Impact of UK Visa Changes on Indians: Insights from Former Students

The UK government, under Prime Minister Rishi Sunak’s immigration control plan, has increased the minimum income threshold required to sponsor a family member’s visa in the country as a ‘dependent’. This move is expected to affect Indians, who constitute the largest group granted study and work visas in the United Kingdom. Sanam Arora, founder and chairperson of the National Indian Students and Alumni Union (NISAU) UK, emphasized the significance of the Graduate visa for Indian students and the impact of the UK’s international higher education system, expressing concern about the adverse effects of the new regulations.

Anahita Masters, an alumni of the London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE), highlighted the social implications of dependents being snubbed, particularly affecting post-graduate research students and women. The minimum income required to bring dependents on a work visa has significantly increased, and social care workers are now prohibited from bringing any dependents, regardless of income level. Additionally, the UK government has imposed new restrictive visa rules, including prohibiting people on student visas from bringing dependents to the UK.

The Migration Advisory Committee (MAC) has been tasked with reviewing the Graduate route visa, which allows international students to stay in the UK for 2 years after graduating to find employment without requiring sponsorship. Immigration statistics in 2023 revealed that a substantial number of Indians received Work visas and Student visas in the UK. The potential shelving of the Graduate route visa is raising concerns about the financial impact on universities, as well as the disadvantage faced by sole breadwinners and Indian women, especially mothers.

Ms. Masters shared her personal experience, highlighting the importance of the dependent clause for her studies at the LSE and the potential hardships faced by students, particularly women, due to the removal of this clause for Master’s level students. She emphasized the difficulty faced by mothers and young children when separated for extended periods due to visa restrictions.