UK and Indian governments discuss future migration relationship
UK government officials on 16 January visited New Delhi for talks with the Government of India on migration.
The discussions signalled a new phase of cooperation and acted as a forum to discuss opportunities to strengthen the bilateral relationship.
The Migration Dialogue allowed for UK government officials to engage directly with their Indian counterparts on the UK’s plans for a new single, skills-based immigration system after Brexit. In addition, the UK government delegation held roundtable events with key figures from the corporate, business and education sectors in India, to gather insight and highlight how the new system will benefit them.
Commenting on the talks, UK Immigration Minister Caroline Nokes said:
The UK is committed to building relationships across the globe which is why officials visited New Delhi and met the Government of India today.
We already issue more skilled worker visas to Indian nationals than to the rest of the world combined, and I am delighted to see many Indian students coming to study at our world-class universities.
Under the new system, operating from 2021, we will always be open to the brightest and best from India, who wish to come to live and work in the UK.
The proposals for the skills-based based immigration system, operating from 2021, will allow people from across the world to come to the UK for work or to study and to visit. The UK government wants to encourage skilled workers to come to live and work in the UK and has proposed to abolish the cap on its new skilled visa route when the new system comes into effect in 2021. These proposals will mean that there would be no limit on the number of skilled people, such as engineers, doctors and IT professionals, who can come to live and work in the UK.
British High Commissioner Sir Dominic Asquith said:
Strengthening the UK-India migration partnership is a priority for us. India is the first country, outside of the EU, that the UK is consulting on its new migration White Paper. These talks are central to developing closer bilateral cooperation, with policies promoting skilled work and international students playing a major role in new UK proposals. We’ll also be continuing our discussions on handling Indian nationals who are in the UK illegally.
We look forward to working together with the Government of India on the entire migration relationship. The exchange of businesspeople, students and tourists forms the living bridge between our two countries and we want to make it even stronger.
At today’s talks, the UK government emphasised the following key points:
- the new skills-based immigration system offers a significant opportunity to Indian nationals, particularly skilled workers and students
- the current UK visa system provides a good service for India, with almost 1 in 5 of all UK visas being granted to Indian nationals;
- the UK government already issues more skilled worker visas to Indian nationals than to the rest of the world combined; and
- the UK government continues to work towards a more modern and efficient returns arrangements with India, which will support an enhanced migration partnership more broadly.
Further Information
You can read the White Paper online as well as an executive summary on Gov.UK.
Key announcements include:
- removing the cap on numbers for skilled workers
- removing the Resident Labour Market Test for highly skilled workers
- allowing students – whether undergraduate or postgraduate – to stay in the UK for an extended period of six months after graduation
- making it easier to switch onto a skilled work visa at the end of their course.
Media
For media queries, please contact:
Sally Hedley, Head of Communications
Press and Communications, British High Commission,
Chanakyapuri, New Delhi 110021
Tel: 24192100; Fax: 24192400,
Mail to: Harry Booty
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