UK Youth Mobility Scheme 2026: Full List of 13 Countries and Their Visa Place Allocations

• The UK government published its official 2026 Youth Mobility Scheme allocations, revealing how many visa spots each of 13 eligible countries will receive
• Australia topped the list with 38,500 places, while Andorra received the fewest spots at just 100
• No African country featured among the eligible nations, shutting out young people from Ghana, Nigeria, Kenya and South Africa

The UK government has released its official 2026 Youth Mobility Scheme visa allocations, detailing the exact number of places set aside for each of the 13 participating countries.

The figures, drawn from the UK government's immigration rules for the Youth Mobility Scheme, show a striking range.

Australia dominates the list with 38,500 allocated places, far ahead of Canada with 10,000 and New Zealand with 8,000. Japan follows with 6,000 spots, and the Republic of Korea has been assigned 5,000.

India, which gained access to the scheme through a bilateral agreement, received 3,000 places. Five countries sit at the 1,000-place mark: Hong Kong, Iceland, Monaco, San Marino, and Taiwan. Uruguay received 500 places, and Andorra sits at the bottom with just 100.

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Full breakdown of 2026 Youth Mobility Scheme places

The complete list of allocations for 2026 is as follows:

Andorra: 100 places

Australia: 38,500 places

Canada: 10,000 places

Hong Kong: 1,000 places

Iceland: 1,000 places

India: 3,000 places

Japan: 6,000 places

Monaco: 1,000 places

New Zealand: 8,000 places

Republic of Korea: 5,000 places

San Marino: 1,000 places

Taiwan: 1,000 places

Uruguay: 500 places

What the UK Youth Mobility Scheme offers

The Youth Mobility Scheme gives young people from qualifying countries the opportunity to live and work in the United Kingdom for up to two years, with some nationalities eligible to extend their stay to three years.

The arrangement is reciprocal, meaning participating countries offer comparable opportunities to young British citizens in return.

One notable absence from the list is any African nation. Young people from Ghana, Nigeria, Kenya, South Africa, and across the rest of the continent currently have no access to this particular visa route.

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The scheme remains restricted to countries that hold existing bilateral agreements with the UK, keeping the pool of eligible nations relatively small.

Source: YEN.com.gh