London: The UK government has caused outrage with its decision to exclude Indian students from a new list of countries considered low risk in order to facilitate an easier visa application process to UK universities.
In changes to its immigration policy tabled in Parliament yesterday, the UK Home Office announced a relaxation of the Tier 4 visa category for overseas students from around 25 countries.
On a list already covering countries like the US, Canada and New Zealand, the Home Office has added on the likes of China, Bahrain and Serbia as countries from where students would face reduced checks on educational, financial and English language skill requirements to study at British universities.
The changes, which come into effect on 6 July, aim to make it easier for international students to come to study in the UK.
However, India has been left out of this new expanded list, which means Indian students applying for similar courses will continue to face rigorous checks and documentary requirements.
Lord Karan Bilimoria, Indian-origin entrepreneur and president of the UK Council for International Student Affairs, described the move as an insult to India and another example of Britain’s economically illiterate and hostile attitude to immigration.
I consider this another kick in the teeth for India… This sends entirely the wrong message to India, to exclude it from these Tier 4 measures. The government has simply got it wrong, said Bilimoria, while welcoming the overall visa relaxation measures introduced by UK Home Secretary Sajid Javid.
Bilimoria, founder of Cobra Beer and founding-chair of UK India Business Council, added, It is completely hypocritical that this is announced at the same time that Britain is talking about doing a post-Brexit free trade agreement (FTA) with India. If this is the way they treat India, they can dream on about an FTA with India”.
“India has always been one of Britain’s closest allies and an emerging global economic superpower. Excluding India from this list is myopically short-sighted and is damaging what has always been a special relationship between our countries,” he said.
The National Indian Students and Alumni Union (NISAU) UK also expressed disappointment at India’s exclusion from the list, which it said effectively categorises Indian students as high risk . The representative body for Indian students in the UK said it was unfair that Indian students should be treated differently from Chinese or other nationals on the list.
It is important to note that today’s announcement makes no change to the process of application for Indian students, but it is the perception of this message among Indian students that worries us. And, this raises another question will China continue to get even more favourable actions while India gets the rhetoric, questioned Sanam Arora, president of NISAU UK.