Number of Indians in UK for studies and work up sharply

LONDON: Unperturbed by Brexit and the discontinuation of the two-year post-study work visa, Indian skilled workers, tourists and students are flocking to Britain.
The number of Indian students choosing to study in Britain has shot up 42% in the past year (July 1, 2018 to June 30, 2019) and the number of Tier 4 (student) visas issued to Indians is now at its highest level since 2011-2012 at 21,881, according to the latest immigration statistics released by the UK home office.
In 2011 Theresa May, when home secretary, abolished the two-year post-study work visa that had made Britain an attractive place for Indian students. That had led to a 55% drop in Indian student numbers coming to Britain, from 51,218 in 2010-2011 to 22,757 in 2011-2012. It went down further to 15,388 in 2017-2018.
Perhaps drawn by the weak pound, “immigration statistics, year ending June 2019”, also show that more than half a million (5,03,599) Indian nationals received visitor visas to the UK. Chinese and Indian nationals together accounted for just under half (49%) of all visitor visas granted with the number of Indian visitor visas granted up by 48,907 (11%) on the previous year.
The statistics reveal that Indian citizens got the fourth-highest total number of UK visas of all nationalities in 2018 — 1.45 million. Only Americans, Chinese and Australians got more.
India retained its place as the top country being granted Tier 2 (skilled work) visas with 56,322 granted in the past year, significantly more than any other country. The next highest was the US at 9,693.
The number of Tier 1 visas being issued to Indians also increased between July 2018 and June 2019 to 306 compared to 216 the year before. In that period, apart from other categories of Tier 1 visas granted to Indians, 12 were granted Tier 1 (investor) visas — “golden visas” that can be bought for £2 million — and 72 Indians received Tier 1 (exceptional talent) visas.
“These new visa figures underline the strong UK-India relationship, especially the people-to-people links and, of course, the business-to-business connections that are driving our shared prosperity,” said Kevin McCole chief operating officer, UK-India Business Council.
“Indians are clearly making an increasingly invaluable contribution to UK life — business, academia, and society generally. As the UK leaves the EU, there is definitely scope to deepen these links and grow the Indian impact in the UK,” McCole said.
“We’re delighted to see the increase in numbers of Indian students coming to the UK and can confirm we feel this on the ground with the sheer number of enquiries our team is dealing with on a daily basis,” said National Indian Students & Alumni Union UK founder and chairperson Sanam Arora.
“Brexit has played a big part in the revamped hope for a post-study work visa, but more importantly it is the motion moved by Boris Johnson’s brother Jo Johnson (an MP) that has really instilled hope amongst Indian students that Britain is indeed welcoming them again,” she said.
Jo Johnson has tabled an amendment to a bill, making its way through Parliament, to re-introduce the two-year post-study work scheme. Currently students can stay for six months after they graduate. “A word of caution to all Indian students though — there is a widespread rumour being deliberately spread by unscrupulous actors that there is now a two-year post-study work visa in the UK. Many students are basing their decisions to come to the UK with this as a key factor. We have clarified this in a number of forums and issued an advisory as well,” Arora added.