onerous and restrictive, has made the UK less attractive to international entrepreneurial talent. Immigration is seen as a hot topic by politicians and the media. Over my Despite the process of registering a business being fairly straightforward, obtaining a UK bank account and individual and business registration with the UK tax authorities can be a long process, which affects how quickly the business can establish itself and start growing. Awareness of the relevant timeframes will help in the early stages of the business planning for the UK. How have you seen the climate for business and entrepreneurrelated immigration change during your time in practice? What can the UK government be doing to attract highly-skilled businesspeople? The combination of Brexit ending free movement of EU nationals and significant changes to the Immigration Rules, making immigration routes more also be minimum funds requirements individuals must satisfy. Additionally, many of the categories used by entrepreneurs do not have priority processing services and therefore processing can take a number of months. We recommend seeking early advice on suitable UK immigration categories, requirements and processes so that individuals can plan accordingly ahead of a move to the UK. The Home Office has grown more suspicious of fraudulent entrepreneurs and has sought to address this by introducing ‘genuine requirements’ as a part of decision-making. Application of this requirement varies significantly between caseworkers, meaning that applicants need to be prepared to frontload their applications from the outset. Ill-prepared applications that do not provide sufficient evidence are likely to result in an unnecessary refusal. Once in the UK, new businesses and entrepreneurs can face time-consuming administrative and practical obstacles. 72 LAWYER MONTHLY SEPTEMBER 2023 The UK has the fundamental structure of being a country of opportunity and growth to foreign-born talent and entrepreneurs.
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