Vanessa Ganguin Immigration Law at London Tech Week 2025

At the time of writing this, there are still tickets available at different prices and general attendance for tech professionals, investors, entrepreneurs and founders are free. You can book London Tech Week passes here.

Vanessa Ganguin Immigration Law assists many high-tech firms to bring the highly-skilled talent they need from around the world, as well as helping innovators launch in the UK and more established companies enter the British market. We are highly-regarded for our boutique service and swift results. These, below, are the main immigration routes we help those working in the high tech industries to negotiate.

Please contact our friendly experts for a free chat to identify your best options on enquiries@vanessaganguin.com or +44(0)207 033 9527.

What UK visa options does the tech sector have?

Sponsoring Skilled Workers

The vast majority of those coming to work in Britain’s tech sector are hired by firms with Skilled Worker sponsor licences.

Applying for a Skilled Worker sponsor licence is a relatively straightforward way to source a range of talent across different disciplines. Skilled workers can bring dependent family, renew visas and settle. There are no caps on numbers but there are minimum skills and salary thresholds for Skilled Worker visas and vacancies do have to be genuine, among other requirements.

The Scale-up Sponsor Licence

The main advantages of a Scale-up sponsor licence are lower fees, a lighter-touch sponsor licence application process and no Immigration Skills Charge to pay for each sponsored worker. Scale-ups only have sponsorship duties for a Scale-up worker’s first six months, meaning significantly less admin.

Eligible dependent family members may join Scale-up workers on this route to settlement.

Scale-ups must demonstrate 20% YOY growth or the potential to achieve that among other requirements.

UK Expansion Worker

To obtain the above sponsor licences to sponsor tech staff who are not British or Irish, firms would need an established business operating in the UK.
The UK Expansion Worker immigration route replaces the Representative of an Overseas Business path, allowing an overseas business to send a small team to set up a branch or subsidiary in the UK. Expansion workers have a maximum of two years before they would switch to another route such as Skilled Worker and they can bring dependants.

Tech firms considering this route into the British market will require documentary evidence of their new UK footprint, overseas trading and business plans. We have advised some of the first few firms on how to negotiate these requirements and our experts are renowned for their expertise in this and other new work immigration routes.

Global Talent visas

The Global Talent visa has become the greatest accolade the UK immigration system can bestow on those who excel in their fields. It does not require sponsorship. You can apply for a Global Talent visa to work in the UK if you’re a leader or potential leader in the fields of academia, research, the arts or digital technology. Each field has its own endorsing body. Tech Nation endorses Global Talent visas for digital tech talent.

This is a route to settlement which dependants can join.

Innovator Founder visas

Successful Innovator Founders will need one of the government-appointed endorsing bodies to assess their business plan as innovative, viable and scalable, and their role in its founding to be more integral than just financial investment.

Co-founders can apply too, if they have integral roles and skillsets contributing to founding their innovative business. Successful applicants can work on their venture, as well as other skilled work and may bring partners and dependent children to the UK.

Applicants should be aware that endorsement is not just needed to obtain a visa, but also to ensure that businesses have met requisite targets for Innovator Founder visas to be renewed or to qualify for settlement after three years.

What other UK immigration routes can tech staff use?

As well as the main immigration routes above, a good immigration practitioner will help explore whether other immigration routes may apply. For instance, those who have graduated from one of the top global universities in the past five years may qualify for a High Potential Individual visa.

A Commonwealth citizen with a grandparent born in the British Isles may qualify them for the Ancestry route to settlement. Those with a British, Irish or settled partner may be better of applying for a Family visa.

Most International Students are allowed to work for 20 hours (40 hours outside of term time.) Employers hiring students after their studies avoid having to pay the Immigration Skills Charge. Graduates with a Graduate visa can be employed without sponsorship for a limited time.

There are other less used Global Business Mobility visas such as a Senior or Specialist Worker to meet specific business needs; Graduate Trainee as part of a training programme; Secondment Worker to UK firms in high value contracts or investments or Service Supplier to the UK in line with UK trade agreements.

Some nationalities can make use of the Youth Mobility Scheme to work in the UK for up to two years (three for Australia, New Zealand and Canada nationals). Others may be able to still come to work in Britain from Europe on a Frontier Worker permit or as a Service Provider from Switzerland.

Do I need an immigration lawyer to sponsor or apply for a work visa for tech staff?

All the UK immigration routes described above require different levels of documentary evidence and complexity of processes for successful applications and to avoid costly illegal working breaches. If a visa application is refused, it significantly adds to the time and cost of sourcing the talent you need. Breaches of right to work and sponsorship compliance can involve significant penalties and loss of the ability to sponsor from overseas .

What guides say about Vanessa Ganguin Immigration Law

Vanessa Ganguin Immigration Law is rated highly by all the main legal guides. Chambers UK 2024 for instance, reports: “The firm stands out not just for its technical knowledge but also its thought leadership. Vanessa Ganguin Immigration Law seems ahead of the curve. We cannot fault its knowledge and ability to handle the most complex of cases, whilst providing a service that is second to none.”

According to Who’s Who Legal, Vanessa”draws considerable praise from commentators for her exemplary immigration practice and ‘outstanding’ expertise.”

“The boutique immigration offering at Vanessa Ganguin Immigration Law is excellent at providing concise information about complex areas of law,” says Legal500. “Ben Maitland’s exceptional knowledge in immigration includes Skilled Worker applications and Global Business Mobility routes.”