<p><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image"></div></div></div></p><p>LONDON - Theresa May's government has finally unveiled its plans for UK immigration policy after Brexit.</p><p>The plans, published with just 100 days until the UK's departure from the European Union, seeks to overhaul the current system, with EU migrants set to be treated the same as those from elsewhere in the world.</p><p>The proposed system, unveiled by Home Secretary Sajid Javid on Wednesday, will introduce a single immigration system for all citizens, and end the freedom of movement policy which for years has allowed UK and EU citizens to live and work freely in each other's territories without applying for a visa.</p><p>Prime Minister May says the proposals respect the wish of the UK public to reduce levels of immigration. However, business groups say the plans will damage the economy and deprive key sectors of the workers they need.</p><p>Here are five key things you need to know about the government's new plan.</p><h2><strong>1. Free movement for EU and UK citizens will end</strong></h2><p><strong><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image"></div></div></div></strong></p><p>At present, the UK accepts workers of all skill levels from the EU but only highly skilled workers from the rest of the world. However, after Brexit, the UK's participation in EU freedom of movement will end.</p><p>May's government wants to replace that system with a single system which applies to EU and non-EU citizens alike. It will only give access to highly skilled and skilled workers, with unskilled workers barred from applying. Those coming to the UK through this route will also have to be sponsored by an employer, marking a radical departure from the current system whereby EU citizens do not even have to apply for a visa.</p><p>Those coming to the UK through this route will be able to bring family members and partners.</p><h2><strong>2. Lower-skilled workers will be able to come for a year as 'temporary workers'</strong></h2><p><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image"></div></div></div></p><p>There will also be a temporary worker scheme to allow any citizen from a "low-risk country," likely to include all EU member states, to live and work in the UK for up to 12 months. However, unlike citizens arriving under freedom of movement, people coming under this route will have no rights to access public funds, settle in the UK permanently, or bring family members and loved ones.</p><p>The government says it is also testing a scheme for seasonal agricultural workers in 2019, to test the feasibility of rolling out the scheme nationwide after Brexit. The special exemption for farm workers recognises the fact that the UK's agricultural sector is heavily dependent on seasonal EU labour for jobs such as picking fruit and vegetables.</p><h2>3. EU citizens won't have to apply for visas to holiday in the UK</h2><p><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image"></div></div></div></p><p>The white paper says EU citizens who want to holiday in the UK will not be required to obtain a visa in advance of their visit. The government says it will make a binding commitment to that policy if the EU agrees. EU tourists will be able to spend up to six months in the UK without having to apply for a visa.</p><h2>4. The government is considering £30,000 minimum salary threshold for foreign workers.</h2><p>A report from the Migration Advisory Committee, on which much of the government's white paper is based, recommended a minimum salary threshold of £30,000 for workers applying for a visa from abroad. </p><p>The white paper says it will accept the recommendation for a minimum salary threshold, but it will consult business groups for a year before deciding the exact level. Currently, EU citizens do not have to meet any work requirements to work in the UK.</p><h2><strong>5</strong><strong>. Business groups say it would be a 'sucker punch' for British firms</strong></h2><p><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image"></div></div></div></p><p>The CBI, Britain's largest business group, said the government's proposals would be a "sucker punch" for businesses across the country and said they would damage public confidence as well as the British economy.</p><p>"All skill levels matter to the UK economy. A temporary 12-month route for overseas workers earning under £30,000 would encourage firms to hire a different person each year," the group's Deputy Direct-General Josh Hardie said.</p><p>"That needlessly increases costs and discourages migrants from integrating into local communicates - a key social concern. It's not good for the public or business."</p><p>"A new immigration system must command public confidence and support the economy. These proposals would achieve neither.</p><p>"The proposals outlined in the White Paper don't meet the UK's needs and would be a sucker punch for many firms right across the country.</p><p>"The Government's own analysis suggests people and regions will be poorer as a result of them."</p><p class="tagline">Our Brexit Insider Facebook group is the best place for up-to-date news and analysis about Britain's departure from the EU, direct from Business Insider's political reporters. Join <a href="https://www.facebook.com/groups/267178180471848/">here.</a></p>

Five things you need to know about Theresa May's plans for immigration after Brexit

