On 28 August 2020, TIGA, the trade association representing the video games industry, responded to the 2025 UK Border Strategy consultation.
The consultation seeks to develop the 2025 UK Border Strategy and bring the Government and industry together to build a ‘world class border’.
In its response, TIGA emphasised the importance of protecting growth and international trade by ensuring that journeys across the border are not inhibited by an unduly complex and costly visa application process.
TIGA suggested that the following changes should be made in order to facilitate the movement of people integral to the video games industry:
- The visa application system should be simplified making it easier for employers to complete themselves and reducing the cost of legal advisers.
- Having a job offer should be the principle criteria for approving a visa application.
- The visa application process should be sped up, reducing the chance that candidates will accept different jobs whilst waiting to be approved, preferably within 10 working days as for the Tech Nation visa.
- The Home Office should improve its understanding of which businesses are legitimate employers. A list of trusted businesses could speed up the process of approving visas for reputable employers.
- The Shortage Occupation List should be regularly updated to account for the fast-changing needs of modern and growing businesses.
- A regional salary scale would allow businesses providing jobs in less affluent areas of the country to recruit people who do not meet a national salary threshold.
TIGA also emphasised that games development requires the use of a large amount of personal and non-personal data. This data includes personal data relating to players, business partners and staff and non-personal data such as coding. Since 1984 the UK has had data protection laws that have facilitated both the largescale use of personal data and the transfer of personal data from the UK to Europe.[1] It is important that the free flow of data continues to operate as the UK leaves the EU and new border arrangements are put in place.
[1] Data Protection Act 1984, Data Protection Act 1998 and General Data Protection Regulation (EU) 2016/679.