Boris Plans New Immigration Rules For Brightest And Best Science Talents

If you’re one of the world’s brightest and best expat scientists, Boris Johnson wants you!

As a counter-measure to a post-Brexit cut-off of EU research funding and the loss of European researchers, Boris Johnson is planning a new visa aimed at encouraging the brightest and best expat brains in the tech, engineering and general science sectors to up sticks and migrate to the UK. The new visa won’t depend on an existing job offer and will also allow applicants’ dependents to seek work. The availability of the so-called ‘Tier 1 Exception Talent’ visa isn’t expected to have a limit on the number of applicants and universities and businesses are broadly welcoming the move.

Since the Brexit referendum, British universities have seen a sharp fall in the numbers of overseas students applying for acceptance, with the bottom line a decrease in overseas students’ fees. Leading universities including Oxford and Cambridge have been voicing their concerns about Brexit’s impact on expat student numbers, the talent pool and existing foreign researchers. Johnson is also keen to introduce an immigration points system similar to that used by Australia, with language competence, higher education qualifications and specialised skills all adding up to a positive immigration decision.

Another essential sector about to be wrecked by a no-deal Brexit is the UK’s NHS healthcare system, already suffering from massive cutbacks over the past decade. Some five per cent of all doctors in the system are EU expats, with 50 per cent now considering repatriating to their home countries. A recent attempt by the NHS to recruit 3,000 EU doctors resulted in just 86 replies, and nursing shortages are even more acute. Since the 2016 referendum, around 2,000 expat nurses have given up and gone home, unable to stand the uncertainty of not knowing whether they’ll be allowed to stay. Their departures have exacerbated an already serious shortage of 40,000 qualified and experienced nursing staff.