Professionals and students from India received a majority of UK visas in 2018 according to the latest statistics revealed by the UK Home Office. Indian professionals, including doctors and software engineers, have dominated Britain’s tier-2 skilled visa category for some time now, accounting for 54 percent of all such visas granted in 2018. In the latest analysis, the Home Office said that Indian nationals marked the largest increase in the grant of tier-2 visas. It went up by 6 percent at 3,023 more visas compared to the previous year.
The analysis also noted a hike in the number of student visas granted to Indians last year went up by 35 percent to hit 19,505. However, Chinese students dominated that segment at 99,723 visas but managed only a 13 percent hike. The 2018 data reflects a continuing trend of an increase in immigration to the UK from outside the European Union (EU), compared to a fall in immigrants from within the EU as the Brexit deadline of March 29 nears. Figures show that 2,61,000 more non-EU citizens from countries like India came to the UK, the highest since 2004.
The ONS said that overall, net migration, immigration and emigration figures have remained broadly stable since the end of 2016. From 2016 to September 2018, a total of 6,27,000 people moved to the UK and 345,000 people left the UK resulting in an annual net migration figure of 2,83,000. It was found that more citizens from Central and Eastern European countries, including countries like Poland, Slovakia, and Lithuania, are leaving the UK than arriving.
