High visa prices could deter top scientists from moving to UK

The report ranks the upfront cost (including fees paid by applicant or employer, and other charges) of gaining legal entry as a skilled worker into Britain and 17 other “leading science nations”. Upfront costs can be an outsize turn-off for potential immigrants, given all the other unavoidable expenses around the time of an international move.

The upfront cost of the main British work visas was 22 times higher than the average in the other 17 countries. Britain’s Skilled Worker and Global Talent visas, in particular, were the priciest in any of the countries, at £12,451 – although if Donald Trump’s recent price increase to $100,000 for an American H-1B visa sticks, that will top next year’s list.

The expense is even higher for emigrating families, with the upfront cost of moving a family of four to Britain ranging from nearly £25,000-30,000. Britain is unique in charging an upfront charge for using its healthcare service, of £5,175 a head for a five-year visa (increased by 65% last year).

Strikingly, Canada, a strong rival to Britain for talent that is leaving the US, does not charge upfront for accessing its similar free-at-point-of-use healthcare system.

Cutting these upfront costs, ideally to zero, for the type of workers that Britain wants would be a relatively low-cost move that would send a powerful message of open arms.

Photograph by Getty