Starmer insists India trade deal will not affect UK visas as he heads to Mumbai

The UK will make no further changes to visa restrictions now that the trade deal with India has been struck, the prime minister has insisted on the eve of a two-day trade visit to India.

Keir Starmer will meet the Indian prime minister, Narendra Modi, in Mumbai with a delegation of more than 120 chief executives, cultural leaders and university vice-chancellors in a visit aimed at boosting growth and trade ties.

But during the course of the visit the UK prime minister is also likely to face questions over the closeness of Modi to the Russian president, Vladimir Putin – to whom Modi wished a happy birthday in a message as Starmer prepared to land in India.

Starmer insisted no further visa liberalisation was on the table – including for students – despite the delegation of business leaders and universities who are pressing the UK to take advantage of the harsh line that the US has taken on visas aimed at attracting international talent.

“No, that isn’t part of the plans,” Starmer told reporters when asked if he would respond to sectors’ demands for easier movement of workers. “We’re here now to take advantage of the free trade agreement that we’ve already struck. We’ve got to implement it.”

Starmer said that businesses would benefit significantly from the “mood music” from the trade deal, citing increases in flights by British Airways and others.

“But the issue is not about visas. It’s about business to business engagement and investment and jobs and prosperity coming into the United Kingdom.”

Starmer said he was particularly proud that the deal struck in the spring did not have a major visa component, saying it was “one of the issues we were able to unblock … It’d been one of the challenges over the eight years, I think previous governments had tried to get the deal over the ground. So there’s no visa implications of the free trade agreement.”

Starmer said the UK was looking more at how it could attract “top talent” after Donald Trump’s executive order, which will add a $100,000 fee for applicants for its skilled work visa programme.

He said that was “not necessarily related to India” but added “where there is very top talent across the globe. I want to have top talent in the United Kingdom, to help us grow our economy.”

Starmer will visit India along with 14 university vice-chancellors and university representatives, amid fears in the sector that it will be aggressively hit by government plans to raise international student fees as part of a bid to drive down net migration.

Starmer told reporters the aim of the trip was not to recruit students but for universities to expand their overseas offerings – for students to study while staying in India.

The visit to India comes months after Starmer hosted Modi at Chequers to mark the signing of the deal, which will significantly lower tariffs on British goods being imported into India. Starmer will host CEOs on the trip from companies including Rolls-Royce, British Telecom, Diageo, the London Stock Exchange and British Airways, as well as the National Theatre and the Royal Shakespeare Company.

It is expected to raise bilateral trade by £25.5bn per year, with UK exports to India projected to grow by nearly 60%. But government forecasts suggest the deal will make only a minor dent in the black hole Rachel Reeves must fill in the autumn budget, adding about 0.13% to GDP by 2040 but probably less than that by 2030, which is the period of time that the Office for Budget Responsibility assesses.

Starmer will not meet Modi in India’s capital but will spend two days with businesses in Mumbai, with a meeting with Modi in the west coast city. Aides expect him to raise not just trading ties but suggested the pair would speak about Ukraine.

Starmer has also been urged to raise the plight of Jagtar Singh Johal, a Scottish-Indian Sikh activist who has been imprisoned in India for eight years, despite having charges against him dropped.

As Starmer flew from London, Modi posted a congratulatory message to Putin on his birthday, writing: “I spoke with my friend President Putin and conveyed warm congratulations on the occasion of his birthday, as well as wishes for good health and longevity. I am deeply grateful for his personal commitment to strengthening the Indian-Russian partnership in the coming years.”

Asked whether it was appropriate to be showing such warm ties with Modi given the closeness to Putin, Starmer said: “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.”

Starmer said the UK’s focus was on stopping Russia’s “shadow fleet” of oil tankers, which has been operating despite sanctions. “In relation to energy, and clamping down on Russian energy, our focus as the UK, and we’ve been leading on this, is on the shadow fleet, because we think that’s the most effective way. We’ve been one of the lead countries in relation to the shadow fleet.”