A fast-track element of the UK’s Global Talent Visa intended for prize winners has received only three applicants in two years and has been described by one visa specialist as an ‘embarrassing flop’.
Eligible applicants included prize winners across the arts, physics, chemistry, engineering, economic science and medicine. However, figures released last week in response to a freedom of information request by Research Professional News show that just three people have qualified for the fast-track process since the route was launched in May 2021.
The overall Global Talent visa allows foreign individuals engaged in fields such as academia and research, arts and culture, as well as digital technology, to work in the UK for a period of five years without a sponsor or a job.
Former home secretary Priti Patel, announcing the scheme in 2021, stated: “Winners of these awards have reached the pinnacle of their career and they have so much to offer the UK. These important changes will give them the freedom to come and work in our world-leading arts, sciences, music, and film industries as we build back better.”
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However, the Home Office has claimed few applicants were expected anyway. A spokesperson said: “Due to the exclusivity of the prizes which qualify under the ‘prestigious prize’ pathway of the Global Talent route, we do not expect a high volume of applications in comparison with other immigration routes.”
Visa expert Yash Dubal, director of A Y & J Solicitors, called the scheme a flop and said it should be scrapped to avoid further embarrassment.
He said: “It was always doubtful whether the fast-track element of the Global Talent Visa would work because announcing that certain people are eligible for a certain visa is never a guarantee they will apply. You have to give people a reason to uproot from their home nations and relocate to another country, especially when you are targeting people of international renown.
“The government has failed to grasp this and subsequently the scheme has flopped, which is an embarrassment and damages the image of the UK. I think it’s time to quietly retire this element of the Global Talent Visa route. It’s been running for three years now and the fact that only three people have qualified in that time shows there is no demand.”
Dubal added: “I don’t think elitist schemes like this give the right message when there is such competition across the world for skilled workers.”
Mike Galsworthy, director of the campaign group Scientists for EU, added to the criticism of the scheme, saying that the government had failed to create an environment that was attractive enough to draw-in these talented individuals.
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