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A number of researchers seeking to attend scientific and medical meetings in the UK in recent weeks have had their visa applications denied by the British government. Just this week, 17 people from Asian and African countries who planned to go to the Women Leaders in Global Health conference in London were barred entry, Reuters reports.
“If we want to continue producing the best science, producing discoveries that will improve all our lives, we need to make it easier, not harder, for researchers to travel and collaborate across borders,” Beth Thompson, head of UK and European Union policy at the Wellcome Trust, tells Reuters.
The visa denials are consistent with immigration rules, a spokesperson from the UK’s interior ministry tells Reuters, and each application is handled on a case-by-case basis.
Research and health organizations have become concerned about the recent denials. In early October, the World ...
