UK announces plans for a new start-up visa.

The UK announced that in spring 2019 it will launch a new Start-up visa, accessible to foreign entrepreneurs who have received approval from a university or business sponsor, such as, for example, an accelerator. Apparently, the new visa will replace the current Tier 1 (Graduate Entrepreneur), which is currently only available to applicants who have a UK recognized bachelor, master or Ph.D.

Visas are expected to be issued in the spring of 2019. Additional details will be published in the near future.

An interesting fact is that the announcement was made as part of the London Technical Week, after recognizing (on the part of stakeholders in the technical community and on the recommendation of the Advisory Committee on Migration) the need to amend the immigration procedure for the category of entrepreneurs.

Currently, the Tier 1 (Graduate Entrepreneur) visa is available for applicants who:

• have a bachelor, master or doctorate degree recognized in the UK,
• received approval (in the last three months) from an authorized UK institution of higher education;
• have at least 945 pounds in cash for applicants already in the UK and 1890 pounds outside the country;
• meet the requirements for knowledge of the English language;
• received permission from their sponsor to stay in the UK if their sponsor is a government agency or an international scholarship agency.

The goal of introducing a new Sart-up visa is to open the country to a “wider circle of talented business founders”. The idea is considered as very promising, but so far little is known about who will apply for a visa and whether there will be restrictions on the number of visas issued.

In general, the new visa program is good news that opens up certain prospects for entrepreneurs seeking to do business in the UK. However, at present, most companies are “closing their needs” for qualified specialists with a Tier 2 (General work visa).