UK looks to lure talent caught by Trump’s visa bombshell

Britain’s chief finance minister Rachel Reeves wants the brightest and best to know she isn’t Donald Trump. The problem for her is they fear Nigel Farage might be.

Plans to reduce or abolish “top global talent” visa fees, along with a targeted advertising campaign to promote Britain’s existing talent routes, are on the table as the Labour government moves to capitalize on the U.S. president’s bombshell plan to impose a $100,000 fee on the H-1B visa favored by Silicon Valley tech firms to hire foreign engineers and researchers. Reeves is next week expected to set out how she plans to double the number of high skilled foreign worker visas to around 18,000 a year.

Britain’s center-left government is walking a tricky tightrope on its migration policy as it faces a rising political threat from Farage's anti-immigration Reform UK party. That's prompted pledges to cut overall migration figures while preserving Britain's status as an attractive destination for talent — which industry leaders argue would be a pro-growth move at a time when Reeves is trying to kick-start the U.K.’s faltering economy.

But it comes as Reform is pledging to abolish the main route for immigrants to gain British citizenship — indefinite leave to remain. While Farage is not closing off access to visas for entrepreneurs and wealth creators, and insists he wants to add routes, the lack of detail in his policy is adding to the uncertainty for employers, and individuals, deciding where to go, and eyeing his large poll lead.

A Global Talent Taskforce, co-chaired by Keir Starmer’s business adviser Varun Chandra, was set up in June to look at the barriers faced by foreign experts looking to move to the U.K.

The taskforce was already exploring plans to abolish fees for visas for “top global talent,” according to a report in the Financial Times, but since Trump’s announcement — which sparked panic in both the U.S. and India, which is the largest source of IT workers on H-1B visas — the taskforce has been reaching out to trade groups and think tanks for ideas.

It's considering a targeted advertising campaign to encourage applicants to apply in the belief that the U.K.’s visa routes are competitive but lack awareness, according to one person involved in discussions with the Global Talent Taskforce, who said events in the U.S. had expedited discussions around visa reform in No. 10 Downing Street.

It has also rejuvenated the lobbying effort from some of London’s most promising startups. Fintech firm Cleo and AI firm Synthesia immediately issued clarion calls for H-1B visa holders to pick the U.K. as their next destination.