Hsmp was great but today's Tier 1 Exceptional is arguably the most generous in the western world for tech talent. 5 years with a direct pathway to citizenship. No other in Europe offers a path to citizenship this fast if at all.

> No other in Europe offers a path to citizenship this fast if at all.

Netherlands does. Come here as a "highly skilled immigrant", learn the language and become a citizen in 5 years. If you marry a Dutch citizen (and stay married for 3 years), that number is reduced to 3.

Are you daft? The EU-Blue card matches that in the worst case, and if you meet certain criteria, you can get permanent residency in as little as three years and citizenship in six. Every EU country.

Correct me if I'm wrong, but the Blue Card requires a job offer, in fact, a binding one. It's a serious threshold to clear.

Have you read the requirement of Tier 1 General Exceptional Talent[1] at all? I am reproducing them below. Do you think everyone who wants to come to UK should start on the path of either becoming a public speaker or start working on some sort of public platform to get recognised into these two categories.

You can apply for a Tier 1 (Exceptional Talent) visa if you’ve been endorsed in your field in science, humanities, engineering, medicine, digital technology or the arts as: 1. A recognised leader (exceptional talent) 2. An emerging leader (exceptional promise)

[1]https://www.gov.uk/tier-1-exceptional-talent

You can do similarly in Germany. Startup visa €5000 ->after 3 years get Permanent Residency for entrepreneurs->then 4-5 years depending on your visa/naturalisation officer apply for citizenship.

Ireland offers this too afaik and so does Germany (with the catch that you reach B1 level proficiency in German)

What's different about Japan is that this is just about the only way to immigrate; Western countries typically have skilled guest worker programs in addition to more general immigration.

That's not really true. There are quite a few working visa categories for professionals in engineering, medicine, journalism, higher education, etc. in addition to the lower-skill categories for basic English teaching and "entertainment." The government has also introduced a points-based system that prioritizes visas for people with more skills/experience/income, and has been making it a lot easier to get longer-term visas and permanent residency.

He's right. Japan is worried about its depopulation problem. I've read articles about all different ways that Japan is loosening its immigration process.

I wouldn't compare UK with Japan. The path to permanent residence and citizenship in the UK is clear and straightforward. That has led to a solid number of startups in the UK.