(Reuters) -British Prime Minister Keir Starmer is exploring proposals to abolish some visa fees for top global talent at a time when the U.S. has taken a tougher stance on immigration, the Financial Times reported on Monday.
Starmer’s “global talent task force” is working on ideas to attract the world’s best scientists, academics and digital experts to the UK in a bid to drive economic growth, the report said, citing people briefed on the discussions inside Number 10 and the Treasury.
The idea of cutting visa costs to zero is for people who have attended the world’s top five universities or have won prestigious prizes, an official told the newspaper.
According to the report, the reforms were being discussed in Number 10 and the Treasury before the Trump administration announced its decision to impose a $100,000 fee for new H-1B visas, which are widely used by U.S. tech companies, from Sunday.
The U.S. decision, however, has put “wind in the sails” to those pushing for changes to Britain’s high-end visa system, aiming to spur growth ahead of the November 26 Budget, a person involved in the UK discussions told FT.
Britain’s global talent visa application costs 766 pounds ($1,030), with partners and children paying the same fee.
The Treasury department and Downing Street did not immediately respond to Reuters’ request for comment.
($1 = 0.7432 pounds)
(Reporting by Shivani Tanna in Bengaluru; Editing by Jamie Freed and Lincoln Feast.)
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