There’s no question that the UK’s startup ecosystem depends on the ability of tech talent to move freely to the country. Fortunately there’s some good news for skill-starved businesses: Tech City UK has announced a new iteration of its previous Tier 1 ‘exceptional talent’ visa, making it even easier for the world’s best and brightest coders and c-suite execs to migrate to these shores.
The latest Tech Nation Visa Scheme aims to make it easier for businesses in the tech space to secure the best talent the world has to offer and ensure the UK can retain its advantage in the global digital economy. Resulting from a series of consultations with founders and executives of UK tech firms, the new visa will make migration easier for skilled technical talent with the addition of four new qualifying criteria.
The Tech Nation Visa Scheme’s first additional provision will allow UK-based scaleups to access individuals with experience of scaling a product internationally, guiding a company to an IPO or in the disciplines of data science, artificial intelligence, machine learning, developers operations or cyber security. Its second additional provision enables companies to bring individuals that show exceptional promise into the UK, whilst the third has created an applications procedure to help boost the northern powerhouse, providing a fast track for the cities of Hull, Leeds, Liverpool, Manchester, Newcastle, Sheffield and Sunderland. The final provision added will allow businesses to recruit entire teams of exceptional individuals, allowing five people to apply at the same time.
Ed Vaizey, minister for the digital economy, said: “The digital technology sector is a core building block of the government’s plans to support an internationally competitive northern powerhouse as well as the UK’s leadership in digital innovation. This new visa scheme will support fast growth digital businesses in their quest to bring the best and brightest to British shores as we continue to stake our claim as a tech nation on the global stage.”
Eileen Burbidge, partner at Passion Capital and chair of Tech City UK, added: “Engaging with the digital business community to ensure the government is offering practical support to accelerate company growth is what Tech City UK is about and these revisions to the visa programme address the highest priority for all company founders – that of growing and scaling a business with the best talent from around the world.”
So if you’re looking for the perfect programmer, it should be easier than ever to find the candidate you need. 
