UK visa scheme for top scientists flops

A UK immigration scheme targeting top scientists has flopped after only one person was granted a UK visa in its first year, according to a report published by New Scientist. The scheme, which is intended to encourage Nobel Prize winners and other scientific award winners, was launched in May 2021.

The fast-track visa route was opened to award winners in the fields of science, engineering, the humanities and medicine who want to work in the UK. The idea of the scheme was to make it more straightforward for highly qualified academics to apply for the UK Global Talent Visa – launched in 2020.

A streamlined application process was introduced, exempting applicants from needing to have a grant or a job offer in place from a UK organisation before entering the country. However, a Freedom of Information (FOI) request submitted by New Scientist has revealed that only one person has successfully received a visa via the streamlined process.

No applicants in first six months

A FOI request submitted by New Scientist in November 2021, revealed that the UK visa had no applicants in its first six months. Meanwhile, despite repeated requests, the Home Office has not disclosed how many people have applied for a UK visa through the scheme launched just over a year ago.

The Home Office also hasn’t disclosed details of the prize held by the sole successful applicant, nor which country they are from. A spokesperson for the Home Office said: “Disclosing this information could lead them to being identified, and therefore breaching data protection laws.”

Most of the eligible awards for the UK visa scheme tend to fall in the science, engineering, humanities and medicine categories, though most tend to be of a scientific nature. However, the Nobel Prize for literature is also a qualifying award under the scheme.

Awards outside science

The UK visa scheme is also open to award winners outside the field of science including Grammy Award winners in music or Oscar Award winners in film. The Home Office claims that another applicant was successful when applying for a UK visa under one of these eligible awards. However, they did not disclose any further details.

2010 Nobel Prize winner for his work on graphene, Andre Greim – who works at the University of Manchester – said: “I am surprised indeed, but mostly by the fact that even a single person found this special visa process helpful.”

Richard Catlow at University College London, and a former foreign secretary of the UK’s Royal Society, told New Scientist that he ‘wasn’t surprised by the findings’. He said: “People who win such awards are generally not very mobile and don’t want to uproot themselves and their families unless they’ve got a very good reason to.”

“The real issue facing UK science is to be attractive to people at all career stages, especially those early in their careers. It’s a misconception that science is all about big stars – it’s about teams,” Catlow added.

Difficult to recruit good people

Meanwhile, Peter Coveney at University College London, told New Scientist that this was just the ‘tip of the iceberg’ in what he described as the ‘changing landscape of recruiting academics in the UK’. He said: “It’s becoming increasingly difficult to recruit good people into positions.”

“Many European researchers who are in the UK are leaving,” Coveney added. He claims that the UK’s decision to leave the European Union has deterred many European researchers from coming to the UK right now.

The UK’s shadow science minister, Chi Onwurah, blasted the UK government’s approach to the recruitment of international academics, saying: “The government isn’t serious about British science, instead it just has gimmicks like the visa route.”

“The biggest barrier to attracting talented people to the UK is the government’s consistent failure to support the university sector, students and researchers as well as an increasingly hostile environment for migrants generally,” Onwurah added.

Easier for people at pinnacle of their career

A spokesperson for the Home Office told New Scientist that the prestigious prizes route makes UK entry easier for those at the ‘pinnacle of their career’. “It is just one option under our Global Talent route, through which we have received thousands of applications since its launch in February 2020 and this continues to rise,” the spokesperson said.

Defending the low volume of applicants, the spokesperson said: “Due to the exclusivity of the prizes that qualify under the pathway, the Home Office doesn’t expect a high volume of applications.”

Workpermit.com can help with Sponsor Licences

If you need help with employing Skilled Workers and help to apply for a Sponsor Licence, including complying with your Sponsor Licence obligations, workpermit.com can help.

For more information and advice on Sponsor licences, please contact us on 0344 991 9222 or at london@workpermit.com(link sends e-mail)