A
scheme which has brought more than 100 high-tech business top flyers to the UK
is to be extended.
The
Home Office said its Innovators Scheme will be extended indefinitely after a
two-year pilot in which 112 of the most talented people in the world have come
to Britain to set up high-tech businesses in areas such as
e-commerce,
electronic share dealing and music industry technology.
The
scheme is designed to create an economic entry route for people whose business
ideas will bring economic benefit to the UK but who would not qualify under
existing schemes.
Under
the Innovators Scheme, entrepreneurs with new and creative business ideas –
particularly in science and technology – can enter the UK for an initial 18
months.
The
scheme has a rigorous selection process and people wanting to enter under the
scheme have to provide a business plan along with other supporting material and
demonstrate that their business will create up to two additional jobs in the
UK.
Home
Office Minister Beverley Hughes said: "We are an open, trading nation and
migrants contribute a great deal to our society and our economy. In a modern,
global economy it is essential that we can attract the people and skills we
need to create successful businesses and generate jobs and economic
growth."
