By Yash Dubal, Director, A Y & J Solicitors
The technological shift means companies no longer need to worry; it can be the golden ticket of ease of use and cost savings. One of the key areas highlighted in the 2019 Home Office Future technology trends in security white paper is innovation.
The report states that: “In the ‘information age’ many technologies are now very freely available and could aid terrorists or criminals as well as having entirely legitimate purposes – such as the ‘dark net’ and advanced encryption.”
It points to strong opportunities for innovation’ if government ‘can harness the scientific and industrial capabilities required to take advantage of the technologies and innovation and to develop them to market’.
The UK government has a core role as a facilitator of collaboration between industry and researchers, helping large and small businesses to work together and identifying common goals and strategies across sectors to leverage the UK’s advantages in technological innovation. “This will require a skilled workforce, access to high-quality research, and international collaboration,” the report states.
The drive for technological innovation is not reflected in average R&D expenditure, however. According to National Science Board research published in 2020, between 2000 and 2017 the UK’s average growth of domestic R&D was four percent. In India, it was eight percent. In China, it was 17 percent.
Recent times and tech trends have shown the importance of migrants, and therefore the importance of immigration policy that enables the movement of skilled people. From Covid vaccines to AI breakthroughs, migrants have been at the forefront of technological advances. This is particularly relevant in high-income countries, which can attract workers with the required skills from lower-income families with the promise of a better life for them and their families. In information, communication, and information technology, foreign-born workers make up 24 percent of the workforce.
This trend is set to continue under the UK’s new points-based immigration system, under which extra points are awarded to applicants a high-level qualification, such as a Ph.D. in a STEM subject.
Several new visa routes opened under the system target tech workers. The ‘global talent visa’ is available to exceptional figures in sectors including digital.
The High Potential Individual visa route, designed to entice graduates from top global universities. This new visa, which will be open to individuals who have graduated from a government-approved list of educational establishments.
Meanwhile last month (February) the UK Home Office close the Tier 1 Investor route, also known as the ‘golden visa’. This controversial route was used by wealthy individuals who could effectively buy their way into the UK for a £2m investment. It was used by several wealthy Indian migrants but was cancelled due to concerns that it facilitated a flow of ‘dirty money from dubious origins into the UK, particularly from Russian oligarchs connected to the Putin regime.
Any future investment-related migration will now be considered under the terms of the new Innovator visa route, due to be implemented this autumn. This new visa targets those with ‘skills and experience relevant to investment in the innovative business ecosystem’. Applicants will be subject to an independent assessment by qualified endorsing bodies.
The trend, therefore, continues to be to target and lure talent in the technology sector.
Other measures that will attract Indian tech expertise to the UK include the Global Talent Network which aims to source science and tech talent from universities, innovation hubs, and research institutions overseas. A hub will be established in Bengaluru, India, this year.
The tech partnership between the two nations began in earnest in 2018, two years after the UK voted to leave the EU. At that year’s Commonwealth Summit, the UK and India signed the UK-India Tech Partnership, an agreement designed to nurture relationships between SMEs, VC funds, universities, and other investors in both countries. It was estimated the partnership would create thousands of tech jobs in the UK.
Over 40 percent of Indian companies operating in the UK are technology firms and tech-based trade between the two nations was valued at $25bn last year. Pandemic-driven digital transformation has increased this value and several of India’s largest technology companies – including Tata Consultancy Services, HCL Technologies, and Infosys – have recently expanded their operational presence in London.
