Prime Minister Keir Starmer has ruled out pursuing a visa deal with India, insisting his government’s priority is to strengthen economic ties under the recently signed trade agreement.
Starmer began a two-day trip to India on Wednesday, leading a major business delegation to promote the free trade deal, which was agreed in May, signed in July, and is set to take effect next year. He said visas had complicated earlier negotiations, but with the agreement now finalised without immigration provisions, he would not revisit the issue when he meets Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday.
“That isn’t part of the plans,” Starmer told reporters en route to India when asked about visas. “This visit is to take advantage of the free trade agreement that we’ve already struck. Businesses are taking advantage of that. But the issue is not about visas.”
The Labour leader is under pressure at home to take a tougher line on immigration, with his party trailing the populist Reform UK party in opinion polls. He stressed that visas would not be used as a tool to attract Indian tech professionals, despite the United States raising fees on its H-1B visa program. However, he added that Britain remained committed to welcoming “top talent” from around the world.
Asked whether he would block visas from countries unwilling to take back foreign criminals or deportees, Starmer said the matter was a “non-issue” with India due to an existing returns agreement, though he acknowledged it was something his government was considering more broadly. “We are looking at whether there should be a link between visas and returns agreements,” he said.
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