On 13 January 2025, an ‘AI Opportunities Action Plan’ was presented to Parliament by the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology.
UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer’s response to the Plan is available online.
The Plan, led by tech entrepreneur Matt Clifford, contains 50 Recommendations to propel the UK forward in AI by:
- Growing the UK’s AI sector
- Driving the adoption of AI across the economy (to boost growth)
- Improving products and services
Keir Starmer’s written response to the Plan, is, in general terms, full of ardour – reinforcing Labour’s recognition of the importance of AI in all aspects of life, from health and education to bookkeeping and engineering.
The response strongly reinforces Labour’s commitment to maintaining the UK’s global position as an AI leader.
We are particularly interested in the Plan’s Recommendation 21, a proposal to make UK immigration routes more attractive to AI talent overseas (particularly elite graduates).
You can read Recommendation 21 for yourself here, alongside the government’s response to Recommendation 21 (and what this response means for UK immigration).
AI Opportunities Action Plan, Recommendation 21:
“21. Explore how the existing immigration system can be used to attract graduates from universities producing some of the world’s top AI talent. Graduates from some leading AI institutions, such as the Indian Institutes of Technology and (since 2020) Carnegie Mellon University in the US, are not currently included in the High Potential Individual visa eligibility list. Government should take steps to develop new pathways, and strengthen existing ones, to support these graduates. It should also explore how best to address wider barriers like the cost and complexity of visas which create obstacles for startups and deter overseas talent from re-locating to the UK”
Written Response to Recommendation 21:
“Partially agree. The Industrial Strategy will set out how the UK will attract highly skilled AI workers from abroad. The UK offers internationally competitive visas that can support a range of individual needs, including for talent to join UK-based organisations or to start their own business. Talented AI graduates from institutions not on the HPI eligibility lists can enter the UK through any one of a number of other visa routes, including Skilled Worker, Innovator Founder, Government Authorised Exchange and Global Talent.”
Government’s intention
Hesitantly replying (in partial agreement with Recommendation 21), the government highlights that there are already routes for top AI talent to come to the UK (Global Talent visa, High Potential Individual visa etc).
“Knee-jerk” changes to changing economic needs have backfired for previous governments (see the catastrophic expansion of care worker visas in 2022) so this initial caution is understandable.
Despite the restrictive and expensive nature of the current system, the government do not seem to have any appetite for creating new visa routes for AI talent or for implementing any radical shakeups of the immigration system.
The government will maintain consistency within the existing structure of the immigration rules and (somewhat ironically perhaps) they would prioritise continuity over change for AI talent visa routes.
Possible Enhancements
If radically new visa options for AI specialists / Elite AI graduates are a step too far, the government could also consider enhancing existing routes and rules to make them more attractive:
- Fine-tuning existing routes, such as the skilled worker route, to make it faster and easier to secure sponsorship.
- Reduce costs for AI specialists in existing routes. With the immigration health surcharge alone topping £5,175 for a 5-year visa), fee discounts would be a sensible way to make immigration to the UK more attractive to applicants.
- Expanding the list of eligible institutions for the High Potential Individual Visa (HPI). Recommendation 21 highlights that the High Potential Individual route (non-sponsored temporary work route) does not include two of the leading AI institutions as eligible universities (from which the applicant must have graduated, to get the visa).
There is fierce international competition to attract the top AI talent. Compromises to the immigration system, like those mentioned above, could help make the UK more welcoming for international AI talent.
In conclusion
The AI Opportunities Action Plan proposes to boost visa options for AI talent.
With a less-than-enthusiastic response, we can expect that the government will be doing less “boosting” and more “nudging” – by promoting and encouraging migration through existing channels, rather than opening new visa routes for AI talent.
However, we should watch this space.
Changes for “AI visa” applicants (be it relaxation of existing routes, fast-tracking visa applications or reductions in current visa fees) are a real possibility and, if taken up, could even be implemented as early as Spring (2025).
