[TechSparks 2020] UK government eases its visa, immigration policies to boost business with India and other countries

In the current digital era, entrepreneurs want to expand their business boundaries and capture bigger markets. Even countries are aiming for more people to invest in their demography. For this, they are launching many innovative ideas and schemes to woo entrepreneurs and investors from across the globe. 

The UK-India Tech Partnership has also opened doors for many Indian entrepreneurs who aspire to set up or scale their businesses internationally. The partnership has given entrepreneurs access to UK geographies, and the tech hub-partnered network areas like Kenya, Nigeria, Israel, South Africa, Indonesia, and Brazil for expanding or setting up their businesses.

The UK government has also brought forward friendly UK visas and immigration policies for Indian entrepreneurs to enhance the UK-India trade and support tech entrepreneurship in India. 

At YourStory’s flagship event TechSparks 2020, the UK government is associated as a Country Partner for the event. During a keynote session, Harry Booty, UKVI International Communications Lead at UK Home Office, UK Government, spoke about building the right bridges to foster the UK-India entrepreneurial opportunities. 

“The UK is the third-biggest recipient of the Foreign Direct Investment after the US and China, and India is a part of our success. The country has shown to be great friends with the UK in this time of crisis of COVID-19 when it helped UK citizens in India to reach back to their land. On a B2B basis, Indian pharmaceutical companies are vitally providing medicines to the UK government.”

For the UK and India to do business together, the former has eased immigration policies, Harry said. The policy is a single system for all countries that will be launched on January 1, 2021, to invite a pool of talent from across the globe. There are six visa routes to apply through if you are an entrepreneur or an investor aiming for the UK market. 

• Startup visa: The visa is valid for two years and is meant for entrepreneurs who plan to start a business in the UK. 
• Innovative visa: This type of route is for the businesses that have acquired minimum funding of £50,000. It is valid for three years and can be renewed later. 
• The global talent route: It is a key route for highly talented individuals, particularly from areas of academia, research, arts and culture, and digital technology. 
• Investor visa: This is for people with secured finance. The staunching amount is £2 million of investment to invest in a UK-based business. 
• The representative of the overseas business: This is for entrepreneurs who have set up a business in India and wish to start a subsidiary of the same in the UK as part of the same organisation. 
• Designer skilled route/intercompany transfer visa: This is for businesses established in the UK already and planning to expand within the country. 

The UK government network in India is one of the biggest in the world, with nine offices in Delhi, Pune, Bengaluru, Chennai, Hyderabad, Kolkata, Chandigarh, and others. 

 TechSparks - YourStory's annual flagship event - has been India's largest and most important technology, innovation, and entrepreneurship summit for over a decade, bringing together entrepreneurs, policymakers, technologists, investors, mentors, and business leaders for stories, conversations, collaborations, and connections that matter. As TechSparks 2020 goes all virtual and global in its 11th edition, we want to thank you for the tremendous support we've received from all of you throughout our journey and give a huge shoutout to our sponsors of TechSparks 2020.