The British government Wednesday announced further improvements to the visa system to attract the brightest and best to work, do business and invest in the UK.

This includes the launch of the GREAT Club, an invitation only service providing top business executives with bespoke support from UK Visas and Immigration (UKVI) which is committed to improving the visa system for business users.

The Club will start in the New Year as a 12 month pilot aimed at around 100 global business leaders who use the visa service and have strong links to the UK.

They will be provided with an account manager to ensure their journey through the visa and immigration service is swift and smooth.

The account manager will also be able to arrange visa services tailored to each individual’s needs at no extra cost during the pilot.

The British government has already been working to make its immigration system more pro-growth to create investment and jobs in the UK.

Thanks to new commercial contracts our visa application centres will be able to provide business travellers with more premium services than ever before. Over the next 12 months additional improvements will include:

The UK will expand its priority (three to five day) visa service from 67 countries to over 90 countries by spring 2014.

It will expand the same-day visa service, currently available in India and soon to be available in China, to several further key locations by the end of 2014.

"We will continue to listen and respond to the needs of high-value and high-priority businesses so that we can provide them with a service that supports economic growth, while at the same time maintains the security of our borders," said the British Home Secretary Theresa May.

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