Tech Nation has announced that it is to close its operations from 31 March 2023, ending its role as endorsing body for tech applicants under the Global Talent route.
The announcement comes after the organisation lost its government funding to Barclays. The Department for Digital, Culture Media and Sport formally awarded the £12 million Digital Growth Grang
It also advised that “our visa programme will continue in the immediate term”. It is not yet clear, however, what this means in practice for current or future applicants.
Applicants for the Global Talent route must first secure endorsement from a Home Office-authorised endorsing body, such as Tech Nation, before they can proceed to make their visa application with the Home office. Applicants have only three months from being endorsed to apply to the Home Office for their visa.
Tech Nation stated it will continue to accept applications until it ceases operations, however, given that endorsing bodies are typically given up to eight weeks to decide applications, it is unclear whether an early cut-off date will be implemented to offer Tech Nation sufficient time to decide pending applications before it closes on 31 March 2023. It is also not clear what the news means for applicants with a pending endorsement with Tech Nation.
As yet, there is no indication of who will take over from Tech Nation in assessing and endorsing Global Talent route applications from within the tech sector.
A Home Office spokesperson said the future governance of the Global Talent visa programme had yet to be decided and that it is working closely with Tech Nation, looking at options to ensure short-term continuity of the route while exploring long-term solutions. They also stated: “We will also take every available step to ensure that applicants already part of the Global Talent route are not disadvantaged by the closure, so the UK can continue to benefit from the brightest and best living and working here.”
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