The Canada-UK Youth Mobility Scheme Explained: Ages, Length and What It Lets You Do
By Muntasir Minhaz • Published Aug 19, 2026 • Canadians Studying Abroad
Canadians aged 18 to 35 can get a UK Youth Mobility Scheme visa for up to 24 months, then extend it by another year, for up to 3 years total in the UK.
💵 Costs 340 GBP to apply, plus 776 GBP per year in health surcharge, and you need 2,530 GBP in savings.
🏠 Work in most jobs, study most courses, or set up a small self employed business, all on the same visa.
📩 No employer sponsor and no university CAS needed, unlike the Student route visa.
Only Canadians, Australians, and New Zealanders get the 1 year extension option among Youth Mobility Scheme countries.
Who Can Use It and for How Long
The Youth Mobility Scheme visa lets young Canadians live and work in the UK without a job offer or a university place lined up first. Canadian citizens aged 18 to 35 qualify, a wider band than several other participating countries get. The visa runs for up to 24 months from the day you arrive. Canadians, along with Australians and New Zealanders, can extend for a further year once inside the UK, taking the total possible stay to 3 years. Most other nationalities on the scheme do not get this extension option.
What the Visa Actually Lets You Do
This is the flexible option compared to a Student route visa. On a Youth Mobility Scheme visa you can work in most occupations, study most courses (Canadian nationals are exempt from the ATAS requirement entirely, unlike applicants from many other countries), and set up as self employed. Running your own business comes with limits: your premises must be rented rather than owned, your equipment cannot be worth more than 5,000 GBP, and you cannot take on employees. You cannot work as a professional sportsperson, and you cannot access UK public funds while on this visa.
What It Costs
| Item | Amount |
|---|---|
| Application fee | 340 GBP |
| Immigration Health Surcharge, per year | 776 GBP |
| Savings you must show | 2,530 GBP |
The health surcharge is charged upfront for your full visa length, the same way it works on a Student route visa, so a 2 year Youth Mobility Scheme grant means 2 years of surcharge paid at once alongside your 340 GBP application fee.
How It Differs From the Student Route Visa
A Student route visa ties you to one licensed sponsor and one course through a CAS reference number, and studying is the entire point of that visa. The Youth Mobility Scheme has no sponsor and no CAS requirement at all. You can work full time, study part time, switch jobs, travel for months, or combine all of that under one visa, which makes it a common choice for a Canadian graduate who wants UK work experience and the option to also take a short course, rather than someone enrolling in a full degree. If your goal is a specific UK degree program, apply for the Student route instead, since the Youth Mobility Scheme is not built around sponsored study and does not lead toward settlement the way some other work routes do.
Applying
You apply for the Youth Mobility Scheme visa directly through gov.uk once you meet the age and nationality criteria, rather than through any separate ballot or third party program. Check the current age cutoff and any annual arrangement details for Canadian applicants on the official page before you apply, since the specific terms of country by country reciprocal arrangements can change.