UK unveils new visa scheme for scientists after Brexit
Britain on Sunday announced a new fast-track visa scheme for top scientists, researchers and mathematicians as it prepares a new immigration system for life outside the European Union.
Prime Minister Boris Johnson revealed the plan just days before Brexit finally takes place on January 31. Concerns about mass migration were a driving force in the 2016 campaign to leave the EU, and Johnson has promised to end free movement with the bloc. But he said on Sunday: "As we leave the EU, I want to send a message that the UK is open to the most talented minds in the world, and stand ready to support them to turn their ideas into reality."
EU free movement will continue for 11 months after Brexit during a transition period designed to allow London and Brussels to agree a new future partnership. The government hopes to introduce a new points-based immigration system on January 1, 2021, for EU and non-EU citizens, but the details are still being worked out.
The newly announced Global Talent visa system will come into effect from next month, to replace the Tier 1 (Exceptional Talent) visa.
Only around 550 of the old visas were issued in 2018-19, well below the cap of 2,000, and officials hope the new, uncapped scheme will be more enticing. It is open to a wider range of applicants, and offers an easier route to settling in Britain.
The government also unveiled an extra £300 million (356 million euros, $392 million) to fund "experimental and imaginative mathematical sciences research" over the next five years.
"The UK has a proud history of scientific discovery, but to lead the field and face the challenges of the future we need to continue to invest in talent and cutting-edge research," Johnson said in a statement. Ex president Evo Morales' socialist party topped an opinion poll published Sunday just over three months out from a general election in Bolivia.
The poll results came two days after interim president Jeanine Anez-who took over from Morales a little over two months ago-announced she would stand in the May 3 election.
However, Anez came only fourth in the poll with 12 percent as the former president's Movement for Socialism (MAS) -- whose candidate is former economy minister Luis Arce-came top with 26 percent. Centrist ex president Carlos Mesa-who finished second to Morales in an October election that was subsequently annulled-and right-wing Luis Fernando Camacho each polled 17 percent in the survey by Mercados y Muestras and published in the Pagina Siete newspaper.
The poll was conducted between January 9-13 -- before MAS picked Arce as its candidate-so his name did not appear on questionnaire.
Protests broke out after Morales was declared the winner of the October 20 election amid accusations of fraud. Three weeks of at times violent unrest followed before Morales resigned after an audit by the Organization of American states found clear evidence the poll was rigged in the then-president's favor. Morales fled the country as dozens were killed in further rioting, mostly by his MAS supporters. He now lives in exile in Argentina and has been barred from standing in the May election.
Conservative Anez initially claimed when assuming the interim presidency that she had no intention of running in the election.
However, after two influential ministers urged her to change her mind, she announced on Friday she would indeed stand.
Morales welcomed Anez's candidacy in a message on Saturday in which he said "it's her right." Anez's candidacy risks splitting the vote of those opposed to MAS and increases Arce's chances of winning outright in the first round.