Non-EU IT professionals coming to work in UK on the rise

The number of non-EU IT professionals entering the UK to work has increased by 14% in the past year, new research reveals.

Statistics released by the Association of Technology Staffing Companies (ATSCo) found that 38,450 work permits were issued to non-EU IT workers last year, compared to 33,756 in 2006.

More than four out of five of those permits were given to Indian citizens.

ATSCo said the influx was a threat to the long-term survival of the UK's IT industry. Ann Swain, chief executive of ATSCo, said: "Our concern is that the British IT workforce is being bypassed and that this is damaging the long-term competitiveness of the UK IT industry."

She warned of a decline in the number of computer science graduates from UK universities as a result of the foreign influx, and also accused organisations of "exploiting the leaky visa system to import cheap labour from abroad".