Migration Policy Group

Our focus

• Influencing immigration policy: we work to secure the tech sector’s desired outcomes from current and future immigration systems

• Understanding the immigration landscape: we help members understand changes in immigration policy and what they mean for the technology industry

• Collaboration and insight: we bring together HR, public policy and recruitment professionals to share expertise and insight

• Government engagement: we engage with government and key stakeholders on behalf of our members, including immigration briefings for MPs and sessions with speakers from the Home Office, the Department for Business and Trade and the Migration Advisory Committee.

What we’ve achieved

Our policy and advocacy work has helped secure important outcomes for the tech sector, including:

• Access to international talent: we pushed for government to reimburse visa fees for targeted international researchers and academics in key deep-tech fields, including quantum computing, AI and semiconductors. This was announced by the government.

• International mobility:

  we consistently made the case for the UK to rejoin the Erasmus+ programme as an associated third country. Read our response to the UK’s return to Erasmus+.

• Routes for international graduates: we successfully campaigned for the two-year post-study work visa to be reinstated, which launched as the Graduate route in 2021.

• The points-based immigration system: we called for the removal of the cap on Tier 2 (General) visas and of the Resident Labour Market Test, both announced in the government’s 2020 policy statement.

Explore our migration policy work

We publish insights and analysis to help members understand developments in the UK immigration system and what they mean for the technology sector and access to global talent.

• Is the UK still open for global tech talent? explores the government’s proposed changes to Earned Settlement and indefinite leave to remain.

• How will the Immigration White Paper affect the UK’s role as a tech talent hub? looks at the implications of the government’s May 2025 Immigration White Paper.

Join our Skills, Talent and Diversity programme

Our Skills, Talent and Diversity programme brings together employers, government and educators to help build a world-leading tech workforce, creating pathways into technology careers and a more diverse, inclusive sector.

Visit our Skills, Talent and Diversity programme

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