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UK likley to ease student visa norms- 9-Jul-2012
London: Fearing steep decline in revenue through foreign students from India and China due to strict visa norms, the UK Govt looks to ease the tough visa restrictions for the forth coming academic year begining next autumn.
One in 10 undergraduate or postgraduate students in the UK comes from outside the country, with China followed by India providing the main inflow. With Britain scrapping post-study visas, those outside the EU who can afford to pay full fee for university education in the UK have been deterred from doing so.
After realising that there is a genuine risk of students from outside the European Union, particularly from India, turning their backs on Britain if they confront too many immigration barriers, the PM's office told that the Premier understands these realities and is definitely considering a change of policy, quoted Britain's Sunday Times.
At every oppurtunity, India has been trying sort the issue out with UK, including at meetings of cabinet ministers, and the high commission is playing an active part in this respect. Apart from this, secretary of state for business, innovation & skills, Vince Cable, too, has championed this cause within the British cabinet.
Ministers at the British Cabinet, have argued that including foreign students in immigration figures is an error, especially since a vast majority of them sooner or later leave Britain after completing their courses.
The Conservatives, now in office with the Liberal Democrats, made a manifesto promise before the 2010 general election of reducing net migration to below 100,000 per year.
Germany, a low-cost, high-quality higher studies destination is also opening up for Indians, thereby threatening to pose serious competition to British institutions.
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