No plans to hand out more student visas to secure India trade deal, No 10 says
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Downing Street has sought to quell Cabinet concerns that a possible free trade deal with India will involve handing out more student visas.
Rishi Sunak is travelling to the G20 summit in New Delhi at the weekend as negotiations continue over a post-Brexit trade deal.
Suella Braverman raised concerns at Tuesday’s Cabinet meeting about India’s reported desire for any deal to bring a relaxation in immigration controls for Indians, according to The Sun.
To be crystal clear, there are no plans to change our immigration policy to achieve this free trade agreement
The Home Secretary has previously been vocal about her “reservations” about an increase in migrant numbers.
But No 10 on Thursday stressed that there are no plans to change the UK’s immigration policy to secure the deal.
Asked about reports of the Cabinet rift, the Prime Minister’s official spokesman told reporters: “I can’t get into what was or was not discussed in Cabinet.
“I think there’s an important points to stress on visas. The Prime Minister has been clear he believes that the current levels of migration are too high. He and the Home Secretary, indeed the immigration minister (Robert Jenrick), are united in their commitment to reducing net migration.
“I can’t comment on the details of ongoing negotiations, but to be crystal clear, there are no plans to change our immigration policy to achieve this free trade agreement. That includes student visas.”
However, the official indicated an expansion of business visas would potentially be considered.
He said: “The mobility provisions that are considered as part of trade deals as standard relate to the temporary movement of business people.”
Earlier, the High Commissioner of India to the UK denied that his country was asking for more visas for Indian migrants.
Vikram Doraiswami told Times Radio: “We never said that the visas are part of our ask.”
He added that “what we’ve been asking for is simplification of the process by which inter-company transfers happen”, which would make it easier for companies to move British and Indian nationals between the two countries.
Mr Sunak could reportedly be planning a second visit to India this autumn in a bid to finalise an agreement, which his predecessor-but-one Boris Johnson already promised would be completed by October last year.
After Business and Trade Secretary Kemi Badenoch visited India for a meeting of G20 ministers last month, officials said good progress was being made but that the deal was unlikely to be ready to sign when the Prime Minister attends the gathering of the world’s 20 largest economies.
