Students from India, who had shown consistent upward trends in applying to British universities in recent years, are beginning to indicate the first signs of shunning the UK as a higher education destination of choice amid a perceived less-than-friendly scenario awaiting them with student visa crackdowns.
The latest Universities and Colleges Admissions Service (UCAS) figures released last week revealed Indians leading a downward trend after record increases, with applications from India falling 4 per cent compared to last year to 8,770.
The UCAS data reads: “UK higher education remains attractive globally, with a 0.7 per cent increase in international applicants. The highest increases are China (+3 per cent, +910), Turkey (+37 per cent, +710) and Canada (+14 per cent, +340). There has been a decrease in applicants from Nigeria (-46 per cent) and India (-4 per cent).”
The reason for this decline after consistent rises is likely to be the ongoing review and linked uncertainty around the Graduate Route visa, which offers international graduates the opportunity to gain work experience for at least two years after their degree. Last year, the government commissioned its independent Migration Advisory Committee (MAC) to review this post-study work visa, one of the key factors behind a jump in Indian student numbers in recent years.
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In the student visa category, Indian nationals represent the largest group of students granted leave to remain on this route. Since it was enforced by former home secretary Priti Patel in July 2021, 42 per cent of the 176,000 students granted a Graduate Route visa were Indian nationals – which means any changes to this category will have a significant impact on Indians.
Another factor behind the drop in Indian admissions is likely to be a clampdown in effect from last month on overseas students on all but postgraduate research courses and courses with government-funded scholarships bringing along their dependents to the UK. Diaspora groups in the UK also highlight additional stress factors such as a student accommodation crunch adding to a general unwelcome landscape for Indian graduates.
Lord Karan Bilimoria, a patron of the National Indian Students and Alumni Union (NISAU) UK, yet again raised the issue of treating international students outside of migration statistics in order to recognise their true value to the UK economy as temporary migrants.
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“So, we are in recession yet international education exports, one of the only economic bright spots, is being hugely negatively impacted by the confusion caused by making students appear as immigrants,” said NISAU UK Chair Sanam Arora.
