Cold-Shouldered? Indian Students Left Out Of UK’s Relaxed Visa Rules List

Britain has left India out in an initiative to relax visa application process for international students from a number of countries including China, a report in The Hindu said.

In a major overhaul of the UK immigration regime, the British government said it would be expanding the list of countries from which students would be able to provide reduced documentation when applying for Tier 4 student visas. Besides China, the list includes countries like Bahrain, Indonesia, and the Maldives.

An Indian government source said the British stand could be based on the fact that Indian students represented one of the largest groups. “We believe they have got this wrong.” The source also said the exclusion of Indian students can be attributed to the growing tensions between India and Britain when New Delhi refused to sign a memorandum of understanding on the return of illegal Indian migrants that Britain had sought in April this year.

In 2016, British government had offered an improved visa deal in exchange for stepping up “the speed and volume of returns of Indians with no right to remain in the UK”.

While India remains the third largest country for whom student visas were granted in 2017 — an increase of 27 per cent on the year before — the numbers remain sharply down on a longer term perspective.