<p><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table float_right"><div><div class="image on-image"><p class="source"><span>Twitter</span></p><p class="caption">Hassle.com cofounder and CEO Alex Depledge.</p></div><p></p></div></div>Alex Depledge, founder of recently acquired <a href="https://hassle.com/uk" target="_blank">on-demand cleaning service Hassle.com</a>, has attacked the Conservative party for failing to acknowledge the <keyword id="6354868" type="COUNTRY" weightage="60" keywordseo="UK">UK</keyword> tech sector's overwhelming need to bring in highly-skilled technology workers from overseas.</p><p>Following the general election, the Tory government revealed that it <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/speeches/pm-speech-on-immigration" target="_blank">planned to "significantly reduce</a>" the number of skilled workers coming to Britain from outside the EU. Prime Minister David Cameron said this was necessary as net migration levels were at record levels.</p><p>But Depledge - who is also chair of the Coalition for a Digital Economy [Coadec] organisation, board member of the Sharing Economy UK trade body, and board member of Tech North - argues that the UK technology sector needs more workers from outside the EU, not less.</p><p>"What I'm about to say next is why I'll never be a politician or favoured by government," Depledge told Business Insider at a sharing economy event in London last week. "I think inside the Conservative party, they know that this is b-------, they know we need highly skilled immigration, but they can't say it because they're too afraid of upsetting the right wing and all that ugliness that sits right on the far right."</p><p>This month the government's Migration Advisory Committee (MAC) will submit its review on how the UK can <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/consultations/call-for-evidence-review-economic-impact-of-the-tier-1-entrepreneur-route" target="_blank">further tighten rules around the entrepreneur visa</a>, which allows those outside the EU to come to Britain and start a business, <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/consultations/call-for-evidence-review-tier-2-route" target="_blank">and the Tier 2 visa</a>, which enables UK technology companies to hire 20,700 skilled workers from outside the EU and bridge skills gaps.</p><p><a href="http://www.techworld.com/news/careers/exclusive-google-uk-faces-hiring-roadblock-after-home-office-runs-out-of-visas-3617969/" target="_blank">Companies like Google</a> and Facebook rely on the Tier 2 visa to bring staff from their US offices to their London offices.</p><p>The government is exploring whether it should raise the minimum salary threshold on the Tier 2 visa so that it only applies to people working at director-level roles.</p><p>"I don't think for a second David Cameron really believes that shutting Tier 2 immigration or reducing it is the right thing but he's stuck in a political rock and a hard place," said Depledge. "I think they'll do the right thing in the end because I don't think they want to see businesses crippled because they can't find the right talent."</p><p>Coadec, the pro-startup organisation that Depledge chairs, has launched a <a href="http://www.coadec.com/save-skilled-migration-tier-2-visa-review/" target="_blank">campaign called Save Skilled Migration</a> in a bid to raise awareness of the issue and put pressure on politicians in the Home Office, including Home Secretary Theresa May. </p><p>A decision will be made on the proposals in the MAC report next year.</p>    <div class="margin-top">        <h3>NOW WATCH: <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/saudi-arabias-makes-worlds-tallest-building-jeddah-tower-2015-12">Saudi Arabia is building the world's tallest building - nearly twice the height of One World Trade Center</a></h3>        <div>            <div>        <div class="ooyala-video-player" data-video-autoplay="false" data-video-id="hpMzk5eTqH8pMBYUZmkTsINysHQBeDL0" data-player-variable="ooyalapopvideo" id="ooyalaplayer_popvideo" style="width:1280px;height:720px"></div>        </div>        </div>            </div>

A successful startup founder says the Conservatives know their proposed immigrations policies are 'b-------'

