Innovator Founder visas Another option for tech founders is the new Innovator Founder category, which replaces the Innovator and Start Up routes, removing the old routes’ more onerous requirements (e.g. a £50,000 minimum investment for Innovators). Endorsement that a business plan is innovative, viable and scalable is required by a government-appointed endorsing body. It is more attractive than its predecessor routes, but not only does the initial endorsement require more administrative hurdles and transparency than many entrepreneurs may want; for settlement after three years, various business targets must be met too. UK Expansion Worker While in most cases firms will need an established, operating business in the UK to sponsor staff to come to work here, under this new UK immigration route, an overseas business can send a small team to establish a branch or subsidiary in the UK. Companies established and trading overseas for three years or more can now send up to five employees to set up UK operations. The Home Office will require particular documents regarding your UK footprint, overseas trading and business plans to expand in the UK. Scale-up visa Tech professionals could also avail themselves of the Scale-up route, which requires sponsorship by an eligible scale-up company. However, the main advantages to this route are a lightertouch sponsor licence process, no Immigration Skills Charge and, most controversially, after being sponsored for six months, the tech professional can then choose to work for different employers in the UK. Although this may not appeal to sponsors who have gone through the time and cost of sponsoring an individual only to then lose them to another employer, it might be more appealing for tech professionals seeking a greater degree of flexibility. What are the potential challenges or obstacles that tech companies may face when hiring talent in the UK, and how should they look to overcome them? As Britain aims to be a tech superpower, with our tech sector continuing to grow in comparison to other European tech hubs, the industry continues to require the best talent from around the world to fuel its rapid growth. There are several challenges and obstacles facing tech companies hiring foreign talent in the UK. Shortage of talent The tech industry is one of the UK sectors where clients have been constantly facing a skills shortage, and Brexit has only exacerbated the issue. Britain is competing with tech hubs across the world for the best talent and post-pandemic, most of the developing world is experiencing similar skills shortages. In the UK, the US and the EU, vacancies have increased to match or outstrip the availability of people. Costs Despite the government’s stated ambition of making the UK one of the top global innovation hubs, it has hiked up visa application fees to unprecedented levels and proposes to increase the Immigration Health Surcharge for migrants soon. Like all sectors, tech companies looking to hire foreign talent are now facing significantly higher costs of onboarding migrant talent. 50 LAWYER MONTHLY NOVEMBER 2023 The Global Talent visa has become the greatest accolade our immigration system can bestow on those who excel in their fields.
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