More Indians Get UK Visas on Exit of EU Citizens

On Thursday, a rise in the number of visas granted to Indian professionals, visitors, students and family members was observed. At the same time, it was showed more EU citizens leaving the United Kingdom.

Indians were granted the huge number of visitor visas during the year ending September 2018, up 41,224 (or 10%) to 4,68,923; Chinese and Indian nationals alone has granted half i.e., 47% of all visit visas.

With 55 per cent of all Tier 2(skilled) visas granted for Indian professionals, the demand for them was continued during the year.

Arise of 33 per cent was also shown in the number of Indian students coming to study at UK universities. Chinese and Indian students accounted for almost half of all students visas granted during the year.

According to officials, there was also an increase in the family-related visas for Indians (up 881 to 3,574). The number of EEA family permits given to Indians (members of families of EU citizens) was also up 4,245 to 8,360.

More EU citizens leaving the UK is for the concern over the impact of Brexit. The net migration from the EU to the UK dropped to a six-year low, while non-EU migration is the highest in more than a decade.

Madeleine Sumption, director of the Migration Observatory at the University of Oxford said that EU migrants are leaving in larger numbers since the referendum, and net inflows have largely decreased.

The lower value of the pound have made the UK a less attractive place to live and work and economic conditions in many of the top countries of origin for EU migrants have improved.