<p><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table float_right"><div><div class="image on-image"><p class="source"><span>Reuters</span></p><p class="caption">Britain's Home Secretary Theresa May.</p></div><p></p></div></div>The <keyword id="6354868" type="COUNTRY" weightage="60" keywordseo="UK">UK</keyword> government has announced immigration reforms that will make it harder and more expensive for technology companies to hire staff outside Europe.</p><p>Home Secretary Theresa May <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/consultations/call-for-evidence-review-tier-2-route" target="_blank">tasked the independent Migration Advisory Committee (MAC)</a> last year with investigating how the UK government could reduce the number of skilled migrant workers entering the UK on the <a href="https://www.gov.uk/tier-2-general/overview" target="_blank">Tier 2 visa</a>, which is the main immigration route for non-EEA (European Economic Area) nationals to apply to work in the UK.</p><p>The Home Office <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/news/migration-advisory-committee-reviews-of-tier-2" target="_blank">published its response</a> on Thursday to a <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/migration-advisory-committee-mac-review-tier-2-migration" target="_blank">report submitted by the MAC on January 19</a>.</p><p>The policy change that is likely to impact tech companies the most is the increase to minimum salary thresholds. Previously, UK technology companies could hire people from outside the EU on the Tier 2 visa providing they paid them more than £20,800. That figure is set to rise to £25,000 in autumn 2016 and £30,000 in April 2017, possibly causing issues for many cash-strapped startups.</p><p>The government is also going to introduce an Immigration Skills Charge on businesses that hire people on a Tier 2 visa. The charge, <a href="http://uk.businessinsider.com/the-government-is-set-to-charge-uk-tech-companies-1000-a-year-to-hire-silicon-valley-engineers-2016-1" target="_blank">floated as a possible reform in January</a>, means businesses will be charged £1,000 per person that they employ.</p><p>"For too long we have had a shortage of workers in certain roles, and in the past, it has been too easy for employers to recruit overseas," wrote MP James Brokenshire in his <a href="http://www.parliament.uk/business/publications/written-questions-answers-statements/written-statement/Commons/2016-03-24/HCWS660/" target="_blank">response to the MAC report</a>.</p><p>The MAC was asked to look at "restricting skilled work visas to genuine skills shortages and highly specialist experts, raising Tier 2 salary thresholds to stop businesses using foreign workers to undercut wages, and a new immigration skills charge to invest in funding for training resident workers."</p><p>Charlotte Holloway, head of policy at industry body techUK, said: "Today's statement from the immigration minister will be disappointing to tech companies, including growing UK SMEs through to international companies investing in the UK.</p><p>"Whilst there is widespread acknowledgement that the technology industry faces some of the most significant skills shortages in the economy - extra restrictions such as the new skills charge, increased salary thresholds and limitations on intra-company transfers will not make it easier for companies to access the talent they need to grow."</p><p>Some health and education professionals will be exempt from the higher general salary threshold increases until July 2019, the government said in its response.</p>    <div class="margin-top">        <h3>NOW WATCH: <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/iphone-messaging-tricks-apple-smartphone-tech-mute-location-forward-2016-3">How to send self-destructing messages - and other iPhone messaging tricks</a></h3>        <div>            <div>        <div class="ooyala-video-player" data-video-autoplay="false" data-video-id="Uzb254MTE6qWwKvpjtvaX0v3cMi-Vdxd" data-player-variable="ooyalapopvideo" id="ooyalaplayer_popvideo" style="width:1280px;height:720px"></div>        </div>        </div>            </div>

The Home Office is going to make it harder for UK tech companies to hire overseas talent

