City firms are sponsoring overseas recruits to come to work for them in the UK at the fastest rate since before Britain left the European Union, according to Home Office figures.
About 200 foreign-based workers a week are being hired by British banks, fund managers, insurers and other City firms as the search for talent intensifies and as visa rules are relaxed.
In the past five quarters, the number of visa sponsorships by UK-based financial services firms has been 722, then 899, then 1,510, then 2,360 and finally 2,192 in the fourth quarter of 2021.
Louisa Cole, principal associate at Eversheds Sutherland and an expert in immigration law, said: “I think the numbers will continue to rise. We’re only seeing the start of it. There’s
