing balance. Statements downloaded from online banking in PDF format are accepted. We check the statements are in the correct format before submission, because missing or unclear evidence of funds is one of the more avoidable refusal reasons on this route.
How to apply for a Youth Mobility Scheme Visa
The application is made online through the UK Visas and Immigration portal. You complete the online form, upload your supporting documents, pay the application fee and the Immigration Health Surcharge, and then attend a UK Visa Application Centre to enrol your biometrics. If you are applying from Scotland, the nearest centres are in Glasgow and Edinburgh. If you are applying from outside the UK, you attend the nearest centre in your home country.
The online form asks about your nationality, age, funds, employment history, travel history and background. We complete the form on your behalf, upload all supporting documents and give you a clear brief of what to bring to the biometrics appointment.
Documents you will need
A standard YMS application needs a current passport valid for the duration of your leave, bank statements covering the required 28-day period, and evidence of nationality where required. Depending on your nationality and the terms of the bilateral agreement, you may also need evidence of national insurance or pension contributions in your home country, or other documents specific to your nationality’s agreement with the UK. If your nationality is subject to a ballot, you also need your selection confirmation letter.
We provide every client with a tailored document checklist based on their nationality and circumstances rather than a generic list.
Youth Mobility Scheme Visa fees in 2026
The Home Office application fee is around £340. In addition, you pay the Immigration Health Surcharge, which gives you access to NHS treatment during your stay. The YMS qualifies for the discounted surcharge rate of £776 per year, so approximately £1,552 for a two-year grant. The full cost depends on the length of leave granted, which varies by nationality. We give a complete cost breakdown at the assessment so there are no surprises before you commit to an application.
How long does it take
Processing times for YMS applications vary by visa application centre, country and time of year. The standard processing time is published on gov.uk and changes regularly. Priority services may be available at some centres. We advise on current processing windows at the time of your application so you can plan your travel and employment dates accordingly.
Arriving in Glasgow on a Youth Mobility Scheme Visa
Glasgow is one of the most popular destinations in Scotland for YMS arrivals. The city has a large, well-established student and young professional community, a strong jobs market across hospitality, technology, healthcare and the creative industries, and a cost of living that is considerably lower than London. YMS holders working in Glasgow also benefit from easy access to the rest of Scotland, including Edinburgh, the Highlands and the islands.
Practical things to do in the first weeks in Glasgow: register with a GP, open a UK bank account, apply for a National Insurance number, and keep your biometric residence permit safe. None of these require Home Office notification, but getting them sorted early makes working and renting straightforward. We point clients toward the right resources for each of these steps as part of the application package.
Working and living in Scotland
Scotland’s labour market has specific strengths that suit YMS holders well. Glasgow in particular has a concentration of employers in digital and creative, financial services, the NHS, universities, tourism and hospitality. Many Glasgow employers are accustomed to hiring from overseas and understand the YMS right to work. If you are looking for work in Glasgow before you arrive, a Glasgow address and a YMS vignette in your passport are generally enough to progress an application.
Self-employment and freelancing are fully permitted under the YMS. Glasgow has an active freelance community across design, software development and media, and many YMS holders from Australia, Canada and New Zealand have used the two years to build a client base in Scotland before deciding whether to stay through a different route.
The YMS cannot be extended
This is the rule that catches people off guard. No matter how long you have been in the UK, how settled your life in Glasgow has become, or how strong your employment is, the Youth Mobility Scheme cannot be extended. There are no discretionary extensions and no exceptional circumstances carve-outs. When your leave expires, you must either leave the UK or hold a different valid immigration permission.
The only way to remain legally in the UK after YMS leave expires is to have already switched to a different route before the expiry date. If you overstay, you will accrue unlawful residence, which affects every future UK visa application you make. We raise this with every YMS client from the first consultation and work out the switching timeline in advance.
Switching from YMS to another visa
If you want to stay in the UK after your Youth Mobility Scheme leave ends, you can switch from within the UK to a different route, provided you qualify and apply before your leave expires. The most common routes are:
- Skilled Worker visa: if you have a job offer from a licensed sponsor at the required salary and skill level. Many Glasgow employers hold a sponsor licence; those who do not can apply for one. This is the main long-term route and the one that leads to settlement after five years.
- Graduate route: if you completed a UK degree at a registered university during your YMS leave or previously. The Graduate route gives two years (three for PhD graduates) of open-market work leave with no employer sponsorship required, which then gives time to secure a Skilled Worker sponsor.
- Partner visa: if you are married to or in a civil partnership with a British citizen or settled person, or have cohabited with a partner for two years. This is a five-year route to settlement. We handle the full partner-route application as a separate service.
- Other routes: Innovator Founder, Global Talent, and others may apply depending on your background. We assess all options at the consultation.
The YMS itself does not count toward the five years needed for Indefinite Leave to Remain. Your settlement clock starts from the day you switch to a qualifying route. The earlier in your YMS leave you secure the next route, the sooner you start accumulating that five-year period. We map the full timeline at the assessment.