<p><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table float_right"><div><div class="image on-image"><p class="source"><span>LinkedIn</span></p><p class="caption">Migreat co-managing director Josephine Goube.</p></div><p></p></div></div>A London startup that aims to help immigrants navigate what are often complex visa application procedures has hailed a new tech team visa as "revolutionary".</p><p>The team application is one of four changes being made to the <a href="http://www.techworld.com/news/startups/exclusive-worlds-best-technologists-locked-out-of-uk-by-visa-scheme-3608283/" target="_blank">criticised Tier 1 Exceptional Talent visa</a>, which is overseen by government quango <a href="http://www.techcityuk.com/" target="_blank">Tech City UK</a>.</p><p><a href="https://www.migreat.com/en/" target="_blank">Migreat</a>, which offers free visa and immigration help, believes the <a href="http://uk.businessinsider.com/tech-city-uk-immigration-visa-boosted-2015-10">"team application" element</a> that is being introduced to the <a href="https://www.gov.uk/tier-1-exceptional-talent/eligibility" target="_blank">Tier 1 Exceptional Talent visa</a> later this year is a "real progressive step".</p><p>The team application will allow <keyword id="6354868" type="COUNTRY" weightage="60" keywordseo="UK">UK</keyword> technology companies to hire up to five people outside the EU at once.</p><p>Some of the UK's most promising technology companies are currently being held back because they can't hire people with the skills they need, <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com.au/uk-unicorns-need-scale-up-visas-2015-10" target="_blank">according to the Google-backed Scale-up Institute</a>.</p><p>Josephine Goube, co-managing director at Migreat, told Business Insider: "Overall, it looks like a positive rebranding of the Exceptional Talent visa scheme that existed previously and failed to attract many applicants.</p><p>"The team application is revolutionary: I have never seen a visa process being done as a group. It is a real progressive step from the government acknowledging that sometimes technology is the result of a group effort. As such, the scheme is a real gift for the tech industry that most often involved team work."</p><p>Details on how the new team tech visa application process will work in practice are yet to be revealed but Goube said that in order for it to be a success, the team visas must be processed quickly and efficiently.</p><p>"Processing times is one thing that most foreigners dread and in technology things need to move fast," said Goube. "If the process lasts more than a month, it is not worth it."</p><p>Goube added: "For a tech focused initiative, it is interesting to see that all the process is done by post and not over email or digital technologies at first." </p><p><span class="HOEnZb"><span style="color: #888888;"></span></span><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table float_right"><div><div class="image on-image"><p class="source"><span>TransferWise</span></p><p class="caption">TransferWise cofounders Taavet Hinrikus and Kristo Käärmann will now be able to hire groups from the Valley.</p></div><p></p></div></div></p><p>Startups and trade bodies have welcomed the changes to the Tier 1 Exceptional Talent visa but they're more concerned about the <a href="http://www.techworld.com/news/startups/exclusive-proposed-uk-immigration-policies-will-hurt-tech-sector-3618457/" target="_blank">proposed changes for the Tier 2 General</a> visa, which many UK tech companies also use.</p><p>The Home Office has tasked the Migration Advisory Committee (MAC), a group of independent economists, with exploring how to make it even harder for non-EU nationals to enter the UK under the Tier 2 visa.</p><p>Specifically, the MAC is looking at raising the salary threshold, restricting which roles are eligible, limiting the amount of time a role can be classed as in shortage, introducing a skills levy, and restricting the rights of dependents.</p><p>The MAC is due to submit its report to the Home Office in mid-December.</p><p><a href="https://www.gov.uk/tier-2-general/overview">Under the Tier 2 scheme</a>, there are 20,700 visas available a year to employers who want to recruit a non-EU skilled worker. </p><p>Guy Levin, executive director of startup campaign group Coadec added: "It's important to remember that the Tier 1 route is tiny compared to Tier 2, which is under review at the moment and likely to be squeezed further. So while this is a positive step today, the bigger decision is yet to come."</p>    <div class="margin-top">        <h3>NOW WATCH: <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/animated-map-global-fiber-optic-internet-cables-2015-9">Animated map reveals the 550,000 miles of cable hidden under the ocean that power the internet</a></h3>        <div>            <div>        <div class="ooyala-video-player" data-video-autoplay="false" data-video-id="1iNHI3dzr1l7P_ZGDpqWJC3kUle6Dsan" data-player-variable="ooyalapopvideo" id="ooyalaplayer_popvideo" style="width:1280px;height:720px"></div>        </div>        </div>            </div>

