UK Student Visas for Indians increase by 93%

In 2019, 37,500 Indian students enrolled in Universities in the UK. As per the UK Immigration Statistics data, the number of Student Visas for Indian students increased by 93% as compared to the previous year.

The UK had recently revived the two-year Post-Study Work Permit for international students. It is called the Graduate Immigration Route. The GIR would apply to international students graduating after mid-2021.

Indian students received 37, 540 Tier 4 (Student) Visas in 2019 compared to 19,479 in 2018. Indians also received 57,199 Tier 2 Visas (Work Visa) in 2019, accounting for a 3% increase over the previous year.

The British High Commission said that 2019 saw the highest number of Student Visas issued to Indian students in the last eight years. The number of Student Visas going to Indian students has been on the rise since 2016. India now has the fastest-growing international student community in the UK.

The graph below shows the highest number of Student Visas issued country-wise:

The British High Commission also said that Indians accounted for 50% of all Skilled Work Visas granted globally. This means that Indians got more Work Visas than the rest of the world together.

Barbara Wickham, Director-India of British Council, said that more Indian students are now choosing the UK for higher studies and enhancing their careers. This is great news both the UK as well as India.

Acting High Commissioner to India, Jan Thompson, said that the surge in international students bears testimony to UK’s world-class education and the extraordinary talent of Indian students. The UK feels proud that the best and the brightest from around the globe continue to choose the UK.

Immigration Experts believe that the spike in international student number in the UK is due to the following reasons:

• The Graduate Immigration Route, announced in October 2019, brings back the two-year Post-Study Work Permit from 2021
• Studying in the UK is relatively less expensive than studying in the US
• The cost of courses like Management in top colleges is increasing in India. Hence, people have started opting for studying in the UK at almost the same cost of studying in India.

Arjun Gaur, an Indian student, is about to begin his studies at the London School of Economics. He says that Masters courses at the top colleges in the UK are similar to that in the US. However, the tuition fee is almost 30 to 40 per cent lesser in the UK than the US.

Indians received the most number of Work Visas for the UK in 2019. On second place was the USA with 9,240 Work Visas.

The UK granted a total of 113,958 Tier 2 Work Visas in 2019.

There has also been a significant increase in the number of Tourist Visas to Indian nationals in 2019. Indians have received 515,000 Tourist Visas for the UK in 2019, which is an increase of 8% as compared to 2018.

Y-Axis offers a wide range of Visa and Immigration services as well as products to overseas immigrants including UK Tier 1 Entrepreneur Visa, Business Visa for the UK, Study Visa for the UK, Visit Visa for the UK, and Work Visa for the UK.

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