London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Sunday, Sep 28, 2025

Priti Patel's fast-track visa scheme for scientists attracted zero applicants in first six months

Priti Patel's fast-track visa scheme for scientists attracted zero applicants in first six months

The Home Office says that there have been thousands of applications for other immigration schemes, but none from people who have won prestigious awards.
A fast-track visa scheme launched by the home secretary Priti Patel in May to entice Nobel laureates and similarly prestigious prize-winners to the UK has resulted in no applications in six months, it has been revealed.

There are more than 70 prizes that could make an applicant eligible for this immigration route, including the Nobel Prizes, the Fields Medal for mathematics, and computer science's Turing Award.

In the arts, the route is open to people who have won one of numerous awards including an Oscar, Grammy, BAFTA or Golden Globe, alongside other prizes in music, fashion, theatre, and architecture.

"Winners of these awards have reached the pinnacle of their career and they have so much to offer the UK," said Ms Patel at the time of the launch.

"These important changes will give them the freedom to come and work in our world leading arts, sciences, music, and film industries as we build back better," she added.

The fast-track Global Talent route was meant to offer potential immigrants to the UK the ability to simply cite their prestigious award as evidence of their achievements, rather than having to apply to an endorsing body alongside their visa application.

"This is exactly what our new point-based immigration system was designed for - attracting the best and brightest based on the skills and talent they have, not where they've come from," Ms Patel said.

But despite this, according to a freedom of information request reported by New Scientist magazine, "no one working in science, engineering, the humanities or medicine has actually applied for a visa through this route".

A spokesperson for the Home Office told Sky News the scheme had received applications but did not explain which sector the applicant had worked in nor when the application was made.

"The Prestigious Prizes' route makes it easier for those at the pinnacle of their career to bring their unrivalled expertise to the UK and contribute to our world-leading sectors including science, engineering, humanities and medicine," they said.

"It is just one option under our Global Talent route, through which we have received thousands of applications since its launch in February 2020 and this continues to rise," the spokesperson added, referencing the date when Britain left the European Union.

"We have received applications through the Prestigious Prizes pathway, however due to the exclusivity of the prizes which qualify under the Prestigious Prize pathway, we did not expect a high volume of applications in comparison with the 'endorsement' pathway or other immigration routes."

The shadow science minister Chi Onwurah told the magazine: "It's clear this is just another gimmick from a government that over-spins and under-delivers.

"It is not surprising that the government has failed so comprehensively to attract scientists from abroad, given their lack of consistent support for scientists here."
Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
U.S. Defense Chief Orders Sudden Summit of Hundreds of Generals and Admirals
Global Cruise Industry Posts Dramatic Comeback with 34.6 Million Passengers in 2024
Trump Claims FBI Planted 274 Agents at Capitol Riot, Citing Unverified Reports
India: Internet Suspended in Bareilly Amid Communal Clashes Between Muslims and Hindus
Supreme Court Extends Freeze on Nearly $5 Billion in U.S. Foreign Aid at Trump’s Request
Archaeologists Recover Statues and Temples from 2,000-Year-Old Sunken City off Alexandria
China Deploys 2,000 Workers to Spain to Build Major EV Battery Factory, Raising European Dependence
Speed Takes Over: How Drive-Through Coffee Chains Are Rewriting U.S. Coffee Culture
U.S. Demands Brussels Scrutinize Digital Rules to Prevent Bias Against American Tech
Ringo Starr Champions Enduring Beatles Legacy While Debuting Las Vegas Art Show
Private Equity’s Fundraising Surge Triggers Concern of European Market Shake-Out
Colombian President Petro Vows to Mobilize Volunteers for Gaza and Joins List of Fighters
FBI Removes Agents Who Kneeled at 2020 Protest, Citing Breach of Professional Conduct
Trump Alleges ‘Triple Sabotage’ at United Nations After Escalator and Teleprompter Failures
Shock in France: 5 Years in Prison for Former President Nicolas Sarkozy
Tokyo’s Jimbōchō Named World’s Coolest Neighbourhood for 2025
European Officials Fear Trump May Shift Blame for Ukraine War onto EU
BNP Paribas Abandons Ban on 'Controversial Weapons' Financing Amid Europe’s Defence Push
Typhoon Ragasa Leaves Trail of Destruction Across East Asia Before Making Landfall in China
The Personality Rights Challenge in India’s AI Era
Big Banks Rebuild in Hong Kong as Deal Volume Surges
Italy Considers Freezing Retirement Age at 67 to Avert Scheduled Hike
Italian City to Impose Tax on Visiting Dogs Starting in 2026
Arnault Denounces Proposed Wealth Tax as Threat to French Economy
Study Finds No Safe Level of Alcohol for Dementia Risk
Denmark Investigates Drone Incursion, Does Not Rule Out Russian Involvement
Lilly CEO Warns UK Is ‘Worst Country in Europe’ for Drug Prices, Pulls Back Investment
Nigel Farage Emerges as Central Force in British Politics with Reform UK Surge
Disney Reinstates ‘Jimmy Kimmel Live!’ after Six-Day Suspension over Charlie Kirk Comments
U.S. Prosecutors Move to Break Up Google’s Advertising Monopoly
Nvidia Pledges Up to $100 Billion Investment in OpenAI to Power Massive AI Data Center Build-Out
U.S. Signals ‘Large and Forceful’ Support for Argentina Amid Market Turmoil
Nvidia and Abu Dhabi’s TII Launch First AI-&-Robotics Lab in the Middle East
Vietnam Faces Up to $25 Billion Export Loss as U.S. Tariffs Bite
Europe Signals Stronger Support for Taiwan at Major Taipei Defence Show
Indonesia Court Upholds Military Law Amid Concerns Over Expanded Civilian Role
Larry Ellison, Michael Dell and Rupert Murdoch Join Trump-Backed Bid to Take Over TikTok
Trump and Musk Reunite Publicly for First Time Since Fallout at Kirk Memorial
Vietnam Closes 86 Million Untouched Bank Accounts Over Biometric ID Rules
Explosive Email Shows Sarah Ferguson Begged Forgiveness from Jeffrey Epstein After Taking His Money
Corrupt UK Politician Ed Davey Demands Elon Musk’s Arrest for Supporting Democracy
UK, Canada, and Australia Officially Recognise Palestine in Historic Shift
Alibaba Debuts Open-Source Deep Research Agent with Benchmarks Rivaling OpenAI
Marcos Faces Legacy-Defining Crisis as Flood Projects Scandal Sparks Massive Tide of Protests
China’s Micro-Drama Boom Turns Stalled Real Estate Projects into Lavish Film Sets
New Eye Drops Show Promise in Replacing Reading Glasses for Presbyopia
'Company Got 5,189 H-1B Visas, Then Laid Off 16,000 Americans': US Defends New $100,000 H-1B Visa Fee
Golf legend tells Omar she should be 'sent back to Somalia' after her Kirk comments
EU Set to Bar Big Tech from New Financial Data Access Scheme
China Bans Livestreaming and AI in Religion Amid Crackdown on Shaolin Temple Scandal
×