A government-commissioned proposal is expected to say that the UK visa rules and cost should be reduced for foreigners who are experts in the artificial intelligence field.
Venture capitalist Matt Clifford submitted the “AI Opportunities Action Plan” to the government last month. In it, he set out several recommendations on what the government can do to attract more foreign talent focused on developing machine learning technologies, VisaGuide.World reports.
Data show that this specific sector needs help in nurturing British AI companies and preventing them from leaving the country.
As the Financial Times explains, concerned about the situation, several individuals have said that the country has lengthy bureaucratic procedures and high costs when it comes to hiring staff from abroad.
Taking this into account, they want the visa process to be improved, suggesting that they support the recommendations made by Clifford.
Even though it is still too early to know what will happen with the proposal, it is believed that the move to ease the visa process will face some pushback from the Home Office of the UK, especially now that the government is trying to reduce migration to the country.
UK Granted Over 12,000 Global Talent Visas Within 3-Year Period
According to the Financial Times, foreigners who have tech and AI skills and who want to enter the UK for work purposes mainly choose one route, which is the global talent visa. This type of visa has been available since 2020, and a large number of applications have been registered over the years.
Within a three-year period, from April 2020 to April 2023, around 17,012 foreign nationals applied for the UK’s global talent visa. Government data show that during the same period, over 12,000 global talent visas were issued.
However, it was found that the applicants were not very happy with the application process, and they did not expect it to take so long.
Before being able to submit their global talent visa application, foreign applicants need to be endorsed by a UK body, which costs around £520 ($676). They then need to wait for their endorsement to be approved before, which costs another £200 ($260).
The fees do not end here. Applicants also need to pay a £625 ($812) health surcharge per year and more than £700 ($910) for a dependent to join them in the country.
Considering such high fees and the long application process, many foreigners do not consider the UK as their new work destination. It is yet to be seen what the authorities will think about the recommendations.