New British Law Invites A-List Hollywood Talent to Live in England

Today in potentially ill-timed legislative news: England's Tier 1 visa law -- which allows for "exceptional talent" to fast-track their way through the country's stringent immigration procedures en route to earning British citizenship -- goes into effect. More details on the celeb-baiting measure after the jump.

Britain's Tier 1 Exceptional Talent measure allows for leaders or potential leaders in the fields of science, humanities, engineering and arts to immigrate more easily to the U.K. than previous visa laws allowed. As The Hollywood Reporter puts it, the arts category targets filmmakers and actors who have at least one major award on their mantlepiece already, or those who have been nominated in recent years:

To be eligible, applicants must have won an Academy Award, a BAFTA, a Golden Globe or an Emmy Award or have been nominated in the five years before applying. The government has set aside 300 spots for anyone who meets the requirements.

One of the potential upsides to this new law is that British producers will have an easier time casting American stars for their film productions; applicants granted Tier 1 status can work without a sponsor.

Meanwhile, England is concurrently trying to reduce immigration numbers for non-Oscar nominee types, attempting to narrow net immigration to "tens of thousands." A thousand spaces in total have been reserved for the Tier 1 program, so if you're an Oscar/Emmy/Golden Globe winner, get packing.

[via THR, Work Permit.com]