Britain’s Prime Minister Keir Starmer announced that the country will not be pursuing a visa deal with India. Starmer is embarking on a two-day visit to India with a trade delegation to bolster economic relations following the recent trade agreement between the two nations. The trade deal, which was finalized in May, signed in July, is set to take effect next year.
Starmer highlighted that visa issues had previously hindered trade negotiations, but now that a visa-free trade agreement has been reached, he sees no need to revisit the matter during his upcoming discussions with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi. He emphasized that visas are not a current priority and that the focus is on leveraging the existing free trade agreement.
The Prime Minister is adopting a more stringent stance on immigration in response to public concerns, particularly as his Labour Party trails behind the Reform UK party in polls. While Starmer expressed that visas will not be a tool to attract tech professionals from India, he emphasized the importance of having top talent in the UK.
Regarding the issue of countries not accepting their nationals for deportation, Starmer clarified that this is not a concern with India due to an existing returns agreement. However, he mentioned the possibility of exploring the link between visas and returns agreements more broadly.
In summary, Starmer’s visit to India aims to strengthen economic ties without the inclusion of visa negotiations, focusing on maximizing the benefits of the current trade agreement between the two countries.