Rishi Sunak unveils major plan for easy UK visas: ‘For international talent…’

UK prime minister Rishi Sunak said that there’s a certain sense of “urgency and responsibility” to seize AI-driven tech opportunity to help Britain become the “best country in tech business” as he spoke at the London Tech Week 2023– UK’s biggest tech conference.

Talking about his goal to improve the UK visa process, Rishi Sunak said that the country has to “act quickly to retain its position as one of the world’s tech capitals”. Investing in newer technologies including AI, quantum, synthetic biology, and semiconductors is one of his priorities to grow the UK’s economy, he said.

“I believe the UK can achieve this goal because we start from a position of strength. We’ve created 134 unicorns in the last decade – third in the world, behind only the US and China. We’re one of the most digitally literate societies in the world, with a higher percentage of STEM graduates than the US and 4 of the world’s top 10 universities,” Rishi Sunak said.

“It’s this government that’s building the most pro-investment tax regime, that’s increasing public R&D investment to record levels and that’s making our visa system for international talent one of the most competitive in the world. We’re overhauling our listing rules to make it easier for companies to raise public funding, and changing our pensions rules to unlock new private capital,” he added.

“I created a new department focused on science, innovation, and technology with a mission to do things differently – from bringing in world-leading experts to taking more risks in support of innovation.And when the moment came, it was this government that acted to rescue Silicon Valley Bank,” the UK PM continued.