Authorities in the United Kingdom will facilitate work visa restrictions for AI experts from other countries.
Today, Monday January 13, 2025, the UK’s government released its Action Plan, exploring how the current immigration system could be used in a bid to attract experts in Artificial Intelligence from other countries, VisaGuide.World reports.
Such a move is expected to boost economic growth, according to authorities in the United Kingdom.
Through a proposal, introduced by tech entrepreneur Matt Clifford, graduates from some leading AI institutions such as the Indian Institute of Technology and Carnegie Mellon University in the United States, are not included at present in the High Potential Individual visa eligibility list.
The government should take steps to develop new pathways, and strengthen existing ones, to support these graduates. It should also explore how best to address wider barriers like the cost and complexity of visas which create obstacles for startups and deter overseas talent from re-locating to the UK.
The Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, Keir Starmer, vowed to adopt the recommendations included in Clifford’s report, quoted by the Standard.
The UK’s PM said that the government backs the builders, pledging further AI regulation.
Significant Decrease in Work Visa Applications
Last year’s decision to introduce stricter visa rules in a bid to deal with immigration has led to a sharp decrease in the number of work visa applications.
The figures provided by the Home Office revealed that for a period from April until December 2024, nearly 400,000 fewer people from overseas countries applied for work or study visas in the United Kingdom.
Based on the provisional data provided by the same source, 547,000 visa applications were received by authorities in the UK for a period from April until December 2024. In the same period, in 2023, the number of visa applications stood at 942,500.
The decrease also resulted from the fewer number of applications received by overseas students and foreign care workers interested to pursue their studies or work in the UK.
As a result of the decrease in the number of student visas, universities in the UK warned of significant financial concerns as a result of the fewer number of students choosing Britain to pursue their studies.
Back then, shadow Tory immigration minister, Paul Holmes, said that the statistics revealed the rules introduced by the previous Conservative Government to radically reduce net migration and tackle visa abuse continue to work and are bringing down unsustainable levels of legal migration.