The UK-India FTA is a betrayal of working Brits, says Migration Watch
May 12, 2025
The proposed free trade agreement with India that will allow Indians working in this country to avoid paying National Insurance is a betrayal of hard-working Brits who pay their taxes and will now foot the bill for foreign nationals, says Migration Watch.
The so-called “Double Contributions Convention” that the government has said means workers “will only be liable to pay social security contributions in one country at a time”, is clearly designed to benefit Indian migrants in Britain and not the other way around. There are over 1.8m Indian nationals in Britain, while there is no clear data on how many British nationals live in India.
Moreover, Indian nationals will benefit from the lower Employee Provident Fund (EPF) of 12%, compared to the British 15% National Insurance Contribution (NIC). Indian workers will be able to benefit from the higher British salaries and the lower Indian social security payments, leaving British workers to pay for the increased cost of yet more migrants in the country.
Alp Mehmet, Chairman of Migration Watch, said:
All trade deals carry a price and this one is no exception. India has for years pressed for looser visa rules for its nationals and it seems at least some of those demands have been met with this deal. More work permits will be issued to Indians - 81,000 were handed out last year - taking the number of Indians in the UK over two million. This flies in the face of the government’s promise to reduce immigration from its catastrophically high levels.
Key statistics
- The Indian population of Britain in the 2021 census was 1,864,304.
- The last concrete number of British nationals (37,700) living in India was released in 2006.
- India’s Employee Provident Fund (EPF) is a flat rate of INR 1,800 (~£16) plus 12% of salary.
- Britain’s National Insurance Contribution (NIC) is 15% paid by the employee and variable costs for the employee, typically 8%.