Starmer’s ‘Transactional Visas’ Plan Signals Tougher Global Bargaining on Migration
So here’s what’s happening right now with immigration and visas under Prime Minister Keir Starmer — and it’s turning heads at home and abroad. During the G7 summit in Canada, Starmer laid out a fresh and significantly tougher approach to how the UK might issue visas moving forward. His government is considering making visa approvals more “transactional” — meaning that whether a country’s citizens are allowed easier access to UK visas could soon depend on how well their government cooperates with the UK on key migration issues.
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In plain terms, this isn’t just about managing who comes in; it’s about using visas as diplomatic leverage. If a country refuses to take back failed asylum seekers — people whose UK asylum claims were denied — then their nationals might find it harder to get a visa to visit, study, or work in Britain. It’s a shift in tone and policy that says: “If you don’t help us, we won’t help you.”
Starmer’s announcement comes as the number of people crossing the English Channel in small boats continues to surge. Over 1,500 made the journey in just one week, with total crossings this year already exceeding 16,000 — that’s 42% higher than this time last year. Despite Labour scrapping the Conservative government’s Rwanda deportation plan and investing in border security instead, the crossings haven’t slowed down the way ministers had hoped.
France, too, is under pressure. Starmer met with President Macron and discussed further cooperation. French authorities are about to introduce a new "maritime doctrine" to allow faster and more aggressive interception of boats before they leave the shore. Both countries are now expected to make migration a focal point of the upcoming UK-France summit in July.
Starmer emphasized that bilateral returns agreements — like those the UK has with Albania, India, Nigeria, and others — are useful, but not enough. His idea now is to extend pressure to those countries that haven’t yet agreed to take back their nationals, using visa policy as the stick, not just the carrot.
Critics — especially from the Conservative benches — have pounced, saying Labour's strategy lacks teeth. Shadow Home Secretary Chris Philp accused the government of being soft, saying the criminal gangs are thriving while Labour organizes summits instead of acting decisively. Still, Starmer insists this “smarter use of visas” could help drive accountability and results.
And that’s really the crux of it — the UK wants to make sure that helping tackle illegal migration is a two-way street. Visas might soon become the bargaining chips in global immigration negotiations. Whether this tougher stance will deter the crossings or strain diplomatic ties remains to be seen, but one thing is clear: the UK's immigration conversation has entered a new phase.
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