‘UK immigration system not…’: Expert on visa rules changes for techies

Yash Dubal, Director of A Y & J Solicitors, in a letter to British HC in Delhi said, the UK immigration system is cumbersome and overly bureaucratic, and the hostile immigration environment promoted by the Government isn’t seen as welcoming. He further suggested that allowing these workers to take their talents to other nations at a time when productivity levels in the UK are floundering would be an own goal.

The Letter highlights that while Australia, Germany, the US, and Canada are adjusting their policies to secure more tech workers, the UK could be left behind if it does not do the same. 

The UK-India Young Professionals Scheme will be launched this year, which offers visas for 18 to 30-year-old degree-educated Indian nationals to work for up to two years, but the number of these visas will be capped at 3,000. Flagship visa routes designed to attract the ‘brightest and best’ talent from around the world have failed to live up to their promise, as interest in the Global Talent Visa and other post-Brexit visa routes has been low.

The surplus of Indian tech workers comes after a decade-long hiring spree of computer programmers and science graduates, but as companies contract in response to the global economic downturn, thousands of these workers have been laid off and many are now struggling to find jobs. Other nations, including the US, Canada, and Germany, have recently taken steps to relax immigration rules to attract more highly skilled migrants, while the Australian government is also reviewing its immigration policies with a view to making the country an easier destination for skilled migrant workers. 

Dubal says that for the UK to remain an attractive option for the brightest and best around the world, it needs policies that are competitive with Germany and other nations that are throwing out the welcome mat to tech-skilled migrants.