Sir Keir Starmer has said the UK will not relax visa rules for India, speaking before he arrived in the country to tout the benefits of a recent trade agreement.
The prime minister is leading a delegation of more than 100 entrepreneurs, cultural leaders and university vice-chancellors, as he attempts to boost UK investment and improve sluggish economic growth.
Sir Keir said there were “massive opportunities” to improve trade and cultural ties with India.
But he said there were no plans to open up more visa routes to Indian workers or students.
Speaking in India, Sir Keir said no business leaders he had met had “raised with me the question of visas” during his trip.
Instead the visit to India “is about providing the opportunities” for Indian businesses “to take advantage” of the UK-India trade deal, signed in July after years of negotiation.
It will mean UK cars and whisky will be cheaper to export to India, and Indian textiles and jewellery cheaper to export to the UK as part of the multi-billion pound trade boost.
The deal included a three-year exemption on social security paid by Indian employees working in the UK on short-term visas.
But ministers insisted there were no wider changes in immigration policy.
The Labour government is trying to cut levels of immigration into the UK and announced a tough policy on settlement status at the party’s conference last week.
Speaking to reporters on the plane on the way to Mumbai, Sir Keir said visas “played no part” in the trade deal with India and that situation had not changed.
Asked whether the UK might consider trying to attract tech entrepreneurs in the wake of President Donald Trump’s changes to the H-1B visa in the US, Sir Keir said the UK wanted to attract “top talent” from across the globe to help grow the UK economy, but repeatedly said there were no plans for new visa routes to India.
“We have got the single biggest delegation trade mission ever to come to India,” Sir Keir told reporters in Mumbai at a time when the UK-India relationship was at “an all-time high”.
Sir Keir also used the visit to announce that three Bollywood films will be made in the UK by Yash Raj Films from 2026, ending an eight-year hiatus.
Downing Street linked the move to the UK-India trade deal, saying it will bring 3,000 jobs and pour millions into the economy.
Yash Raj Films’ chief executive officer Akshaye Widhani said the UK “holds a very special place in our hearts” as it was announced his studio will return to the UK.
“The UK’s infrastructure, technology and talent is unmatched, and we are delighted to deepen our cultural ties with a country that has always empowered us to excel creatively,” Mr Widhani said.
Among the businesses travelling with the prime minister was British Airways, which announced plans to introduce a third daily flight between Delhi and Heathrow next year.
Manchester Airport also revealed a new direct route to Delhi.
During the two-day trip, the prime minister is expected to meet his India counterpart Narendra Modi who ahead of Sir Keir’s visit had conveyed his “warm birthday greetings” to Russian President Vladimir Putin on social media.
Sir Keir said he would not be following suit, telling reporters: “Just for the record, I haven’t sent birthday congratulations to Putin, nor am I going to do so. I don’t suppose that comes as a surprise.”
Asked whether he would criticise Modi over India’s purchase of Russian oil, Sir Keir said the UK’s focus was on Russia’s shadow fleet of oil tankers.
The prime minister said the UK had been one of “the lead countries in relation to the “shadow fleet” – the name given to unregulated tankers ferrying oil from Russia.
Sir Keir also suggested during trip he would raise the case of Jagtar Singh Johal, the British Sikh man held in an Indian prison for seven years without a conviction.
When asked about the case ahead of a meeting with Modi tomorrow, Sir Keir said “of course we always raise consular cases on every level.”
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