UK decision to cap non-EU immigrants may hit Indian students

LONDON - Based on the UK’s official figures showing one-fifth of migrant students still in the country five years after being granted visas, the Immigration Minister, Damian Green, would reportedly outline plans as part of an overhaul of migration policy to cap on immigration from non-European countries including India, with student immigrations being the priority.

According to the BBC, the Home Office study tracked non-EU migrants who came to the UK in 2004 and found that the largest group, about 185,000 people, were students, and 21 per cent were still in the country five years later.

Green said that the figures are proof that the coalition government had inherited an immigration system “largely out of control”.

“We can’t assume that everyone coming here has skills the UK workforce cannot offer. We need to look at all the other routes, besides employment, by which people come into this country, maybe for education, for family reunion reasons and also, in particular, routes that lead to permanent settlement,” he added.

The minister would reportedly present his first major speech on immigration since the formation of the coalition government and question whether Britain is attracting the brightest and best students.

The number of foreign students let into the UK is “unsustainable”, Green would say. (ANI)