India demands more visas for nurses and caregivers as price for free trade agreement

Rishi Sunak is due to visit India next month for talks with Narendra Modi, Prime Minister of India. Credit: Leon Neal/Reuters

India is demanding more visas for nurses and caregivers as payment for a free trade agreement with the UK, according to sources in New Delhi.

India is believed to Negotiators are seeking concessions on visas as they enter the 13th round of talks.

Negotiations will cover some of the most sensitive and complex issues, including demands to ease restrictions on workers and students entering the UK.

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This comes as Kemi Badenoch, Commerce Minister, arrives in India on Thursday to try to give the discussions a political boost.

However, UK officials are downplaying rumors that a free trade agreement could be ready to be signed when Rishi Sunak visits India next month for talks with Narendra Modi, the Indian leader. Prime Minister.

“We have very difficult problems to solve,” said one source.

India is asking for easier access to the UK for workers “certain services that can only be provided locally,” such as nurses. , caregivers, IT professionals and financial advisors, according to Piyush Goyal, head of commerce for India.

'We need to iron out some differences'

A senior Indian Commerce Department official told The Telegraph: «There are some areas, such as visas and protection of Indian industry, where we need to iron out some differences. The trade deal will take place and it will be in the interests of both countries.”

However, UK officials have made it clear that there will be no special provisions for skilled workers from India, such as nurses. and caregivers under the government's points-based immigration system.

Ms Badenock told MPs that the government will only back out of agreements that make it easier for «highly skilled professionals to provide services in each other's markets on the on a short-term and temporary basis.»

A source said: «Anything to be agreed must be very specific, focused and work for the UK economy.»

The Prime Minister is expected to visit New Delhi to attend the G20 leaders' summit. 9 and 10 September. During Boris Johnson's premiership, the UK said it was aiming to complete the deal by October last year.

But remarks by Home Secretary Swella Braverman, who expressed «reservations» about easing immigration controls for Indians under any deal, prompted angry reaction from ministers and officials in New Delhi.

Sunak and Modi need to «make some concessions». «

An Indian diplomat said they were still hoping for an agreement before the end of the year and for the UK to soften its stance on the movement of skilled Indian workers.

Minister Sunak and Prime Minister Modi sat down and made some concessions,» the diplomat said.

Pat McFadden, the Labor Party's shadow finance minister, told Sky News about visas for Indian workers «have always been a key requirement, when it comes to trade talks with India.»

He said his party did not rule out an increase in the number of work visas for the deal, saying: «You will not rule out that it is because you may have other interests that would make it reasonable.

“There are goods and services that we want to export to India that could create huge wealth in the UK, if we had the opportunity to do that, you need to look on these things along the way.”