Last week, NRI entrepreneur Lord Karan Bilimoria spoke of his concern that the UK’s immigration rules for students are causing Indian students to turn away from the UK. The entrepreneur, has called for the UK government to ease the UK’s visa rules for Indian students and to remove students from immigration cap. Lord Bilimoria has also recommended that the UK reintroduce the Post Study Work visa route which was abolished in April 2012.
Last year in November, we reported that the Times of India had analysed data held by HESA Student which revealed that between 2010-11 and 2011-12, over 10,000 fewer Indian students travelled to the UK to pursue a post graduate degree. This decline was attributed to tough immigration laws.
Lord Bilimoria: UK Should Ease Visa Rules for Indian Students
Lord Bilimoria spoke of his concerns during a debate on the Immigration Bill in the House of Lords, London. He stated:
“The Prime Minister (David Cameron) talks about Britain having to take part in a global race yet the government’s insistence is on following this madcap immigration cap policy and targeting bringing down the immigration level to the tens of thousands. This is shooting ourselves in the foot.”
Lord Bilimoria suggested that student figures should be removed from the immigration figures so that it sends out a message that they are not amongst the “government’s madcap immigration cap target.” He went on to recommend that there should be a “system in which everyone’s passports will be scanned in and out of the country, at all ports of entry.”
Lord Bilimoria Recommends Removing Student Migration Limit
In his recommendations, Lord Bilimoria was critical of the government’s immigration cap and believed that students should be removed from this. He stated:
“What are the government thinking of? Why does the government keep including student numbers in the immigration figures when Canada, Australia and the United States – our immediate competitors – do not? The Prime Minister has said that there is no limit to the number of students that we want to come to study in the UK.”
Successful UK Tier 4 Student Visa Applications & Appeals
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