World news story

More Indians choose the UK to visit and study

Latest statistics show 32% increase in student visas and 10% increase in visit visas.

This was published under the 2016 to 2019 May Conservative government
London

The number of UK visas granted to Indian nationals has continued to experience strong growth, according to the latest update from the UK Office for National Statistics:

  • 550,925 Indians were granted UK visas in the year ending June 2018, a 10% increase on the previous year

  • Visit visas increased by 10% to 454,658, which demonstrates that Indians are continuing to chose the UK as a holiday destination.

  • T4 visas granted to Indian students touched 15,390, an increase of 32% on the previous 12 months.

  • Over 6,500 Indians came for short-term study in the UK during the same period. This is the third successive year that student visa numbers have increased.

  • India continues to receive more UK work visas than the rest of the world combined. Over 60,000 work visas were issued last year.

British High Commissioner to India, Sir Dominic Asquith, said:

The latest figures reinforce a trend we have noticed for some time – that across the board more and more Indians are choosing the UK as a destination to visit, work in and study. This is fantastic.

I’m particularly pleased to note that numbers of Indian students have increased by 32%. I welcome this evidence that international students wish to study at our world class institutions and are succeeding in securing places there.

Further information:

The Office for National Statistics (ONS) is the UK’s official body responsible for collecting, analysing and disseminating statistics about the UK’s economy, society and population. More on their role can be found here.

The figures quoted above are for July 2017 to June 2018 – and are compared with the previous 12 months (July 2016 to June 2017).

The source for this data, the ONSQuarterly Update is available online here.

9 out of 10 Indian visa applications are approved, which is above the global average.

Media

For media queries, please contact:

Sally Hedley, Head of Communications
Press and Communications
British High Commission, Chanakyapuri
New Delhi 110021
Tel: 44192100; Fax: 24192411

Mail to: Kitty Tawakley

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Published 24 August 2018