The UK government will “miss a real opportunity” to drive economic growth if it fails to act fast on visas for US scientists, an influential House of Lords committee has warned.

Prime minister Keir Starmer should change the country’s visa policies in the upcoming immigration white paper, expected to be published next week, to attract more scientists and researchers fleeing the US, the House of Lords Science and Technology Committee says in an open letter to the Cabinet.

While the government is rumoured to be launching a new global research talent scheme, issues including visa costs must be addressed if the initiative is to succeed, the letter says.

“Without changes to immigration policy for STEM talent, we will miss a real opportunity to drive economic growth in the UK and to build up our research base in science and technology,” the lords write.

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Analysis published by the Royal Society in 2024 found that the UK’s global talent visa – the main route for promising researchers to come to the country – is the most expensive visa compared with other leading science nations, mainly because of the charge for accessing the health system.

“The issues around high upfront visa costs and the immigration system’s impact on the fiscal sustainability of universities…must be addressed by the forthcoming immigration white paper, or this scheme risks being ineffective,” the letter says.

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The committee previously said that the charges are impacting already cash-strapped universities, which may front the visa costs, as well as individual foreign researchers.

They said the situation has become “more urgent” as cuts to science funding in the US drive researchers away – and other countries around the world have already begun launching schemes to attract them.

The European Union has recently established a €500 million (£424 million) scientific research package to “make Europe a magnet for researchers”, while the Australian Academy of Science unveiled a “global talent attraction programme” in April.

“In light of these actions and the changing global circumstances, the UK’s apparent flatfootedness puts us at risk of falling behind,” the peers write.

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The letter follows a disappointing result for Labour in May’s local elections, after which Starmer reiterated his pledge to reduce immigration numbers. The government is thought to be considering restrictions on both student visas and the graduate route – a two year post-study work visa – in light of this.

Nevertheless, the committee says that while it understood the government was elected on a pledge to reduce overall immigration numbers, the global talent visa accounts for “only” about 4,000 people a year.

“Reducing overall net migration is therefore not incompatible with increasing the proportion of science and technology experts who receive visas,” they write.

“We urge the government to act on its recommendations with a sensible visa policy and flexible funding for universities and research institutions to support critical research programmes,” they continue.

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“The opportunity to strengthen the UK’s scientific and technological capacity needs to be taken urgently.”

helen.packer@timeshighereducation.com