UK Visa Options for Start-Ups and Those Entering The UK in The Tech Sector

Establishing a tech start-up is exciting, but it also presents a variety of challenges. We know that developing your product, securing funding and building a skilled founding team are mammoth tasks. Once you have identified that ideal candidate, navigating the UK’s complex immigration system can present another major challenge.

While many clients are focussed on training and upskilling local talent, it is often necessary to employ skilled overseas workers. This is particularly necessary in the tech sector where there are acute shortages of skilled workers. In our two-part mini-series, we will provide a summary of the available UK visa options and highlight the potential advantages and disadvantages of the most relevant routes. The two posts will provide only a brief overview and will focus on the perspective of the start-up founder.

In this first instalment we will take a look at the Skilled Worker, Intra Company Transfer and Global Talent routes.  

Who needs a visa?

If a candidate is not British or settled in the UK (Irish, or someone with indefinite leave to remain), they will almost certainly need a visa to work for you.

European nationals who resided in the UK before the end of the Brexit transition period (i.e., by 31 December 2020) should hold status under the EU Settlement Scheme, which permits them to work. Those who missed the 30 June 2021 deadline may still be able to make a very late application—although extremely long processing delays mean this option will not be a quick fix and should be avoided if the need to hire is urgent.

Current UK visa options

Skilled Worker and Intra Company Transfer (ICT) visas

The Skilled Worker and ICT categories are the UK’s work permits.

• Skilled Worker: Used to recruit individuals to work in the UK in a specific job. To qualify, an individual must score 50 points under the mandatory criteria and 20 points under the tradeable criteria. Points are awarded for sponsorship, a job offer with an appropriate skill level, demonstrating an ability to speak English and meeting a salary requirement. There are concessions on salary for shortage occupations, new entrants and for some who hold a PhD.
  • Advantages:
    • Objective criteria gives the employer relative certainty
    • The employee’s visa and right to reside in the UK is dependent on their ongoing employment with you, their sponsor
    • Super priority service and priority service will give the applicant a decision within one to two business days or five business days, respectively
    • The employee should qualify for settlement in the UK after five years of residence, if requirements are met
  • Disadvantages:
    • Expensive—sponsors must pay the Immigration Skills Charge (ISC) of £1,000 per year per sponsored employee (a lesser charge of £364 applies to small and charitable sponsors), as well as the government application fee and Immigration Health Surcharge
• ICT: Aimed at existing employees of group entities who are travelling to the UK on temporary assignments and are not required in the UK permanently. To qualify, an individual must score 60 points. Points are awarded for sponsorship from an employer with an Intra Company sponsor licence, job offer with an appropriate skill and salary level.
  • Advantages:
    • Objective criteria gives the employer relative certainty
    • The employee’s visa and right to reside in the UK is dependent on their ongoing employment with you, their sponsor
    • Fast processing—same processing times as the Skilled Worker category
    • No need to evidence the English language requirement
  • Disadvantages:
    • Expensive—same government fees as the Skilled Worker category
    • The ICT category does not lead to settlement in the UK

To sponsor an individual, your company must have a sponsor licence issued by UK Visas and Immigration (UKVI). The company takes on record keeping and reporting duties and can be audited by the UKVI at any time. The application fee (not inclusive of legal fees) for a small company is £536, and £1,476 for medium or large companies. Once filed with the UKVI, a sponsor licence should be considered within eight weeks. There is a priority service available for an additional cost of £500, which should shorten processing time to 15 working days.

Global Talent – Tech Nation Visa

Global Talent is a flexible visa route for individuals who can show they have exceptional talent or promise in their chosen field of expertise. Applicants must first obtain endorsement from one of six approved endorsing bodies recognised by the UKVI. A Global Talent migrant can live and work in the UK without restriction, and their visa is not contingent on working for a specific company, though they must work in a job within their endorsed field in order to qualify for settlement.

• Advantages:
  • No sponsorship required—no cost to the employer and no ISC
  • Unrivalled flexibility—the visa holder can be an employee of a tech firm or establish their own start-up
  • Leads to settlement in the UK after three years (Talent) or five years (Promise)—you can also combine time spent in the UK in certain other categories, such as Skilled Worker and Innovator
• Disadvantages:
  • Subjective and challenging endorsement criteria—this visa is for those who are leading talents or have shown potential to one day be a leading talent in tech, and is therefore, not a suitable route for everyone

Tech Nation is the body capable of endorsing digital technology applicants to enter the Global Talent route. Fragomen is proud to be the exclusive UK immigration provider for Tech Nation.

Individuals must show that they have been recognised as a leading talent in the digital technology sector (or for Exceptional Promise – recognised as having the potential to become a leading talent).

Endorsement applications can take up to eight weeks to be processed. If endorsed, the visa application is very straight forward and a five working day priority service is available in most countries around the world.

Need to Know More?

If you are in the process of setting up your business and are looking to gain immigration permission, or to employ someone who needs status, there are lots of options and possibilities. Navigating them needn’t be a headache and we would be very happy to have a chat to set you on the right path. If you would like to discuss a visa category in more detail, or if you have any questions,  please contact John Kiely at [email protected].

You should also look out for part two of this mini-series which will be posted next week, where we will be looking at other potential UK visa options for the tech sector.

This blog was published on 24 February 2022, and the UK’s Immigration Rules change frequently. To keep up-to-date with all the latest updates on global immigration, please visit our dedicated COVID-19 site, subscribe to our alerts and follow us on LinkedIn, Twitter, Facebook and Instagram.