Myths and Realities of Immigration :Indian Students of Master’s Courses Can Not Take Their Family to UK From Jan’24
Rajiv Upadhyay
UK has changed the rules for foreign students taking their families on student Visa to UK .Now students undertaking research ( Ph.D) courses only can take their families on student Visa from Jan’24. Some exceptions may be made for top universities like Oxford , Cambridge etc. As per Suella Braverman , the Home Secretary of UK ,this became essential due to record increase in net migration to UK of about 6 lakhs last year .This was particularly unacceptable as the open and unchecked migration was the main cause of Brexit .
This will hurt Indian students who have been issued the largest student Visas this year . As per the figures issued of Sept’22 Chinese students were issued the largest number of student visas closely followed by Indians . This year Indians may out number the Chinese students and may be 41% of all foreign students entering UK.
Last year about six lakh foreign students came to UK. Amongst them , Dependent Visas increased by 750% compared to 2019 totalling 1,36,000. Out of these 120000 dependent Visa were issued to just five nationalities ie India , Nigeria, Pakistan, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh.But an interesting figure is that while about 110000 Chinse students bring about 425 family members to UK, about 35000 Nigerian students bring the 33000 number of family members including old parents with them . about 93500 Indians students bringing 33000 dependents are a close second . However Pakistanis , Sri Lankan students too bring equally large number of dependents to UK if not more .
UK is also struggling to deport illegal migrant crossing British channel in small boats to Rwanda . However this has been stayed by the European Human Rights Courts so far . But UK is determined to implement it .
However what is not being high lighted adequately is that this crisis has been created by the 114000 Ukranian and 52000 Hong Kong people being given Visa on humanitarian grounds, a popular move in UK . Asylum seekers, both real and imaginary like Indian Khalistanis, are yet another non paying category of Visa seekers ignored by the government . Apart from being a good humanitarian gesture, these Visas give comfort to British government and public as a proof of UK being a great power still.
Indians are the least crime prone ,well educated and integrated , rich community in UK. They pay far more tax than say Pakistanis . Yet it is not highlighted adequately here .Indians are the targeted unfairly by BBC type media due to their old colonial bias and the influence of Pakistani/ Islamic lobby . But as in USA, so here ,the large size of India hides other Visa granted to Africans ,Pakistanis . Bangladeshis and Sri Lankans etc .
Muslim population out numbers hindu population by more than double and is much more crime prone as highlighted by the rapes of white girls by the Pakistani Grooming Gangs. They are also involved in a large number of terror incidents . So even the UK police and politicians are scared of Pakistani and other Muslim population and avoid talking in public about it. Politically Pakistanis are more active than Indians . Khalistanis have hijacked the Sikh population by ISI funding .
International students are not a liability but a much sought after commodity by UK universities . They contributed about $19 billion compared to about $15.5 billion of aerospace and about $ 26 billion of total pharmaceutical exports of UK . International students are also paying £475 annually for NHS which they hardly use due to young age . When Theresa May as home secretary ,stopped the permitted two year stay after completing education in 2012, bulk of Indian students shifted to Australia, Canada and even Germany . So if Suella Braverman targets Indians too much they will shift to Australia and Canada again in spite of UK being the most
preferred country after USA for them . In a finding it was revealed that only about fifteen percent of students of 2011 were still staying in UK in 2021. So it really is not the cause of high net migration . UK universities will be hurt by such a shift .
Also the real problem is the unwillingness of British youth to pursue the difficult technical , medical and Mathematics based degree courses . It is a social problem caused by the prolonged prosperity . Migration is now a necessity in Western countries like Germany ,Italy, Spain ,UK etc.
So in view of the high inflation and adverse economic effects of Brexit , UK should be more pragmatic and reduce the not so useful asylum type Visas rather than cutting on highly needed high tech student Visas granted to Indian students which are needed by the British industry.
Clubbing of Indians with other South East Asians with out checking their traits and contributions is unfair to Indians .Usefulness of Indian diaspora is not adequately publicised in UK which needs to be changed.
