UK to reduce student visas by almost half: Report

The UK government is finalising plans to cut annual student visa figures by nearly half, from thecurrent 300,000 to 170,000, a media report said today amid a sharp fall in students coming to thecountry from outside Europe including India.

Some university chiefs are also warning that many Indian students are already being denied visas onminor grounds as part of a wider move to cut immigration into the UK.

"They are telling somestudents there is exactly the same quality of course available in India so why are you coming here.That is outrageous," a UK vice-chancellor was quoted as saying by the Guardian newspaper.

The move comes despite recent UK Office of National Statistics (ONS) figures indicating there hasbeen a drastic drop in students coming to the UK from outside Europe. "There was a statisticallysignificant decline in the number of non-EU citizens migrating to the UK to study, from 134,000 inthe previous year to 111,000...there was a statistically significant decline in citizens of SouthAsia, with the number coming to study having almost halved," ONS said in its 'Migration StatisticsQuarterly Report: August 2016'.

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India is the third-largest category in terms of student visa applications after the US and China,with 10,664 granted between June 2015 and 2016.

"International students contribute, directly and indirectly, 14 billion pounds to the UK economy,making higher education one of this country's most valuable exports...Over the last five years, thenumber of Indian students attending UK universities has halved. I have consistently asked thegovernment to remove students from the net migration target," said Lord Bilimoria, leading Indian-origin entrepreneur and Cobra Beer founder, who himself came to the UK as a student.

"We should immediately re-introduce the two-year post-study work visa, which I fought hard tointroduce before its withdrawal in 2012, to allow foreign students to implement their much-neededskills here and help boost our economy," he added.

During British Prime Minister Theresa May's visit to India last month, Prime Minister Narendra Modihad stressed on the importance of access for Indian students to UK institutions.

"Education is vital for our students and will define our engagement in a shared future. We musttherefore encourage greater mobility and participation of young people in educational and researchopportunities," PM Modi had told May in his address at the UK India Tech Summit in New Delhi.

However, senior university sources indicate the UK Home Office is on track for some dramaticimmigration cuts in student visa numbers. While it has dismissed rumours of an annual cutback ofmore than two-thirds, the likely cut to around 170,000 seems likely to be enforced.

A UK Home Office spokesperson said: "Claims the Home Office is modelling cuts to reduceinternational students to a third [ie 100,000 a year] are categorically untrue".

"We want to strengthen the system to support the best universities - and those that stick to therules - to attract the best talent. The British people have sent a clear message that they want morecontrol of immigration and we are committed to getting net migration down to sustainable levels inthe tens of thousands," he said.

(PTI)