Researchers ‘put off’ coming to UK due to visa rules, top scientist says

Researchers are being “put off” coming to the UK due to visa rules, according to a leading scientist.

Sir Paul Nurse, president of the Royal Society and a Nobel Prize-winning geneticist, urged the Government to put more money into science to fuel economic growth.

He suggested that the “very best” scientists from around the world could be exempt from certain visa rules which sees them pay thousands to come to the UK.

Sir Paul told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme: “Why make visas so expensive that it puts people off? Scientists don’t get paid that much and it does put people off.

“What we’re trying to do is not only train good scientists in the UK, which obviously is central, but attract the very best in the world.

“Now, if they come here and see these really massive visa and associated costs, it puts them off. They think we’re not welcoming, they see that their pay packet is reduced.

“It is totally fixable, you make an exclusion so that they’re not being charged that, because they are going to contribute to things like health and so on in ways that nobody else can.”

The combined upfront cost of the five-year global talent visa, aimed at talented and promising individuals in specific sectors, amounts to £5,941 this year, research published by the Royal Society in October found.

It said researchers entering the UK via the visa incur costs that are 2,062% higher than the average upfront fees for similar visa schemes across all other leading science nations.

A government spokesperson said: “This Government is committed to ensuring the UK remains the natural home for world-leading science and research.

“Many other countries require applicants to have private healthcare insurance as a condition of the visa.

“This is often more expensive, may incur excess payments and may not provide the same level of coverage as gained via access to the NHS.”