UK Stands Firm on Immigration Policy, Prioritizing India Trade Deal

08 Sep, 2023

UK Stands Firm on Immigration Policy, Prioritizing India Trade Deal

The spokesperson for UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak affirmed on Thursday that Britain has no intentions of altering its strategy for reducing net migration in exchange for securing a free trade agreement with India.

There is increasing optimism that a free trade deal between the two nations may be finalized this year, with agreement reached on the broad outlines of the pact. However, there remain challenging topics to be addressed. Sunak, who is set to attend a G20 summit in India this weekend, informed his ministers that negotiations were making progress, emphasizing the need for an approach that benefits all of Britain.

In June, Trade Minister Kemi Badenoch indicated that Britain was open to discussing temporary business visas as part of the trade talks but ruled out broader commitments related to immigration or access to the UK labor market for Indian workers.

Sunak's spokesperson reiterated the prime minister's stance, emphasizing that the current levels of migration are considered too high. They clarified that there are no plans to amend the immigration policy to secure the free trade agreement, including student visas.

Last year, Interior Minister Suella Braverman sparked controversy with remarks concerning the potential impact of Indian migrants in trade negotiations, expressing concerns about both an "open borders migration policy with India" and visa overstays.

India's High Commissioner to Britain, Vikram Doriaswamy, clarified that while the idea of India seeking more visas had been reported in the British press, it had not been conveyed in the Indian media. He stated that India's priority was to establish simpler mechanisms for companies to facilitate the movement of UK and Indian nationals between the two countries.