The Lords Science and Technology Committee has written to the Prime
Minster, Home Secretary, the Chancellor and Science Minister to
express deep concern with the UK's immigration and visa policy
for STEM talent.
The Committee says that the situation
has become much more urgent following
increasing global competition
for STEM talent due to the science funding policies of the US
administration, which have left many scientists seeking to
relocate. Many countries have already announced programmes to
encourage US scientists to move
there.
The committee warns that without
changes to immigration policy for STEM talent, the UK will miss a
real opportunity to drive economic growth and to build its
research base in science, technology, and other vital
areas. Without reforms to
upfront visa costs, and without considering the fiscal
sustainability of universities when designing immigration policy,
any scheme to bring US scientists to the UK risks being
ineffective, warns the Committee.
With UK visa fees for scientists still
amongst the highest in the world, the committee stands by its
earlier warnings in its letter dated 30
January 2025 that the UK's
current immigration system, and approach to STEM talent for
academia and industry, is “an act of national self-harm” and its
visa and immigration policy needs to adapt to recognise global
competition for talented individuals in science and technology.
The Committee's letter follows evidence taken from Nobel laureate
Sir Paul Nurse and life sciences expert Sir .
With the publication of the
Government's Immigration White Paper imminent, the committee says
the Government must seize this rare opportunity to rectify the
situation where it is putting up unnecessarily high barriers to
the global talent that want to live and work here, harming the
national interest and in stark contrast to the actions of other
nations. It says that at a time of dramatic geopolitical and
technological change, the UK's action––or inaction––right now
will have a huge impact on our future, warning we cannot afford
business as usual.
Notes to
editors:
-
1. The letter is available to
download at the top of this release and will be published on
the Committee's website
later today.
-
2. The committee's earlier letter
sent to the Government in January warning that the UK's current
science visa policy jeopardises economic growth and amounts to
‘national act of self-harm' is available here:
https://committees.parliament.uk/publications/46483/documents/236519/default/
