Top scientists turning down UK jobs over 'tax on talent', says Wellcome boss
theguardian.com
theguardian.com
By way of comparison, getting a job like this here in Japan costs 3000 yen (about USD $19 right now) for the visa fee. Perhaps that's why this country is one of the "leading scientific nations" (according to the article): it's really, really easy to bring qualified professionals here, at least as far as immigration procedures and fees are concerned.
The real issue is the symbolism where people don't feel welcome I guess.
I think I misunderstood the article.
That's understandable, I think: This policy in the UK is so shockingly and bone-headedly stupid that it probably seems completely unbelievable, so your brain tries to interpret it in some other way that makes more sense.
Presumably the companies that really need to import talent would cover those fees for them if imported talent is actually necessary. Companies in the US pay similar fees to sponsor imported employees and no one complains about the costs.
That seems like an argument in favor of UK businesses paying these fees. It's an employee's market for top talent and employers bear the burden of paying any sorts of fees necessary to get top talent. The alternative is for that sort of industry to just not be viable in the UK.
my buddy was paying around $5k/month USD for his rent when he was doing FAANG work in SF.
Wrong. It was really easy for me. The low immigration rate is because it's not a terribly popular place to live, and because of the language barrier. It's also historically been not very immigration-friendly (legally, the immigration laws were strict), but that's changed radically in the last decade or so. Now if you have in-demand skills and a company wants to hire you, you're in.
Housing and bank accounts aren't a problem. I got multiple bank accounts pretty quickly after moving here. Housing is pretty easy: some (individual) landlords won't look at you if you don't speak Japanese, but the corporate landlords don't care, as long as you have a guarantor and a job that pays enough for the rent.
The language is the biggest barrier, but that depends on your job. Companies that try to recruit skilled foreign professionals have strong English-language support.
Where did you get the idea that you need your company to help you set up a bank account? I was able to do it easily at 2 banks all by myself.
As an outsider, it definitely seems like that. Obviously the US has been making some really dumb decisions lately too, but the UK almost seems like they are intentionally footgunning themselves and are happy to continue doing so.
Despite the scholarship/funding, he had to pay a rather heavy NHS fee for my him, my sister and the kids, and this is before the increase.
I keep urging him to to move to the US, he will be done by next year and I think don't think that even if he were to win the global talent visa after that, (and pay the NHS fee again) he would ever earn a salary good enough to cover that, since UK salaries are so low.
He's hesitant, but I don't believe I will have to push hard, if such policies continue.
So stupid, that they (UK) attracted talent, paid for it, and yet might lose it.
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[1]: He tried to explain it to me, it's something about audio/speech processing and using AI to do something about that, the funding is in a medical context, iirc.
Erasmus, free movement of EU workers, access to healthcare on EU terms, the ability to zip back and forth quickly and easily across the sea to collaborate with peers, all evaporated.
It was quite possible to have objections to the way the EU did things, and reform them, without leaving. But sadly the UK chose Brexit. An absolute tragedy.
The NHS surcharge predates Brexit and was over concerns of "medical tourism" by foreigners (ab)using the free NHS. If we assume this was a legitimate concern for the sake of the discussion, then there's a bunch of measures one can potentially take. Introducing an up-front surcharge is quite possibly the most idiotic measure you can take and just screams "fuck off foreigners we don't want you you fucking leech".
Why the hell should I pay £1,035 extra/year in addition to my taxes? Somehow your taxes are enough to pay for NHS but not mine? That just makes no sense. Having to pay five years up-front is just full-on idiocy on top of what was already idiotic.
Without a Brexit, all of this would still be the case for people from the Americas, Africa, Asia.
> A researcher granted a five-year global talent visa and who has a partner and two children would be liable to pay £20,974 upfront, with no option to spread the payments.
> If we assume this was a legitimate concern
It was not. It was actually a profit centre for the NHS as they can (and did) charge foreigners. Makes a good story though.
> then there's a bunch of measures one can potentially take
Force people to take private medical insurance, problem solved. I am utterly shocked the small state, pro free markets party didn't come up with this groundbreaking idea on their own.
"Migrants coming to work, study or join family members currently receive free NHS treatment in the same way as a permanent resident. The changes, part of the Immigration Act which became law last year, will ensure that migrants make a proper financial contribution to the cost of their NHS care."
https://www.gov.uk/government/news/migrant-health-surcharge-...
and pay tax in the same way as a permanent resident
> will ensure that migrants make a proper financial contribution to the cost of their NHS care
They already made the exact same "financial contribution to the cost of their NHS care" as a non migrant, tax.
The National Health Service (Charges to Overseas Visitors) Regulations 1989 https://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/1989/306/contents/made
Hopefully things turn around because the last 14 years of conservatives/tories have been not awesome (unless you’re wealthy, own property or are old).