UK Immigration Minister streamlines visa route for Indian students amidst Covid-19

United Kingdom Immigration Minister Kevin Foster announced that a ‘Student route and Child Student route’ will open on 5 October 2020 to the best and brightest Indian students as part of the government’s commitment to introduce a new points-based immigration system, as per an official release by the government.

He made the announcement on a visit to The University of Cardiff where he met with Indian students along with the CEO of Study Group Emma Lancaster.

The Study Group provides international student pathway programs leading to undergraduate and postgraduate degree level study at Cardiff and at leading universities across the UK. This includes Durham, Sheffield, Leeds, Royal Holloway University in London, and Strathclyde.

Indian students will now be able to progress onto their studies without returning home to apply for a new visa. The Minister and his civil service team held a roundtable discussion with the Study Group on issues relating to international students.

The Minister reassured to “make the immigration system much more user friendly and to work with businesses and communities to make sure the system works for everyone”.

Speaking of the new student route which has positive implications for Indian students choosing UK universities, the government said: “International students play a key part in the government’s agenda to unleash the UK’s potential now that we have left the EU. They make important contributions economically, academically, and financially.”

“Launching the Student route early sends a clear message to the world we want the best and brightest to come to the UK to study at our globally-renowned education institutions,” the official release added.

“There will be no limit on the number of international students who can come to the UK. This will help increase the total number of international students choosing to study in the UK higher education system each year to 600,000 by 2030, as set out in the International Education Strategy published in March 2019,” the government stated.

Welcoming the opportunity to talk directly to the Minister and his team, CEO Emma Lancaster said: “I very much appreciated the chance to engage with the Minister personally and to thank him for his efforts to support Indian students through policy mitigation in the face of Covid-19.”

She also welcomed the new International Education Strategy, particularly the recent changes to reintroduce the opportunity for post-study work visas which are important to Indian graduates.

“This is an important change for students seeking an opportunity to develop their careers and to mitigate the cost of study in the UK, as well as bringing vital skills and tax revenue to the UK economy, and we are keen to do our part to communicate the latest developments to talented potential students across the world,” she added.