Indian students not deterred from UK study, says minister

A Home Office minister has dismissed concerns that visa restrictions are making the UK an unattractive study destination for Indian students, saying that people from India are applying “in droves”.

Conservative peer Susan Williams, minister of state for countering extremism, told a House of Lords debate that the number of Tier 4 student visas issued to Indian nationals increased by a third in 2018. While there may be a perceived problem with the UK’s attractiveness as a study destination, this was not reflected in the numbers, she said.

“Look at the number of Indian students who are not just applying for, but succeeding in getting, student visas,” she told the Lords on 7 January. “How others see us, in terms of how Indian students see us, is as a country which they wish to learn from and study in. I know there is an issue about visa relaxation with India, because I was in Delhi last year, but the figures do not bear that out. Indian students are applying to universities in this country in droves.”