Starmer draws the line on job visas…

AS PART OF the UK-India FTA, both countries agreed to lock in preexisting measures that allowed temporary business travel between the two nations.

- 

No new visa routes were created in the agreement, Starmer said, adding that his government had been able to “unblock” the issue that had previously held up talks as India demanded a greater visa allowance for its nationals wanting to work in the UK.

Starmer’s government is under pressure to limit the number of people arriving in the country, as the anti-migrant Reform UK surges in the polls. The UK premier has proposed measures such as lengthening the time over which a person must be living in the country before they can claim indefinite leave to remain, and making their ability to gain that status contingent on their “contribution” to the UK.