A new visa that will allow UK tech startups to hire entire teams from Silicon Valley has been hailed as 'revolutionary'

<p class="p1"><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table float_right"><div><div class="image on-image"><p class="source"><span>Tech City <keyword id="6354868" type="COUNTRY" weightage="60" keywordseo="UK">UK</keyword></span></p><p class="caption">Tech City UK CEO Gerard Grech</p></div><p></p></div></div>Tech City UK, a government-funded organisation to support UK startups, has announced that it wants to make it easier for skilled tech workers outside the European Union (EU) to come and work in the UK through a new initiative known as the Tech Nation Visa Scheme.</p><p>The government-funded quango was granted the power to endorse visas for up to 200 skilled tech workers outside the EU in April 2014. </p><p>But Tech City UK has been under pressure to improve its immigration record after a freedom of information request revealed that it <a href="http://www.techworld.com/news/startups/exclusive-worlds-best-technologists-locked-out-of-uk-by-visa-scheme-3608283/">only gave out seven of the possible 200 visas</a> in the year leading up to April 2015. Tech City UK said this was partly because it had a high bar but it's also because the visa was poorly marketed, with only 10 people applying for the so-called "<a href="https://www.gov.uk/tier-1-exceptional-talent/overview" target="_blank">Tier 1 Exceptional Talent visa</a>" in an entire year.</p><p><a href="http://www.techcityuk.com/blog/2015/10/tech-city-uk-unveils-tech-nation-visa-scheme-tier-1-exceptional-talent/" target="_blank">Tech City UK wrote</a> in a blog post that it is changing the visa scheme on November 12 so startups can access the talent they need to in order to grow their companies.</p><p>"The new Tech Nation Visa Scheme will prove to be a vital tool for companies that want to secure the high caliber people they need to quickly scale their product and service operations," said Tech City UK CEO Gerard Grech in the blog post.</p><p>The most significant change to the visa is arguably that it can now be applied for by up to five people at a time. This means that well-funded companies like TransferWise and Shazam will be able to poach entire teams from rival firms in hubs like Silicon Valley and Bangalore.</p><p>One of the current issues with the "exceptional talent" visa is that it's only available to a relatively narrow pool of people with a proven track record. In a bid to address this issue, Tech City UK said it now plans to start considering applications from individuals that show "exceptional promise".</p><p>Through the Tech Nation Visa Scheme, the quango also said it will offer support to UK companies that are scaling up quickly by offering them a fast-track route. The support for scale-ups comes after the Google-backed Scale-Up Institute called for <a href="http://uk.businessinsider.com/uk-unicorns-need-scale-up-visas-2015-10">dedicated immigration visas</a> for such companies. </p><p>Tech City UK is also further expanding its focus to the North of England, where there are 170,000 people working in the technology sector, according to the <a href="http://www.techcityuk.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/02/Tech%20Nation%202015.pdf">Tech Nation report</a>.</p><p>Digital businesses in Hull, Leeds, Liverpool, Manchester, Newcastle, Sheffield and Sunderland will be eligible to fast-track applications and they'll also be given access to a visa support service.</p><p>Tech City UK described the relaxed immigration rules as an evolution of the current Tier 1 Exceptional Talent visa. More details about the new criteria for the Tier 1 visa will be shared on 12 November, it said.</p><h2>Tier 1 vs. Tier 2 </h2><p>Startups and trade bodies have welcomed the changes to the Tier 1 Exceptional Talent visa but they're more concerned about the <a href="http://www.techworld.com/news/startups/exclusive-proposed-uk-immigration-policies-will-hurt-tech-sector-3618457/" target="_blank">proposed changes for the Tier 2 General</a> visa, which many UK tech companies also use. </p><p><span>The Home Office has tasked the Migration Advisory Committee (MAC), a group of independent economists, with exploring how to make it even harder for non-EU nationals to enter the UK under the Tier 2 visa. </span></p><p><span>Specifically, the MAC is looking at raising the salary threshold, restricting which roles are eligible, limiting the amount of time a role can be classed as in shortage, introducing a skills levy, and restricting the rights of dependents. </span></p><p>The MAC is due to submit its report to the Home Office in mid-December.</p><p> </p><p><span></span><a href="https://www.gov.uk/tier-2-general/overview" class="story-body__link-external">Under the Tier 2 scheme</a>, there are 20,700 visas available a year to employers who want to recruit a non-EU skilled worker.</p><p>Guy Levin, executive director of startup campaign group Coadec, (The Coalition for a Digital Economy) said: "It's important to remember that the Tier 1 route is tiny compared to Tier 2, which is under review at the moment and likely to be squeezed further. So while this is a positive step today, the bigger decision is yet to come."</p><p>Charlotte Holloway, head of policy at industry body Tech UK, which represents over 850 UK technology firms, added: "The tech community will be pleased at this development, but wider questions remain on the government's current proposals to reform the Tier 2 visa scheme for skilled workers on which many tech companies depend."</p><p>Nick Hargreaves, cofounder of Cloud Employee said 200 foreign technology specialists are really just a "drop in the ocean" of what's needed.</p><h2>Injecting life into Tech City</h2><p><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table float_right"><div><div class="image on-image"><p class="source"><span>Eileen Burbidge</span></p><p class="caption">Tech City UK chair Eileen Burbidge.</p></div><p></p></div></div>Tech City UK, <a href="http://www.techcityuk.com/about-us/" target="_blank">launched by David Cameron and former Google executive Joanna Shields in 2010</a>, has come under fire from the UK tech community. </p><p>Successful British companies like Huddle have been enrolled on Tech City UK support schemes like Future Fifty and seen <a href="http://www.thetimes.co.uk/tto/business/industries/technology/article4167884.ece" target="_blank">little benefit to their business</a>. The company's founder, Alistair Mitchell, told Business Insider last month that there is <a href="http://uk.businessinsider.com/tech-city-not-needed-says-huddle-founder-2015-10" target="_blank">no longer any need for Tech City UK to exist.</a></p><p>But the organisation <a href="http://uk.businessinsider.com/passion-capital-vc-eileen-burbidge-is-the-new-chair-of-tech-city-uk-2015-9" target="_blank">appointed prominent venture capitalist Eileen Burbidge</a> as chair recently and she's out to change the quango's tarnished image.</p><p>"A balance we have to strike in the country, whether it's facilitated through Tech City UK or other people, is that we continue to need highly skilled workers at the same time that we try and cultivate those skills domestically through the school system," Burbidge told Business Insider <a href="http://uk.businessinsider.com/passion-capital-vc-eileen-burbidge-is-the-new-chair-of-tech-city-uk-2015-9" target="_blank">when she was appointed Tech City UK chair</a>. </p><p>"For the immediate future we absolutely need highly skilled talent, and it's difficult because obviously there's a larger political narrative which is about the stress on social services of an ever-growing population, but I think that what we can do are small measures, small things about making sure that we know where certain pockets exist for need or demand, and how to service that."</p><p>Burbidge has already introduced an entrepreneur advisory panel to help guide Tech City UK that includes JustEat CEO David Buttress, FanDuel cofounder Lesley Eccles, and TransferWise cofounder Taavet Hinrikus. </p>    <div class="margin-top">        <h3>NOW WATCH: <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/skarp-razor-suspended-kickstarter-indeigogo-laser-technology-fundraise-2015-10">A laser-powered razor has been banned from Kickstarter after raising $4 million</a></h3>        <div>            <div>        <div class="ooyala-video-player" data-video-autoplay="false" data-video-id="c4ajY3eDrC9zqef9cZRCd58j2oQEI_nz" data-player-variable="ooyalapopvideo" id="ooyalaplayer_popvideo" style="width:1280px;height:720px"></div>        </div>        </div>            </div>

It's about to get much easier for UK startups to hire entire teams of people from outside the EU