If your application is refused
Most YMS refusals relate to nationality or age eligibility, insufficient funds evidence, or an issue in the suitability assessment. Where the decision contains a case-working error, there may be a right of administrative review. In many cases, a fresh application with corrected evidence is the faster route. We review the refusal letter against the Immigration Rules, advise honestly on which path gives the strongest prospect, and where an appeal is the right route we refer you to a representative for the tribunal hearing while we support the underlying evidence.
How UK Visa Assistance helps
UK Visa Assistance is a Glasgow immigration practice. We handle Youth Mobility Scheme applications end to end: confirming nationality and age eligibility, tracking ballot windows and registering where required, preparing all supporting documents, completing the online form and submitting on your behalf. We also give every YMS client a written plan for what comes next, so the two years in Glasgow are the start of something rather than a deadline. To begin, call 0141 496 0321 or request a callback for a free initial assessment of your Youth Mobility Scheme Visa.
Frequently asked questions
The Youth Mobility Scheme is open to nationals of a small number of countries and territories with which the UK has a bilateral agreement. The current list includes Australia, Canada, New Zealand, Japan, South Korea and others. The list changes when new agreements are signed, so check gov.uk for the up-to-date list before applying. We confirm your eligibility at the first assessment.
The standard upper age limit is 30 for most eligible nationalities. Some countries have a higher limit, up to 35, under the terms of their individual bilateral agreement with the UK. You must be within the eligible age range on the date you apply, not just when you intend to travel. We confirm the age limit for your specific nationality at assessment.
Some nationalities are allocated places through a ballot because the number of applicants exceeds the annual allocation. If your nationality is subject to a ballot, you must register during the ballot window and wait to be selected before you can apply. Missing the window means waiting until the following year's ballot. We track ballot dates for each eligible nationality and make sure you register on time.
You must show you have sufficient funds held in a personal bank account for at least 28 consecutive days ending no more than 31 days before the application date. The required amount is set by the Home Office. Savings held jointly, in a business account, or with a condition attached generally do not qualify. We confirm the current threshold and check your statements are in the correct format before submission.
You can work for any employer in any sector, change jobs freely, work self-employed, and study. There are a small number of restrictions: you cannot work as a professional sportsperson, work directly for a business as their sponsor in a way that constitutes filling a skilled worker role via an exempt route, or access public funds. In practice, most employment and self-employment is unrestricted, which is what makes the route popular with young people planning to base themselves in Glasgow or elsewhere in Scotland.
Most eligible nationalities receive a grant of two years. Some nationalities receive three years under the terms of their bilateral agreement. The leave cannot be extended regardless of how long the grant is. Once it expires, you either leave the UK or switch to a different immigration route for which you qualify, such as Skilled Worker, the Graduate route, or a partner visa.
No. The Youth Mobility Scheme cannot be extended under any circumstances and the Home Office does not make exceptions. If you want to stay in the UK when your leave ends, you need to qualify for and switch to a different visa route, such as Skilled Worker, the Graduate route if you have studied in the UK, or a partner visa if you are in a qualifying relationship. We advise on your next-route options from the day you apply so you are not caught without options at the end of your leave.
No. Time on the Youth Mobility Scheme does not count toward the continuous residence required for Indefinite Leave to Remain. If you switch from YMS to a route that does lead to settlement, such as Skilled Worker, the five-year clock for ILR starts from the date you switch, not from when you first arrived in the UK. We explain exactly how your residence history will count when we discuss your next-route options.
Previous time in the UK does not automatically bar you from the Youth Mobility Scheme. However, if you have previously held YMS leave, you cannot be granted a second YMS visa. Each person can hold the visa only once. Previous visits on other routes, such as a visitor visa or student visa, do not prevent a YMS application, though your travel and immigration history will be considered as part of the suitability assessment.
The application is made online through the UK Visas and Immigration portal. Once submitted, you attend a UK Visa Application Centre to give your biometrics. If you are already in the UK, you attend a centre in the UK; if you are applying from outside the UK, you attend the nearest centre in your home country. We complete the online form on your behalf, prepare all supporting documents and let you know exactly what to bring to the biometrics appointment.
Most YMS refusals are on eligibility or financial evidence grounds. If the decision contains a case-working error, there may be a right of administrative review. In some cases, a fresh application with corrected evidence is the faster route to a grant. We review the refusal letter against the Immigration Rules, advise honestly on which path gives the strongest prospect, and where an appeal is the right route we refer you to a representative for the tribunal hearing while we support the underlying evidence.
Yes. Our office is in Glasgow and we meet applicants across Glasgow, Edinburgh, Aberdeen and the wider Scotland area, but we work by phone, video and secure document exchange for clients anywhere in the UK or applying from abroad. Sponsors and friends already in Glasgow often start the process on behalf of a friend or family member who is still overseas.