A UK government task force is considering plans to remove fee costs for the global talent visa after the US slapped a $100,000 charge on one of its key worker visas.
On Friday night, President Trump put hundreds of thousands of workers on high alert after he signed an executive order adding a hefty business fee for applicants arriving on a skilled foreign worker route under the H-1B visa.
The UK government could meanwhile look to ease rules on its global talent visa, according to reports, as it looks to attract more workers and academics who have won an “eligible prestigious prize” or who are considered to be a leader in research, arts or digital technology.
Earlier this year, the government pledged to make it “simpler and easier” for people to apply to join the UK through the global talent and high potential individual visas, expanding routes to those working in artificial intelligence and allowing research interns to gain access more easily.
Fees worth up to £766 on the global talent visa could also be cut to zero, according to a source quoted in the Financial Times, which reported that a government board were ramping up discussions after Trump took a harder stance on worker immigration rules.
The board is led by the likes of Lord Vallance, the science minister, and Varun Chandra, who is Starmer’s adviser on business relations.
Labour’s growth drive
High talent visa routes to the UK have been heavily criticised by industry insiders for being too burdensome for applicants and dissuading people from going ahead with applications.
Business immigration advisory firms including Entrepreneur First and Envestors are tasked with vetting applicants for the global talent visa and the innovator founder visa before the Home Office conducts separate checks.
The visas are also different to the skilled worker route, which has been more widely used and faces stricter criteria – including hiking the minimum salary threshold to £41,700 – as part of an effort to curb net migration.
Think tank gurus at the centre-left Centre for British Progress and investment leaders in the US suggested that the UK could benefit from Trump’s sweeping changes to immigration rules as tech leaders and scientists would be more likely to move to Britain.
Reviews of visa routes are being made as part of an effort to drive growth in the UK economy while lowering migration levels, with Chancellor Rachel Reeves eager to protect what may be left of her headroom at this year’s Budget.
The Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) is widely expected to downgrade productivity and conclude that borrowing costs are set to exceed forecasts, forcing the Chancellor to double down on pushing through growth reforms.