On 12th May 2025 the Policy Paper entitled Restoring control over the immigration system (accessible) – GOV.UK (also called the White Paper) was published in the UK. The main intention of the current UK government it says is to reform the UK immigration system in a way which will restore order, control and fairness to the system, bring down net migration and promote economic growth.
Paragraphs 87 – 90 of the White Paper are devoted to Global Talent and focus on its attraction to the UK by streamlining and expanding access to the Global Talent visa, particularly for those in strategic industries like Artificial Intelligence. The UK government aims to simplify the visa process, potentially offering faster routes and increasing the number of individuals coming to the UK on high-talent routes. Below are the relevant quotes from the White Paper:
Global talent
- In the global economy, the race to attract the most desirable talent is fierce, with many countries seeking to improve their attractiveness to this highly prized cohort through various measures including their immigration system.
- The UK’s current immigration system includes targeted routes for individuals who promote growth to come to the UK. Including as entrepreneurs, through the Innovator Founder route, and leaders and future leaders in key fields, through routes including Global Talent and the High Potential Individual (HPI).
- As part of our mission to promote growth, we will go further in ensuring that the very highly skilled have opportunities to come to the UK and access our targeted routes for the brightest and best global talent by:
- increasing the number of people arriving on our very high talent routes, alongside faster routes for bringing people to the UK who have the right skills and experience to supercharge UK growth in strategic industries
- as part of that, increasing places to our scheme for research interns, including those working in the field of Artificial Intelligence, to allow businesses access to additional promising young talent
- make it simpler and easier for top scientific and design talent to use our Global Talent visa
- review our Innovator Founder visa to ensure that it supports entrepreneurial talent currently studying at UK universities to move into the visa so that they can build their business and career in the UK
- double the number of workers that an overseas business can send to the UK with the aim of establishing a presence in the UK
- we will explore a targeted and capped expansion of the HPI route, looking to double the number of qualifying institutions, whilst maintaining the focus of the route on individuals that will have the most benefit to the UK workforce and ensuring that any necessary safeguards are in place
- We are also streamlining the process for employers and skilled workers to get visas, reducing bureaucracy and supporting growth. The transition to eVisa has been successfully providing a significantly better end-to-end experience for individuals throughout their entire journey – from proving their immigration status, to living, studying or working in the UK. With real-time digital access, people have more control over their documents and data, and in the future, people will no longer need to physically to travel to a Visa Application Centre for a second time to collect their passport with a physical endorsement. This improvement will start from later this summer for main applicants on key routes such as study and skilled work, with other routes to follow, streamlining the journey and promoting easy travel to the UK.
- We are going further in our vision to revolutionise the UK Border by using technology to make visible changes to security, flow, and the passenger experience. We have already expanded the use of eGates at the border to more nationalities and age groups, processing millions of arrivals through the UK border each year. Later in 2025 we will be piloting new intelligent technologies that facilitate contactless travel through eGates, removing the need for passengers to present their passport, utilising Facial Comparison technology. This state-of-the-art technology is significantly more efficient at identity verification, leading to shorter queues at the border and a much smoother customer experience.
Currently no Global Talent visa applicant nor their spouse or unmarried partner are required to demonstrate English language skills. This will change: the White Paper emphasises that those coming to the UK need to be familiar with UK culture, law and customs. Without adequate language skills, there is a risk of isolation as well as poor integration. Therefore, it has been declared that a new English language requirement for all adult dependants of workers and students at level A1 (Basic User) will be introduced. For a successful family member visa extension, your spouse or unmarried partner will need to demonstrate progression to level A2 (Basic User), for any visa extension. In order to settle in the UK, your family member will need to proof knowledge of English at the level B2 (Independent User. The same rule most probably will apply for Global Talent when these visa holders reach the settlement stage in the UK to show English Skills level B2 (Independent User).
Redfern Legal has vast experience in assisting with Tech Nation Global Talent endorsements, visa processes, visa extensions and settlement applications. We also provide pre-assessment services where we take the time to understand the circumstances of your tech career and achievements and provide our opinion on the likelihood of success of your endorsement application.
This is the third in a series of 3 blogs on the subject of the Global Talent visa.
Yulia Gutkovich email: ygutkovich@redfernlegal.com
