A coalition of UK start-ups has called on the incoming government to reform the UK Visa system to better attract technology talent in a new report.

The Startup Coalition’s report included payments firm Wise, EdTech firm Multiverse, Carbon Re, Index Ventures, and e-commerce platform Cherrypick as signatories.

Measures proposed by the bill included counting stock options as part of an employee’s compensation package when calculating the salary threshold for the Skilled Worker visa.

The minimum salary requirement increased to £38,700 per year on 4 April 2024, from just £26,200.

The coalition argues that early-stage start-ups are often unable to offer high wages at the earliest stages, and have been negatively impacted by the increase in the salary threshold.

The report also calls for the UK’s High Potential Individual visa, which allows graduates of top universities across the world to work in the UK for two years, to be similarly expanded.

The report says at present this visa omits certain high-ranking institutions which specialise in technology.

The startup Coalition also accused the UK of charging excessive amounts to process visas and said funding applications were overly complex at present.

The report also calls on UK pension funds to direct more of their assets under management into venture capital instead of investments traditionally viewed as safer.

Wise co-founder and Startup Coalition manifesto backer Taavet Hinrikus, said: “As an immigrant founder of the company that achieved the UK’s largest tech listing, I understand deeply why immigration is the lifeblood of a successful tech sector.”

He added: “However, we are in danger of losing the highly motivated, deeply ambitious founders and talent right now by making it so difficult to settle here.”

---