According to British High Commissioner to India Alex Ellis, the UK issued a total of 2,836,490 visas in 2022, with 25% going to India, the highest number issued to any country.
Indian nationals received the highest number of student visas, which increased by 73% from 2021. India was also issued 30 per cent of visit visas, which is the largest share compared to any other country, Ellis said, adding that the work visas increased by 130 per cent in the year 2022.
India accounts for nearly a quarter of all international students in the UK, and Indian investment in the UK supports 95,000 jobs across the UK.
According to the UK Immigration Statistics, published in August 2022, nearly 118,000 Indian students received a student visa in the financial year ending June 2022, representing an 89% increase over the previous year.
India has surpassed China as the largest nationality being issued sponsored Study visas in the UK.
The announcement came as India and the Britain opened the visa application process for students interested in applying for the new Young Professionals Scheme (YPS) under the India-United Kingdom Migration and Mobility partnership.
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The scheme, which was launched last month, allows Indian citizens aged 18 to 30 to live and work in the UK for up to two years.
Announcing the scheme’s opening on Tuesday, Indian High Commissioner to the UK Vikram Doraiswami said: “Under the Young Professionals Scheme, announced about a month ago, young citizens of India and the UK can visit each other for up to two years at a time.”
“I am pleased to be able to tell you that the scheme goes live from February 28. We will be launching this simultaneously in Delhi and in London, respectively for Indians to come to the UK and British citizens to go to India,” he added.
The UK government announced that 2,400 visas will be made available to eligible Indians under the scheme for which the last date of application is set on March 2 at 2:29 pm (IST).
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