Fast-track visa to boost FinTech sector

IMMIGRATION experts today called for further measures to help the recruitment of overseas workers as they welcomed plans for a new “fast-track” visa scheme to help start-up and rapidly growing tech firms.

London First, which represents businesses in the capital, and the immigration law firm Fragomen, said they were pleased by the Chancellor’s pre-Budget announcement of changes that will make it easier for “scale-ups” to bring in highly skilled migrants from abroad.

They will no longer need to obtain a “third-party endorsement” or be backed by a sponsor organisation in a significant simplification of the rules applied as part of the Government’s post-Brexit immigration system.

The move is aimed at boosting the fast-growing FinTech sector, which already contributes around £11 billion a year to the British economy.

But both London First and Fragomen said that further measures should be implemented to meet skills shortages and help the country recover from the impact of the pandemic.

Nadine Goldfoot, the managing partner at Fragomen, said that Rishi Sunak’s plans appeared positive, but that the detail of any reforms would be key.

“It’s really going to be about reducing the administration, the speed to ground, and broadening accessibility,” she said.

“The FinTech industry is a big area for economic growth and it’s clear we don’t have the homegrown talent at the moment so it’s also looking more broadly at education and how we can create better and grow talent in tandem with bringing in overseas talent.”