<p><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table float_right"><div><div class="image on-image"><p class="source"><span>Eileen Burbidge</span></p><p class="caption">New Tech City <keyword id="6354868" type="COUNTRY" weightage="60" keywordseo="UK">UK</keyword> Chair Eileen Burbidge.</p></div><p></p></div></div>Venture capitalist Eileen Burbidge has been named the new Chair of Tech City UK, the organisation which looks after the UK's technology industry and connects it to the government.</p><p>Burbidge is a well-known figure in the London technology scene. She is a partner at VC firm Passion Capital, which has invested in high-profile startups such as GoCardless, Smarkets, and Thread.</p><p>But Burbidge has also taken on other roles that involve working alongside the government and the tech community. She was appointed the UK Treasury's <a href="http://uk.businessinsider.com/uk-treasury-names-eileen-burbidge-special-envoy-for-fintech-2015-7">special envoy for fintech in July</a>, and is also a member of the Prime Minister's Business Advisory Group.</p><p>Burbidge will now devote some of her time to representing UK technology as Chair of Tech City UK. The organisation works to foster growth in the UK's technology scene, both through investment, education, and also helping startups secure visas for staff.</p><p>In an interview with Business Insider about her new role (which you can read in full further down), Burbidge said that she would focus on "streamlining what the government is already delivering for the digital sector and make it less confusing and easier for people to access and take advantage of."</p><p>Tech City UK is currently lead by CEO Gerard Grech, who previously worked at BlackBerry and Nokia. Grech took over the CEO role from Joanna Shields in 2014. Shields is the well-known technology executive who held senior roles at Google, Bebo, AOL, and Facebook. Shields served as Tech City UK Chair until May when she left to become the government's Minister for Internet Safety and Security.</p><p><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image on-image"><p class="source"><span>Wikipedia/Rsreidphoto</span></p><p class="caption">Former Tech City UK Chair Joanna Shields.</p></div><p></p></div></div></p><p>The search for a new Tech City UK Chair began shortly after Shields' departure, and <a href="http://order-order.com/2015/05/19/tech-city-chair-runner-and-riders/#:H9oUiHLy5LGqpA">Techno Guido named Burbidge as a frontrunner</a> to become Chair three days after the announcement of Shields' move.</p><p>Tech City UK has been a somewhat controversial organisation since its establishment in 2010. In April <a href="http://uk.businessinsider.com/tech-city-uk-only-grants-seven-visas-in-one-year-to-tech-workers-200-techworld-2015-4">it emerged following a freedom of information request</a> that Tech City UK had only granted seven visas for technology employees in a year, even though it was able to grant up to 200 "exceptional talent visas." <a href="http://www.techworld.com/news/startups/exclusive-tech-city-has-funding-cut-by-ukti-3611224/">In May it was reported that Tech City UK's funding had been cut</a> following a disagreement between Shields and the government. Tech City UK denied at the time that a rift existed.</p><p>Business Insider asked Burbidge about Tech City UK's reputation, but she was confident that entrepreneurs still feel positively about it. "I do think there is a high regard for the organisation," she said. "I think it could be more, I think it could be greater and I think it could be better, and to do that the first thing is to make sure that we really are tapped into the community."</p><p><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table float_right"><div><div class="image on-image"><p class="source"><span>Atomico</span></p><p class="caption">Skype cofounder Niklas Zennström.</p></div><p></p></div></div>Before becoming a venture capitalist, Burbidge worked at technology companies such as Apple, Yahoo, Sun Microsystems, and Skype. Burbidge claimed to have been fired by Skype in 2005 after she fell out with CEO Niklas Zennström. "Niklas and I started seeing things from a different point of view,"<a href="http://www.techworld.com/news/startups/eileen-burbidge-skype-ceo-didnt-pay-me-for-8-months-3622339/"> she told Techworld in August</a>.</p><p>Prime Minister David Cameron released the following statement about Burbidge's appointment:</p><p style="padding-left: 30px;">Digital business and the rapid developments in technology are a key part of our long-term economic plan to support the industries of the future - creating jobs and building a more resilient economy. Eileen Burbidge will be a fantastic appointment, her knowledge and experience of the digital landscape will ensure that the UK remains at the forefront of this innovative industry.</p><p>Burbidge's appointment as Chair isn't the only change to Tech City UK announced this evening. There are also four new people joining the Tech City UK board: Investor Robin Klein, Barclays UK vice president of technology, media &amp; telecoms Tim Luke, Moonfruit cofounder Wendy Tan White, and Google marketing executive Yonca Brunini. </p><p>The announcement is also accompanied by the news that Burbidge has already set up an entrepreneur advisory panel to help direct Tech City UK. Here's the new panel:</p><ul><li><span style="line-height: 1.5em;">Zoopla CEO Alex Chesterman</span></li><li><span style="line-height: 1.5em;">Just-Eat CEO <span>David Buttress</span></span></li><li><span style="line-height: 1.5em;">FanDuel cofounder Lesley Eccles</span></li><li><span style="line-height: 1.5em;">Google DeepMind cofounder Demis Hassabis</span></li><li><span style="line-height: 1.5em;">King.com CEO Riccardo Zacconi</span></li><li><span style="line-height: 1.5em;">Unruly Media co-CEO Sarah Wood</span></li><li><span style="line-height: 1.5em;">TransferWise cofounder Taavet Hinrikus</span></li></ul><p><strong>Here's Business Insider's full, unedited interview with Burbidge about her new role as Chair of Tech City UK:</strong></p><p><strong>Business Insider: So the first question that comes to mind here is how are you going to have the time to do everything?