Boris Johnson’s fast-track visa scheme to bring leading talent to the UK in the wake of Brexit is attracting only about seven researchers a week from the European Union, fuelling fears that Britain is struggling to attract top scientific talent.
Designed to “attract the world’s top scientists, researchers and mathematicians”, the Global Talent visa was hailed by the prime minister as sending a “message that the UK is open to the most talented minds in the world” when it was launched in February 2020.
It replaced the Exceptional Talent route, which was capped at 2,000 individuals a year, in the expectation that a new uncapped scheme was needed from 2021 when EU citizens were required to gain visas to work after freedom of movement ended.
Anyone named on a research grant from a funder endorsed by UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) or who held a recognised fellowship from a charity, funder or learned society would be eligible for the visa. Those holding a university job offer for a post involving research or academic leadership would also be eligible, while outstanding young scientists could also qualify as “exceptional talent” if endorsed by a number of UK research funders, including the Royal Society, British Academy and UKRI.
However, take-up of the new visa scheme in the first year after Brexit seems limited. Analysis by Times Higher Education shows that in 2021, only 372 individuals from the EU were awarded Global Talent visas once dependent family members are excluded. Of these, 78 came from Italy, 73 from Germany, 52 from Spain and 49 from France.
Overall, the scheme was used by a total of 1,842 people globally in 2021 – about 35 a week on average – of which 556 came from Asia, including 271 from India and 134 from China. A total of 288 came from North America and 196 from Africa, including 119 from Nigeria.
The scheme has already faced ridicule after not a single person applied under its prestigious prize route aimed at Nobel laureates and other prizewinners in its first six months. However, the relatively low numbers are likely to raise further questions about the UK’s ability to recruit top scientific talent if it ends up outside the EU’s Horizon Europe scheme, and whether government targets to recruit an additional 150,000 researchers by 2030 – roughly 150 extra a week – are realistic.
A Home Office spokesman said that the Global Talent route, which “makes it easier for the world’s most esteemed scientists and researchers to continue their careers in the UK,” had seen “a significant increase in applicants compared to the predecessor route, despite the impact of the pandemic on travel”. The Skilled Worker route had also seen “increased demand”, he continued, adding: “We want to continue to attract brilliant people and businesses from across the world, creating a world-leading research and development system that unleashes innovation and drives economic growth across the UK.”
However, Peter Coveney, professor of physical chemistry at UCL, said that the EU entrant numbers seemed “pretty low given the size of UK science. You would expect an order of magnitude higher than this,” said Professor Coveney, who added that EU researchers were increasingly reluctant to apply for UK-based posts. “Without Horizon Europe, the funding landscape is pretty barren and there are not the same funding opportunities available,” he continued.
Chi Onwurah, shadow science minister, said the low take-up of visas was unsurprising and reflected the “government’s over-reliance on optimistic rhetoric and lack of support for scientists already in the UK”.
“The government needs to end the uncertainty of science funding and set out a much more ambitious plan to make this country an innovation leader with the high-skill, high-wage jobs which will follow,” said Ms Onwurah, adding that Labour would ensure at least 3 per cent of GDP was invested in research annually.
