UK student visa numbers for Indians rise

Bruce Buckneil, the British Deputy High Commissioner to India, said on 20 February that the United Kingdom wanted more students from India to come to their country and enrol in educational institutions. He said that the number of tier 4 visas issued to Indian students increased by 27 percent in 2017.

He was quoted by the Statesman as saying that they had granted more than 14,000 tier-four student visas, in addition to about 5,000 short-time study visas. He said that Indian nationals were also granted 53,000 tier-2 visas. On the other hand, in 2016, about 11,300 tier four visas had been issued for Indians.

Buckneil was quoted by Press Trust of India as saying that in UK universities, 5,000 people of Indian origin were employed. Though they have a diverse student population, they would like to see more international students at their renowned universities, he added.

When asked if students would be allowed to hunt for jobs after they complete their studies, he said that they had already begun a pilot project in partnership with some topnotch universities to enable students to extend their stay for six months in Britain after they graduate to search for a job. According to Buckneil, they were extending this pilot project program to 23 more universities from September 2018-19.

He said that their county wants to keep a note on the best students studying in their top universities. This program would help people pursuing education in the UK in long-term courses to get their stay extended, he said.

Buckneil said that they, however, wanted students to abide by their country’s immigration laws and not misuse them.

Little India said that a campaign named ‘ Beat the peak’ had been launched by the United Kingdom recently to encourage those wanting to visit their country to apply for a visa a minimum of three months in advance so that they could avoid the rush.

It is said that of the 60,000 visas issued by Britain in 2017, Indians got two-thirds of them. The UK also stated recently that they were considering launching two-year multiple entry visas for Indians after a pilot project was run for China.

If you are looking to study in the UK, talk to Y-Axis, the world’s no.1 immigration and visa company, to apply for a study visa.