The new immigration regulations announced by the UK government are probably going to have a big effect on Indian professionals and students. The government’s decision to keep the Graduate Route in place has been welcomed by the National Indian Students and Alumni Union UK (NISAU), although the group has voiced concerns about the shorter post-study visa offer period and its possible effects on Indian students.
The post-study Graduate Route visa offer will be tightened from two years to 18 months under the new regulations, which are included in the Immigration White Paper. Indian students, who are among the biggest users of the Graduate Route, are probably going to be impacted by this change. After earning their degrees, international students can use the path to obtain work experience in the UK.
While the organization is happy that the Graduate Route has been maintained, NISAU chair Sanam Arora urged the government to execute it carefully, clearly and cooperatively. “We must prevent present and potential students from becoming panicked. Who is impacted and how must be made clear immediately,” Arora said.
Additionally, the new regulations will increase the qualifying period for settlement status in Britain to ten years and impose more strict English standards. Applicants for skilled worker visas, particularly Indians, will probably be impacted by this change since they will need to fulfill stricter minimum wage standards.
It is planned to remove the Health and Social Care visa, which is primarily applied for by Indians and other South Asians. The CEO of the UK’s Work Rights Centre, Dr. Dora-Olivia Vicol, criticised the action, claiming that it will result in more migrant care workers being exploited. “Because of this failed visa scheme, thousands of migrant care workers already in the UK are facing destitution, and the government is yet to offer them any workable support,” Vicol said.
Indians and other migrant labourers are expected to be impacted by the new regulations. More persons will be at danger of obtaining unstable immigration status as a result of the extended qualifying term for settlement status, which will add injustice to an already unfriendly system. More exploitation and possibly even an increase in the number of undocumented persons could result from this.
Without the new regulations, the UK runs the risk of “becoming an island of strangers,” according to British Prime Minister Keir Starmer. He pledged that the measures, which include stricter enforcement, English language requirements on all routes, and skill standards up to degree level, would result in fewer migrants.
For Indian professionals and students, the UK’s new immigration regulations are a mixed bag. Even though the Graduate Route has been kept in place, Indian students are probably going to be greatly impacted by the shorter post-study visa offer period and the more stricter English language criteria. Indians and other migrant workers will be impacted by the elimination of the Health and Social Care visa as well as the extended qualifying term for settlement status. The government argues that the new regulations will lower the number of migrants and make the system more equitable. Critics counter that the regulations will increase migrant workers’ vulnerability and abuse.