</strong></p><p><strong>Eileen Burbidge:</strong> That is a very fair question. My first priority and my first commitment is obviously to Passion Capital. That's my day job, that is what I have committed to do in support of all of the entrepreneurs that we have backed, all of the companies that we have invested in, and for future founders that we might back because we did just fund two a few months ago. We're in it for the long-haul. It's a 10-year commitment on my part, and we'll be actively investing in new companies for the next two more years. So that is my day job.</p><p>This is a pro-bono position, but in this case it is as a chair, it's there to support Gerard, the chief executive. Surely we will have board meetings, and we will have to run things properly, because we do want it to be run and governed like a proper organisation, but I'm not going to be operationally involved, a lot of it is strategic support for Gerard.</p><p><strong>BI: What do you feel are the most important areas to support technology in London?</strong></p><p><strong>EB:</strong> The first thing I'd want to do is correct your question, because your question is talking about tech in London, and actually in the last year and a half the Tech City UK remit has expanded to be more than just about London. So it's about accelerating and providing support to all the tech clusters across the UK.</p><p>I think I prioritise what services are helpful for startup founders or to improve conditions so that more people are inspired to start digital and tech businesses in the UK. Some of that will be funding, and I think the funding environment has gotten so much better over the last few years, we're far off from being saturated, but I don't think that's the critical path anymore.</p><p>Ensuring that government is aware of what things could be more helpful, what measures, what kinds of policies could be stronger enablers, is really important. That's something we can improve upon, although that is what Tech City UK has been doing a lot of over the last couple of years with roundtables, panel sessions, and making sure there are papers and feedback that feeds into the government.</p><p>There's also this idea of ensuring that people outside of the UK recognise how strong the ecosystem here is, whether that's for investment, whether that's for establishing a UK headquarters to try and be the doorway into all of Europe, or whether it's investing in companies that are here in the UK.</p><p><strong>BI: A lot of startups in the UK are yearning for visas to hire talent from overseas. How does Tech City UK help companies out?</strong></p><p><strong>EB:</strong> A balance we have to strike in the country, whether it's facilitated through Tech City UK or other people, is that we continue to need highly skilled workers at the same time that we try and cultivate those skills domestically through the school system.</p><p>For the immediate future we absolutely need highly skilled talent, and it's difficult because obviously there's a larger political narrative which is about the stress on social services of an ever-growing population, but I think that what we can do are small measures, small things about making sure that we know where certain pockets exist for need or demand, and how to service that.</p><p>So for example, the last time the Home Office Migration Advisory Committee did a review on the Tier 2 Shortage Occupation List, which is jobs for things like doctors and nurses, for the first time early this year they also added four digital-specific roles to that Shortage Occupation List, which means that employers seeking to hire people from outside of the EU don't necessarily need to post those job posts for 28 days domestically before they can extend an offer.</p><p>The Shortage Occupation List is one example where there's already a focus on getting specific skills and making sure that digital is included in that. That doesn't necessarily affect net migration numbers, it doesn't put a spanner in the works of what the greater political narrative is, but I do think that cultivating more skills domestically with training programs such as the things that Tech City UK already does and then still looking for attracting highly skilled workers is really important.</p><p><strong>BI: How do you instill skills in workers? Is that through hardware like <a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/articles/4hVG2Br1W1LKCmw8nSm9WnQ/introducing-the-bbc-micro-bit">the BBC's micro:bit computers</a> or through something else?</strong></p><p><strong><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table float_right"><div><div class="image on-image"><p class="source"><span>Youtube</span></p><p class="caption">Jesse Eisenberg in "The Social Network."</p></div><p></p></div></div>EB:</strong> It all helps. Making hardware tools available to students and youngsters is really important so that they're exposed to it. In certain schools, students get exposed to musical instruments at a very young age to help instill a love for music, and I think that's really important. Similarly if they did have access to computers, the internet, tablets, maybe even 3D printers or other things that help them cultivate their curiosity about how things work, that helps a lot. Even potentially things like big Hollywood movies like "The Social Network" or something that brings technology in from the cold and validates it as a bona fide industry sector or as a career option.