Sir Keir Starmer is exploring proposals to abolish some visa fees for top global talent at a time when the US has moved sharply in the other direction.
The British prime minister’s “global talent task force” is working on ideas to lure to the UK the world’s best scientists, academics and digital experts, as it seeks to stimulate economic growth.
One option being considered is abolishing visa charges for top-level professionals, according to people briefed on the discussions inside Number 10 and the Treasury.
“We’re talking about the sort of people who have attended the world’s top five universities or have won prestigious prizes,” said one official. “We’re kicking around the idea of cutting costs to zero.”
The reforms were being discussed in Number 10 and the Treasury before the Trump administration announced last week it would increase to $100,000 the application fee for an H-1B visa, which is relied on by US tech groups.
But one person involved in the UK discussions said that Trump’s decision had put “wind in the sails” of those wanting to reform Britain’s high-end visa system to boost growth ahead of the November 26 Budget.
The discussions are being driven by the global talent task force, chaired by Varun Chandra, Starmer’s business adviser, and Lord Patrick Vallance, science minister.
Government officials said the idea of cutting visa costs was not yet being actively discussed in the Home Office, which has a remit to cut net migration, but that immigration visa routes were kept under review.
Another British official said the current global talent visa system was a “bureaucratic nightmare”, adding: “We are also looking at how we can help people navigate the visa process.”
The official added: “This isn’t about diluting our determination to bring down net migration but it’s about getting the brightest and best into Britain. There is unity across government on this.”
Meanwhile, government officials said that chancellor Rachel Reeves was looking at the tax system ahead of her autumn Budget to identify disincentives to attracting global talent.
The chancellor’s recent reforms to the non-dom tax system have been blamed for some wealthy individuals leaving Britain, although provisional tax data suggests the exodus was not as great as some had feared.
Britain’s global talent visa, introduced in 2020, costs £766 to apply for, with partners and children paying the same fee. An annual health surcharge fee of £1,035 is usually applied to each person applying.
The route has no ties to an employer, and offers a fast-track route to settlement in the UK.
The visa is aimed at eminent people in science, engineering, humanities, medicine, digital technology or arts and culture. The Home Office said successful applicants are “leaders, or have the potential to be leaders, in their field, as determined by an endorsing body”.
In the year ending June 2023, there was a 76 per cent rise in the number of global talent visas granted, taking the total to 3,901.
Reeves has tasked officials with coming up with pro-growth reforms aimed at easing regulatory barriers and bolstering inward investment, as she confronts the possibility of a sharp downgrade to the outlook by the Office for Budget Responsibility.
The chancellor is also reviewing inheritance tax changes affecting non-doms ahead of her Budget, according to government officials.
In its immigration white paper earlier this year, Labour committed to “increasing the number of people arriving on our very high-talent routes”, with faster routes for people who could “supercharge” growth in strategic industries.
Applications for skilled worker visas have already fallen sharply as a result of changes raising the skills and salary requirements, as well as sharp increases in fees.
Jamie Arrowsmith, director of Universities UK International, said the main initiative the government has taken so far to lure US scientists — establishing a £50mn Global Talent Fund available to 12 UK institutions — was “relatively modest” in scale.
The government also needed to look at the costs of immigration for researchers and ensure they were globally competitive, he said, adding: “Ultimately to attract global talent we need to be able to offer funding and autonomy and make the transition as smooth as possible.”
A Home Office spokesperson said: “Our global talent routes attract and retain high-skilled talent, particularly in science, research and technology, to maintain the UK’s status as a leading international hub for emerging talent and innovation.”