Tech Nation sees 28 per cent rise in applications for its Global Talent Visa
Tech Nation’s Global Talent Visa has seen a 28 per cent year-on-year rise in applications to surpass the 4,000 milestone.
Despite the pandemic, the company received a 28 per cent increase in applications for the visa, which is open to both highly skilled tech employees and tech founders, comparing the 12 months to March 2020 and the 12 months to March 2021.
The Tech Nation Global Talent Visa has received over 4,000 applications from 102 countries. Over a third (35 per cent) of these have come through in the last 12 months and 58 per cent in the last 24 months.
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2021 has seen large increases in applicants across key sectors, the data showed. The number of applicants in cybersecurity has increased by 172 per cent since 2018, while there was a 75 per cent rise in applicants with a fintech background, and the number with experience in healthtech climbed by 117 per cent.
The number of founders applying for the scheme has increased by 74 per cent on average every year since 2018, with over 600 tech founders now having been endorsed by Tech Nation.
Over a third (39 per cent) of applicants endorsed for the Tech Nation Global Talent Visa are based outside of London, including Edinburgh, Newcastle, Cambridge, Oxford, Leeds, and Manchester.
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“The UK is a global powerhouse for tech, not only due to our world-class ideas and innovation, but our world-class talent too,” said Gerard Grech, founding chief executive of Tech Nation.
“Tech Nation’s Global Talent Visa is just one of the many reasons the UK is such an attractive hub for ambitious and inspiring tech entrepreneurs, and will help ensure the UK remains one of the best destinations to start and scale a tech business in the months and years to come.”
Tech Nation has been designated by the Home Office to endorse applications for the Global Talent Visa since 2014.