A study revealed that foreign students contributed about 2.3 billion pounds to the UK economy each year, and a drop in Indian students choosing to pursue higher studies there, is therefore seen as a threat by the British. This is owing to the stringent UK Visa regulations.
UK Visa New Rules
The strict immigration and visa policies are discouraging a number of Indian students and they are refraining from applying to even the reputed UK universities. The UK has become iron-fisted about giving job visas to even the students that are currently studying there. Bagging a lucrative job even after completing an internship in good companies here in the UK, seems next to impossible.
Most of the Indian parents keep an idea that if their children perform excellently in academics, they will easily get a job in reputable MNCs in the UK for their outstanding performance. They also feel if their wards complete their education in a sound university in the UK, and do the follow-up internship in an ostensible company, their children will bag money-making jobs in MNCs back home. But that’s not the actual case. There are a thousand students who remain unemployed even with a foreign degree in their hands.
The UK home offices are concerned that the students after completing their studies would opt to stay back in their land, and thereby increase the population as well as possibly overpower the Britishers in various fields. Some studies revealed that only 12% of the students stay back in the UK after graduating.
The post-study work rule has been changed in the UK, which stated that the student could stay back and work for 2 years after completing their studies. Now considering the hefty amount paid for the foreign education, why would any normal Indian pay just for the international degree, without any work experience, that hardly has any value back home?
The new rules state that a person could stay back in the UK for three years’ post-study, only if he found himself a “graduate-level job” on a salary of BP 20,000 or more. Also, the Home Secretary Theresa May declared, that the consular staff would interview more than a million prospective students in order to alleviate unworthy applicants from entering the country.
All these policies have helped the UK to earn a reputation of an unwelcoming country for foreign students. They seem like a very unapproachable educational destination. Considering the lump sum amount you would have to pay in order to get your child a degree in the UK, it is always better to choose the destination in case you do not worry too much about money, or your child’s immediate future.
Here is the link to UK Government’s Tier 4 (General)Student Visa
Read More: Is Sending Your Child to a Foreign University Really Worth it?
