NE EDUCATION BUREAU
LONDON, FEB 28
Indians have emerged as the fastest growing nationality for student visa applications to the UK, new official statistics released on Thursday revealed.
The UK’s Office for National Statistics (ONS) found that over 37,500 Indian students received a Tier 4 (Study) visa in 2019, which marks a 93% increase from the previous year and the largest number of visas issued in the Tier 4 category to Indians over the last eight years.
Indian professionals also held on to their global lead in the Tier 2 skilled visa category for the UK, with over 57,000 visas granted to Indian workers last year – accounting for over 50% of all such visas. “This phenomenal increase in student visa numbers is testament both to the UK’s world leading education system and to the exceptional talents of Indian students,” said Jan Thompson, acting high commissioner to India.
The introduction of a new Graduate Visa route, launched recently for the 2020-21 intake of international students, is likely to have a further impact on this upward trend from India, with its twoyear post-study work option.
The UK also continued to be a popular destination for Indian holidaymakers, with more than 5,15,000 Indian nationals being granted visit or tourist visas last year – an 8% increase compared to the previous year. The overall statistics show that in 2019, 95% of Indian nationals who applied for a UK visa were successful, an increase of 5 per cent over 2018.
The latest ONS figures reveal a broader post-Brexit trend of rising migration from outside the European Union (EU), set for a further hike once the UK government’s new points-based system kicks in from January 1, 2021.
“EU net migration has fallen, while non-EU net migration has gradually increased since 2013 and is now at the highest level since 2004,” said Jay Lindop, Director of the Centre for International Migration at the ONS.
“Since 2016, immigration for work has decreased because of fewer EU citizens arriving for a job. Meanwhile, immigration for study has gone up and is now the main reason for migration. This is driven by more non-EU students arriving, specifically Chinese and Indian,” said Lindop.
Britain’s exit from the EU will end the current free movement of people from within the economic bloc at the end of the Brexit transition period on December 31 this year, bringing EU and non-EU migrants under one system.
Courtesy: PTI
