Study in the UK: Good news for those Indian students who wanted to pursue a career in the UK after completing their study as now they will be allowed to work in the country for two years through a new post-study work visa. Moreover, they will have an option to switch to the skilled work visa after expiry of two years, providing the opportunity to continue to work in the country beyond two years. The UK Government today announced a new two-year post-study work visa, expanding opportunities for talented international students to build successful careers in the UK, said British High Commission in New Delhi.
This new route will be open to all foreign students, including Indian students studying in the UK. In order to avail this option, the candidate must have a valid UK immigration status as a student. He should have also completed a course of study in any subject at undergraduate level or above at a recognised higher education provider in the UK.
The new visa will allow eligible students to work or seek a job in any profession for two years after completing their study. the UK government has closed this option in 2012 but it has now been reopened with some screening to only allow genuine students.
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“The new Graduate Route will mean talented international students, whether in science and maths or technology and engineering, can study in the UK and then gain valuable work experience as they go on to build successful careers,” Priti Patel, Indian origin home secretary of the UK said in a statement.
After two years, these students will be able to switch onto the skilled work visa if they get a job which meets the skill requirement of the route. The UK government said it will announce further details of the scheme in due course.
This graduate route is aimed at increasing the intake of international students in the field of science and technology, engineering and mathematics. It will favour a large number of Indian students as nearly half of the Indian students that went to the UK to study during the last 10 years opted for one of these four subjects.
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“This is fantastic news for Indian students, who will now be able to spend more time in the UK after completing their degree, allowing them to gain further skills and experience,” said Dominic Asquith, British High Commissioner to India.
Nearly 22,000 Indian students got the visa to study in the UK last year. An increase of 42% over the previous year as the total number of Indian students going to the UK has doubled in the last three years.
Today’s announcement comes in the wake of two more recent decisions – a new fast-track visa route for scientists and the removal of the limit on PHD students seeking to switch to the skilled work visa route. All these initiatives are aimed at strengthening the country’s position as a major scientific power.
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In addition to 22,000 student visas, Indian citizens also got 56,000 skilled work visas last year, an increase of 5% over the previous year.
