India’s visa requirements won’t be loosened by the UK, Starmer claims. Prior to his arrival in India to promote the advantages of a recent trade agreement, Sir Keir Starmer stated that the UK would not loosen its visa regulations for the country.
The prime minister is trying to improve slow economic development and increase UK investment by heading a delegation of over 100 university vice-chancellors, entrepreneurs, and cultural leaders.
There were “massive opportunities” to strengthen trade and cultural connections with India, according to Sir Keir.
However, he stated that there were no intentions to provide more visa pathways for Indian students or workers.
In an Indian interview, Sir Keir said that none of the corporate executives he had met had “raised with me the question of visas” while he was there.
As an alternative, the trip to India “is about providing the opportunities” for Indian companies “to take advantage” of the trade agreement between the UK and India, which was completed in July following years of negotiations.
As part of the multi-billion-pound trade boom, it will make it cheaper to sell Indian textiles and jewellery to the UK and cheaper to export UK automobiles and whisky to India.
As part of the agreement, Indian workers on temporary visas to the UK were spared from paying social security taxes for three years.
Ministers, however, maintained that immigration policy had not changed more broadly.
At this week’s party conference, the Labour government unveiled a strict settlement status policy in an effort to reduce immigration to the UK.
Visas “played no part” in the trade agreement with India, Sir Keir told reporters on the plane en route to Mumbai, adding that nothing had changed.
Following President Donald Trump’s changes to the H-1B visa in the US, Sir Keir was asked if the UK would try to recruit tech entrepreneurs. He stated that the UK wanted to draw in “top talent” from around the world to boost the UK economy, but he insisted that there were no plans to open new visa routes to India.
At a time when the UK-India relationship was at “an all-time high,” Sir Keir told reporters in Mumbai, “We have got the single biggest delegation trade mission ever to come to India.”
During his visit, Sir Keir also announced that Yash Raj Films would resume producing Bollywood films in the UK in 2026, after an eight-year break.
Downing Street said the decision will boost the economy by millions of dollars and create 3,000 jobs, tying it to the UK-India trade agreement.
Akshaye Widhani, the CEO of Yash Raj Films, declared that the UK “holds a very special place in our hearts” when it was revealed that his studio would be returning to the country.
“The UK’s infrastructure, technology and talent is unmatched, and we are delighted to deepen our cultural ties with a country that has always empowered us to excel creatively,” said Widhani.
British Airways, one of the companies accompanying the prime minister, declared that it will launch a third daily route between Delhi and Heathrow the following year.
A new direct service to Delhi was also announced by Manchester Airport.
The prime minister is scheduled to meet with his Indian counterpart, Narendra Modi, during the two-day tour. Prior to Sir Keir’s arrival, Modi sent Russian President Vladimir Putin “warm birthday greetings” via social media.
“Just for the record, I haven’t sent birthday congratulations to Putin, nor am I going to do so,” Sir Keir told reporters, indicating that he would not be doing the same. That shouldn’t be shocking, I suppose.
Sir Keir responded that the UK was concentrating on Russia’s shadow fleet of oil tankers when asked if he would blame Modi over India’s purchase of Russian oil.
The UK has been one of “the lead countries in relation to the “shadow fleet”—the term used to describe uncontrolled tankers transporting oil from Russia—the prime minister stated.
During the trip, Sir Keir also proposed to bring up the issue of Jagtar Singh Johal, a British Sikh who was imprisoned in India for seven years without being found guilty.
In response to a question regarding the matter before tomorrow’s meeting with Modi, Sir Keir stated, “of course we always raise consular cases on every level.”