UK may scrap some visa fees to attract top talents

The United Kingdom may stop charging visa fees for in-demand workers in a bid to attract overseas talent and boost its economy.

The idea is being mulled by Prime Minister Keir Starmer, the Financial Times has reported, citing an unnamed senior official who said: "We're talking about the sort of people who have attended the world's top five universities or have won prestigious prizes. We're kicking around the idea of cutting costs to zero."

In-demand workers currently usually apply for the UK's global talent visa, which costs 766 pounds ($1,034) per applicant. Each partner or dependent child of an applicant must also pay the fee for their visas, potentially driving the cost up to several thousand pounds for a family. And each person also needs to pay an annual health surcharge of 1,035 pounds for healthcare services.

The global talent visa, which was introduced in 2020, is aimed at elite workers in fields including digital technology, engineering, medicine, and science. Most regular workers apply for a skilled worker visa, which costs between 625 pounds and 1,423 pounds, depending on the job and salary level.

The Financial Times said the prime minister thinks the time may be right to waive all fees for global talent visas because United States President Donald Trump introduced a $100,000 fee on Friday for his country's new H-1B visas, which will likely hit elite recruits applying to work at US technology companies.

"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 Nov 26 budget," the source said.

The idea of waiving some visa fees was among suggestions put forward by a task force chaired by Starmer's business adviser Varun Chandra and Minister of State for Science Patrick Vallance.

The UK's finance minister, Chancellor of the Exchequer Rachel Reeves, is also understood to be considering changes to the UK's tax system in her Nov 26 budget, to make sure it helps with the recruitment of top global talent.

Some 3,901 people were granted a global talent visa in the year ending June 2023, but experts say the country needs to attract many more if it is to see a significant uptick in competitiveness.

The UK government said at the start of this year it wants to make it "simpler and easier" for people to get global talent visas and high potential individual visas, which are aimed at top-performing graduates who have not yet found work.

The desire to ramp up legal immigration comes as the UK grapples with illegal migration into the country that saw more than 1,000 people arrive in small boats crossing the English Channel from France on Friday last week.