Sadiq Khan, mayor of London on Monday called on the government of United Kingdom to add India to the list of low-risk countries offering much easier student visa application procedure, asserting that it is essential that the country holds its reputation for higher education excellency.
“It is vital the UK maintains its reputation for higher education excellence. The number of Indian students choosing to study in the UK has declined significantly over the last decade,” Khan said in a statement.
“I’m urging him (Sajid Javid) to both add India to the scheme and also to review the UK’s broader approach to attracting international student talent, including post-study opportunities,” he said.
Earlier this month, the UK Home Office had proclaimed that citizens of 11 additional countries including China, Serbia, Bahrain, and Mexico would be able to access a streamlined process to apply for Tier 4 student visas to study at UK universities.
India was eye-catching by its absence on that list, leading to an outcry among student groups and other senior leaders.
According to the London Mayor’s office, the number of Indian students coming to the UK is falling from a peak of nearly 24,000 a year in 2010-11 to a low of around 9,000 a year in 2015-16.
Khan attributed this diminution to broad perception issues related to the UK visas in India.
“During my trade mission to India last year, I was told regularly by politicians and business leaders that the UK’s approach to immigration was the single biggest barrier to strengthening our economic ties,” said Khan, who had led a mayoral delegation to India in December 2017.
“This is not simply a concern in boardrooms: it is widely discussed in the media and the UK is characterized as hostile to Indian nationals in general, and students in particular,” he added.
The Mayor pointed to statistics that indicate Indian businesses invest more in the UK than in the rest of Europe combined and employ around 110,000 people in the country.
“With the continuing uncertainty we face around Brexit, the government should be doing everything it can to safeguard businesses’ future access to talent,” Khan said.
The UK Home Office in alterations to its immigration policy tabled in Parliament earlier this month had proclaimed a relaxation of the Tier 4 visa category for abroad pupil.
The Home Office said that India did not meet the “required criteria” to be included on this expanded list, referred to as Appendix H.
There is no bound on the number of genuine Indian students who can come to study in the UK, and the fact that last year saw a 30 percent increase in Tier 4 visas issued to Indian students is proof that the current system allows for strong growth in this area, the spokesperson said.
By Sowmya Sangam