</p><p>The coding curriculum will be a challenge. It's great that it's mandatory now. I think that's really important and a key starting point, but we're certainly not done yet. I think what's really important is to continue cultivating critical thinking and problem solving skills, regardless of what topic that might be. So that might be in maths, it might be in science, it might be in IT, or it might be in computing, but we need to keep encouraging young kids to have critical thinking skills.</p><p><strong>BI: What will be the first thing you do as chair of Tech City UK?</strong></p><p><strong>EB:</strong> The first I did was to set up an entrepreneur advisory panel because I felt that would be really helpful as a sounding board for me, for the board, for Gerard, in terms of what kind of ingredients are missing, what kind of things could we do, what do these entrepreneurs think about working with Tech City UK, or why didn't they, when did they consider the government to be useful, and when they didn't. It's basically helping us to keep it real, quite frankly.</p><p><strong>BI: Tech City UK has expanded to the rest of the UK, and it invested in Cornwall quite recently. In your new role, are you going to be traveling?</strong></p><p><strong>EB:</strong> I'm going to be traveling because the hubs really are important, it can't just be about London. It's definitely that the sum of the parts is greater than each of them. It is really important.</p><p>When we look for quality deals to make for Passion, it's actually in my interest to look throughout the UK and to look at all those hubs to do that. When I'm looking at fintech and I'm acting in my Treasury envoy role, I am keen to go out to some of the regions which are really strong in fintech, so that's Edinburgh, Leeds, and Durham, for example. I would be doing that anyway, either for Passion or for the fintech envoy role, or because I'm a tech investor for the Mayor of London, so we go abroad, and I'll be doing that. I have two trips coming up between now and the end of the year.</p><p>It's very natural and genuine for what I want to do, which is to improve the calibre of the UK tech ecosystem, which even selfishly is going to help me to make stronger investments for Passion, but also just personally is more gratifying because what everyone who works in tech wants is to work in one of the strongest markets in the world, and I think we really have that opportunity to be that, and to assert ourselves as that right here, and right now in the UK.</p><p><strong>BI: Tech City UK has almost faded out of spotlight. How do you rebuild trust with entrepreneurs?</strong></p><p><strong>EB:</strong> I do think that there is a lot of trust and regard for Tech City UK. I know for a fact that outside of the UK, lots of the other hubs look at Tech City UK as being a leading force in helping to shine a light on what has been happening in London, and also now some of the other parts of the UK.</p><p>I certainly know that the government really regards Gerard and his team really highly in terms of helping to funnel back to them what areas they need to be paying attention to and how to be tapped into the ecosystem. And I know that there are lots of entrepreneurs who really rely on Tech City UK, whether that's because they're a Future Fifty company and they're working with that support program, or the tens of thousands of people who have come through the Digital Business Academy curriculum, or people who are now up in the Northern Powerhouse, they're looking forward to TechNorth launching.</p><p>So I do think there is a high regard for the organisation. I think it could be more, I think it could be greater and I think it could be better, and to do that the first thing is to make sure that we really are tapped into the community, so for example through the entrepreneur advisory panel. I do think we should have more dialogue with the ecosystem, with different sectors, people from different stages. I think there's a lot we want to do to also start streamlining what the government is already delivering for the digital sector and make it less confusing and easier for people to access and take advantage of.</p>    <div class="margin-top">        <h3>NOW WATCH: <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/iphone-headphones-tips-tricks-apple-2015-7">All the incredibly useful things you didn't know your iPhone headphones could do</a></h3>        <div>            <div>        <div class="ooyala-video-player" data-video-autoplay="false" data-video-id="o2OGM3czpWcydnvhjbkDBd6feXPuExiD" data-player-variable="ooyalapopvideo" id="ooyalaplayer_popvideo" style="width:1280px;height:720px"></div>        </div>        </div>            </div>

You Searched For "Migration Advisory Committee" and got 7 results

Five things you need to know about Theresa May's plans for immigration after Brexit

Thomas Colson

A successful startup founder says the Conservatives know their proposed immigrations policies are 'b-------'

Sam Shead

The Home Office is going to make it harder for UK tech companies to hire overseas talent

Sam Shead

A new visa that will allow UK tech startups to hire entire teams from Silicon Valley has been hailed as 'revolutionary'

Sam Shead

It's about to get much easier for UK startups to hire entire teams of people from outside the EU

Sam Shead

Eileen Burbidge is the new Chair of Tech City UK

James Cook

Some of the UK's most powerful tech entrepreneurs have warned David Cameron against clamping down on immigration

Sam Shead