The government of the United Kingdom (UK) is evaluating changes to its visa policies to attract highly skilled Artificial Intelligence (AI) professionals from overseas.

This move by the UK aligns with its broader strategy to position the country as a global leader in AI, as outlined in the recently published AI Opportunities Action Plan.

The plan features 50 recommendations aimed at enhancing AI adoption and bolstering economic growth.

The AI Opportunities Action Plan published this week sets out 50 recommendations on how the government should harness the technology and position the UK as a world leader in AI.

Prime Minister Keir Starmer endorsed the plan, stating the government’s intent to implement the recommendations.

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The 21st recommendation set out in the report suggests that the UK government should ‘explore how the existing immigration system can be used to attract graduates from universities producing some of the world’s top AI talent’.

It goes on to explain that some of the world’s leading AI institutions, such as the Indian Institutes of Technology and Carnegie Mellon University in the US are not currently included on the UK government’s Global Universities List, making their graduates ineligible for the High Potential Individual visa.

As such, the report recommends that the government should take steps to develop new immigration pathways, and strengthen existing ones, to support these promising graduates. It should also explore how best to address wider barriers like the cost and complexity of visas which create obstacles for start-ups and deter overseas talent from relocating to the UK.

In its response, the government stated that it ‘partially agrees’ with recommendation 21, and that the Industrial Strategy will set out how the UK will attract highly skilled AI workers from abroad.

It argues that the UK already offers ‘internationally competitive’ visas that can support a range of individual needs, including for talent to join UK-based organisations or to start their own business.