Indian Students Can Now Stay in UK Two Years After Graduating

UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson announced the return of two-year post-study work visa for international students. This means that Indian graduates in any subject in the UK will be able to stay in the UK and look for work opportunities. The return of two-yeat post-study work visa will impact thousands of Indian students in the UK.

Boris informed that the changes which are due to come into effect for international students for courses starting in 2020-21. This will help international students studying in Britain to start their careers and look for relevant opportunities.

The UK post-study work visa will be available to international university students studying any course. Home secretary Priti Patel said that this move will ensure that the best and the brightest international students.

UK Aims to Attract 6 Lakh International Students by 2030

The UK new two-year post-study work visa will encourage more international students to go to the UK to pursue higher studies and through this UK will achieve its aim to have six lakh international students by 2030. This implies that Indian students will now be able to stay in the United Kingdom for two years to find work after they complete their graduation.

The total Indian students who are studying in the United Kingdom (UK) have doubled in number the last three years. Till March 2019, over 21,000 student visas had been issued to Indians. The officials also said that a white paper is in the works for extending the duration of the stay of students so that they can work after completing their studies. This initiative is being taken to make Britain an attractive destination for the students from India.

The new British government is also giving serious thought to paying the required attention to education cooperation. Canada and Australia are stepping up in attracting international students with their easier study and work norms and are slowly overtaking the UK as the preferred destination of students.

There was a 40 percent increase in the total number of Indian students who registered themselves in the UK over the last year. Dominic Asquith, the British High Commissioner, said that 96 percent of all the visas that were applied by the Indian students for the UK was successful.

Also Read: Hike in Applications from Indian Students for Universities in the UK

The Ministry of External Affairs told the Parliament that 7,52,725 Indian students are pursuing their studies abroad. The US is the most preferred destination of students as a total of 2,11,703 Indian students are studying in the US. Canada and Australia have taken the second and third positions respectively.

After the UK had announced the abolition of post-study work rights in the year 2011, the total number of Indian students saw a sharp dip and went down from 38,677 to only 16,665 in the year 2016. According to a study conducted in 2017, foreign students generate more than 25 billion pounds for the British economy and also give a boost to the local businesses and regional jobs. Hence, the British government is planning to increase the overall number of months for which a foreign student can stay back and work.

Also Read: 50% Indian Graduatesin UK have Above Average Salaries: Survey

The UK government is also introducing a campaign called #GetReadyForClass next month that will help in guiding international students through the application process and will also encourage them to apply early. 20 Vice-Chancellors from several universities of the UK are visiting Hyderabad and Delhi in the first week of September as a part of other measures taken by the government to deepen bilateral education cooperation.