New Deel research reveals more than half (57%) of UK and US businesses surveyed are being held back by complicated and expensive visa processes, losing time, talent, and opportunity
London, UK, 4th December 2025 – As demand for skills accelerates in areas like AI, cybersecurity and data analytics, businesses are looking to hire across borders, as the global distribution of those skills remains unevenly placed. But, according to new research from Deel, companies are struggling to access the talent needed to grow, with over half of U.K. (60%) and U.S. (55%) businesses saying that visa restrictions have led to critical hiring delays, stalling their ability to compete and grow. From the ongoing H-1B challenges in the United States to talent shortages in Europe, visa systems are increasingly at odds with governments’ AI and growth ambitions. As governments race to implement national AI strategies, talent and skills mobility will determine which economies lead.
According to the survey of 1000 hiring managers in the UK and US, while two-thirds (66%) of hiring managers surveyed admit they know they can’t find the skills they need locally, nearly half (49%) are still avoiding hiring from overseas altogether because managing visa processes and migration paperwork is just too complex, costly, and time-consuming.
Jonathan Portes, Professor of Economics and Public Policy at Kings College London, said:
“We’ve heard a lot about the damage tariffs are doing to individual businesses and the wider economy. But visa costs, and the associated bureaucratic burdens on business, have very similar impacts – they make it more difficult and more expensive for businesses to hire the workers they need, raising costs and making it harder to expand. This survey shows that these impacts are widespread, especially in key strategic sectors like AI and cybersecurity. If governments want to boost growth, making visas for skilled workers simpler and cheaper is an obvious place to start.”
The Business Impact of Bureaucracy
For businesses already battling rapid technological change and economic uncertainty, these delays have real consequences. Nearly half (49%) of hiring managers report that hiring delays result in significant increases in costs, over a third (35%) say it’s slowed market entry, and 30% report lost revenue as a direct result of visa-related hiring delays.
In fields like AI and cybersecurity, hiring delays can be the difference between winning or losing top talent, yet visa complexity is causing exactly that. Due to visa red tape, hiring managers in the U.S. report an average delay of 6 weeks, compared to nearly 7 weeks in the UK. According to the data, simplifying visa processes could shorten hiring by nearly a month – a major competitive advantage for businesses looking to fill open roles.
The Global Skills Mismatch
Deel’s research also highlights the biggest skills gaps in each market that could be addressed by simpler and faster visa processes. In the UK, cybersecurity, software engineering, and AI talent top the roles where businesses face skills shortages when they seek to hire locally. All of these specialized roles are key to the success of the government’s industrial strategy and hence its plan for growth. Human capital policy is now inseparable from AI policy, yet visa barriers are slowing the flow of the talent those initiatives depend on. While in the US, HR, software engineering, and AI are the hardest to source talent for locally.
While 86% of hiring managers agree they’d have fewer skill gaps if they could more easily hire from overseas, 40% cite regulatory complexity as the number one barrier preventing them from doing so.
A Call for Skills Diplomacy
If hiring across borders were made easier, Deel’s research found U.K. businesses would look first to the U.S., Germany, and Canada for talent, while U.S. firms would target the U.K., Canada, and Germany. Deel argues that removing barriers to global hiring isn’t just about compliance – it’s about competitiveness. The goal isn’t cheaper labor, but access to scarce, high-value skills found across other high-income economies.
“High-skilled migration policy drives AI innovation and growth,” said Nick Catino, Global Head of Policy at Deel. “Outdated visa systems are costing businesses time, talent, and revenue – the skills exist, but they’re trapped behind red tape. Modern talent policy is economic policy, and governments that move faster on skilled visas will lead the next wave of global competitiveness.”
Deel is calling for a new era of “skills diplomacy,” treating global talent mobility as a strategic economic lever, on par with trade and investment. As the global demand for skills and talent accelerates, modernizing visa systems isn’t just a policy tweak, it’s an economic imperative. Businesses can’t afford to wait, and the world can’t afford borders to block opportunity.
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Methodology
The research was conducted by Censuswide, among a sample of 1001 hiring managers or anyone responsible for hiring within companies with 250+ employees across the UK and USA. The data was collected between 06.10.2025 – 13.10.2025. Censuswide abides by and employs members of the Market Research Society and follows the MRS code of conduct and ESOMAR principles. Censuswide is also a member of the British Polling Council.
About Deel
Deel is the all-in-one payroll and HR platform for global teams. Built for the way the world works today, Deel combines payroll, HRIS, compliance, benefits, performance, and equipment management into one seamless platform. With AI-powered tools and a fully owned payroll infrastructure, Deel supports every worker type in 150+ countries—helping businesses scale smarter, faster, and more compliantly. Discover how Deel makes global work simple at deel.com.
Image: Freepik
