Astrazeneca and Jaguar Land Rover given power to endorse talented migrants for visas
A select group of private companies including Astrazeneca and Jaguar Land Rover will be able to endorse migrants to enter the UK on a skilled talent visa for the first time.
The list of over 100 companies, which also includes GSK, Arm and a range of large companies and research start-ups, will now be able to recommend highly-talented individuals for applications on the global talent visa.
Under an expansion of the visa route, firms will be able to back migrants to enter the UK to boost the country’s research and development (R&D) capabilities.
Business secretary Jonathan Reynolds said the expansion of the global talent visa to businesses who employ researchers would strengthen the government’s industrial strategy, Labour’s plan to grow the UK economy over 10 years by focusing on high-growth industries such as AI.
Previously, only a select number of bodies or contracted companies were able to provide endorsements to scientists, tech engineers, fashion designers and other industry leaders to get access to the special visa.
Endorsing bodies included Arts Council England and the Royal Society. Other award recipients were also qualified to apply for the visa.
The government expanded the route in April to fast-track academic appointments and PhD-level roles that support innovation.
Ministers push for visa expansion
BIST, the acronym for the renamed Department for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade, is leading on the reforms, though immigration falls under the powers of the Home Office.
A government taskforce on global talent, which is chaired by the Prime Minister’s business adviser Varun Chandra, is also looking to attract highly-skilled individuals to the UK.
The changes build on a push by AI minister Kanishka Narayan to ramp up the country’s leadership in the technology but critics have questioned Andy Burnham’s commitment to the plans. He mentioned AI just a handful of times in his campaign to take over the party leadership.
Narayan, who now attends Cabinet meetings, said he wanted to use his position to push for visas to be offered to engineers.
He suggested that reimbursements for visa fees should be offered to help attract talented migrants.
The global talent visa costs £766 to apply, with endorsements alone costing £561.
Migrants on the visa also have to play the healthcare surcharge as part of the application, costing £1,035 a year.
It has still remained popular as applications fell just 2.4 per cent year-on-year. More than 99 per cent of decisions resulted in a visa being granted.