Tier 1 Exceptional Talent endorsement doubled... meh

Hear ye, hear ye,

The Tier 1 Exceptional Talent Endorsement allocation will double! (scream!)

Currently, the 5 Designated Competent Bodies get the following number of endorsement allocations:  

• Arts Council England - 250
• The British Academy - 250
• The Royal Society - 150
• The Royal Academy of Engineering - 150
• Tech City UK - 200 

A total of 1,000 allocation is due to be doubled to 2,000, and to be spread across the 5 DCBs above - hopefully in the same proportions but Tech City UK is likely to sweep up most as the move is to accommodate and promote the growth of tech companies and business in general in the UK. 

Good news, right? Well yes and ... 'meh'.

Ever since the scheme started in 2011, the quotas shown above have never been exceeded. See the stats here. Plus, the standard of evidence of experience and public recognition of your work as a specialist in any of the areas is so - deliberately - high, this category really isn't for any reasonable talent. As it says on the box, 'world leaders' or those with the potential to become world leaders' in their chosen field. Only a track record of producing consistently outstanding work or prescribed experiences (e.g. for Tech City UK, a track record of taking a tech company through to IPO,  etc.) or taking an internationally well-known research fellowship (e.g. Wellcome Trust, Cancer Research UK, British Heart Foundation etc.) will suffice. 

Added to this, the increasing number of applicants seems to be attracting more (and therefore new) judging panel members for each body who do not know how to apply the body's and the UKVI's criteria, some of whom giving incredibly subjective reasons to refuse to recognise the international merit of excellence of an applicant, or refusing for want of some further evidence not previously required by the body's criteria, all make the prospect of success difficult to foresee. 

Given the increasing 'difficulties' (some which should be addressed for improvements), and the consistently low subscription rate of applicants, increasing the number of allocation in this category, even in the light of Brexit promises (and expected Tech City applicants), seems to afford very little 'real' advantage to prospective applicants. Though announcements like this certainly make the Home Office appear to be espousing the idea that Britain is open to highly skilled migrants... 

See the Home Office's announcement page here.