At a time when the US has increased the cost of securing an H-1B visa to $1,00,000 (close to ₹88 lakh) and taken a tougher stance on immigration, British Prime Minister Keir Starmer is exploring proposals to abolish some visa fees for top global talent.

Starmer's "global talent task force" is working on ideas to attract the world's best scientists, academics and digital experts to the UK in a bid to drive economic growth, the Financial Times reported, citing people briefed on the discussions inside Number 10 and the Treasury.

The idea of cutting visa costs to zero is for people who have attended the world's top five universities or have won prestigious prizes, an official told the newspaper.

According to the report, the reforms were being discussed in Number 10 and the Treasury before the Trump administration announced its decision to hike the fee for new H-1B visas, which are widely used by US tech companies, from Sunday.

The US decision, however, has put "wind in the sails" to those pushing for changes to Britain's high-end visa system, aiming to spur growth ahead of the November 26 Budget, a person involved in the UK discussions told FT.

Britain's Global Talent Visa application costs £766 ($1,030), with partners and children paying the same fee.