Brexit spurs rise in overseas talent sponsoring among City firms
Brexit has spurred a rise in City firms sponsoring overseas recruits, with around 200 workers based outside of the UK being hired per week.
It comes amid a labour shortage on British soil, which has seen City law firms battle it out for the highest pay.
Visa sponsorships by UK-based financial services firms have been rising steadily for around a year, climbing from 722 in the fourth quarter of 2020 to 2,192 in the final few months of last year, The Times first reported, citing Home Office figures.
It adds to mounting evidence that the feared mass exodus of talent, as a result of Brexit, has failed to materialise.
Finance firms based in the Square Mile have slashed the number of staff they were intending on relocating to the EU, indicating London remains the one of the most attractive places to do business on the Continent even after Brexit.
The number of Brexit-related staff relocations was revised down to 7,000 over the last quarter from 7,400 in the three months to December, according to consultancy EY last week, which has been tracking the impact of leave vote on the financial services sector since 2016.
“The number of new hires which have been publicly linked to Brexit since the referendum… has risen to 5,400, from just over 5,000 last quarter,” the firm said, adding “the increase is predominantly driven by an uptick in the number of staff hired in London.”