LONDON: The UK plans to loosen the rules of immigration by offering a visa that is cheaper and easier for Indian tourists, students and professionals, in an effort to reach trade deals with India, said a media report on Saturday.
UK International Trade Secretary Anne-Marie Trevelly is expected to travel to New Delhi this month, when formal negotiations on the proposed Indian-English free trade agreement (FTA) are expected to begin.
Trevelly is expected to use this visit to open the prospect of immigration regulations relating to Indian citizens, the main demand from New Delhi, Times newspapers reported.
While he has the support of Liz Truss, a foreign secretary, who has secured a closer bond with India on the government’s agenda to fight Chinese influence, Priti Patel’s home secretary contradicts this step, the report said.
In May last year, Patel has signed the ‘bespoke migration’ and migration and mobility partnership (MMP) with the Minister of External Affairs J Jaishankar to have around 3,000 students and professionals a year to benefit work experience in both countries.
Under MMP, both parties have agreed to work towards the April 2022 timeline to bring a new system in place, with work taking place at the High Commission in London and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in New Delhi.
However, under further immigration plans reported in work, one option seen is a scheme that is similar to the agreed upon as part of the British FTA with Australia, which will enable Indian young people to come and work in English to three.
Years.
Another option is to cut the visa fee for students, allowing them to stay in the UK for a period of time after they graduate, maybe build on graduate route visas under current point-based immigration rules, report said.
There can also be a reduction in costs for work and tourism visas.
At present, it can cost Indian citizens to GBP 1,400 for work visas, while students pay GBP 348 and GBP 95 tourists.
This is very contrasting with visa fees for countries such as China, which must pay significantly significantly.
Lord Peer Lord from India Karan Bilimoria, President of the England Industry Confederation, has become one of the most vocal advocates to reduce visa costs for India.
“The FTA, I hope, will benefit from increasing bilateral trade and becomes as complete as possible.
Movement of people; Reduction of tasks and rates – rates in scotch whiskey are 150 percent, which must be reduced drastically; academic collaboration and cross-border research will be very large Between our countries and partnering in the green industrial revolution.
There is a broad array to truly improve business and trade between our two countries, “he said.
The source of the senior government told the ‘The Times’ that there was an acceptance by the Minister that the price of trade transactions with India was to make a “generous” offer on the visa.
“Technology and digital space in India is still very protected and if we can open even the only access, it will put us in front of the game,” said a government official.
The British government has repeatedly said that it wants an agreement to trim barriers to do business with India.
According to the International Trade Department, preparations for the launch of negotiations for UK-India FTA ‘continued’ since the conclusion of the bilateral working group.
Trevellyan and India, the Minister of Trade and Industry Piyush Goyah, have also held talks during the G-20 Minister of Trade Meeting in Sorrento, Italy, last October to discuss the “final preparation” for the launch of the Indian FTA negotiations this year.
“We hope to launch negotiations earlier this year.
India is projected to become the third largest economy in the world in 2050, and the trade agreement will open great opportunities for the British business to trade with the GBP 2 trillion economy of India,” British government spokesman said.