According to the latest statistical report released by Ministerial Department under the Government of United Kingdom, that majority of Indian students and skilled professionals have received United Kingdom Visas in 2018. The skilled professionals include doctors, software engineers, etc who were observed to have offered the majority of Britain Tier-2 Visa which is offered to skilled professionals who have been offered a job in the United Kingdom for a certain period of time.
It has also been recorded that Britain Tier-2 Visas account for 54% of the total Visas offered to Indian professionals and students. This year, the Britain Tier-2 Visas offered witnessed a 6% increment with 3,023 more visas offered this year as compared to the previous year.
According to the latest statistics, the number of student visas offered to Indians also witnessed a hike. It was observed that China led in the majority of Tourist visas with a hike of 11% as compared to last year which shows 10% more than the Indian Nationals to be provided tourists visas.
“Chinese and Indian nationals together accounted for just under half, 48 percent, of all visitor visas granted,” the Home Office said.
According to the 2018 data, the UK witnessed an increase in immigration to the UK from outside the European Union. The statistical report reveals that over 261,000 more nationals who belong to non-European Union countries such as India were provided with Visas to the UK, which was recorded to be the highest as compared to past years analysis. Additionally, the number of nationals from European Union countries visiting the UK continued to fall.
“Different patterns for EU and non-EU migration have emerged since mid-2016 when the EU referendum vote took place. Due to increasing numbers arriving for work and study, non-EU net migration is now at the highest level since 2004,” said Jay Lindop, director of the Centre for International Migration at the UK’s Office of National Statistics (ONS), which records the immigration flow.
“In contrast, EU net migration, while still adding to the population as a whole, has fallen to a level last seen in 2009. We are also now seeing more EU8 citizens – those from Central and Eastern European countries, for example, Poland – leaving the UK than arriving,” she said.
The Office of National Statistics (ONS) revealed that the records of the number of immigration and emigration figures have remained to be stable as compared to 2016. As recorded in September 2018, 627,000 people moved out of the UK, and 345,000 people left the UK, leading to annual net migration of 283,000.
ONS also recorded that people from Central and Eastern European countries such as Poland, Slovakia, and Lithuania, etc are observed to have been leaving the UK and the number of citizens entering the UK is falling gradually.
This issue was reported due to June 2016 referendum that allowed free movement of EU Countries nationals across the border.
Last year, British Prime Minister Theresa May introduced Brexit, which reported withdrawal of the United Kingdom from the European Union, that helped migrated workers to work in the UK with the absence of European Countries migrant workers jumping the queue from countries like India which was reported under government’s post-Brexit immigration plans.