UK noted 21% of drop in study visas to Indian students in 2013

United Kingdom has noticed a drop of almost 21 percent in study visas issued to Indian in 2013. The European country issued only 13,608 study visas to Indian students in 2013, which is 21 percent lower than the earlier year.

British High Commissioner to India James Bevan, said, “I don't think anyone has one single answer to that. Some of it may be to do with myths. They think that there is a limit on the number of Indians who can come to Britain to study, they think it is difficult to get a student visa, they think that they cannot work after study.”

Last year, Britain received 14, 762 applications from Indian students from all fields and subjects, which was almost 27% lower than the number of applications received in 2012, with the university sponsored applications which constitute a bulk of the category, which also fall nearly 7% to 12,82.

In 2013, the country issued total of 40,000 visas to Indian students, which is 5% higher than previous year, and the country expect the same growth in the next year too. He further added that more than 90% students who applied for the visa got their visas approved, as UK does not look at India as a high risk country as some reports mentioned.

He said, “We look at each country on its merit. In each country, there might be some category of high risk individuals, but that would apply worldwide. India is not seen as a high risk country.” He further added, “There is no bond, there will not be a visa bond.”