UK witness a 21% drop in study visas to Indians in 2013

At a time when Indians travelling to the United Kingdom on a visitors' visa has gone up by 5% in 2013, the country witnessed a 21% drop in study visas, some of it may be to do with myths.

The European country issued only 13,608 study visas to Indian nationals in 2103, which is 21% lower than the earlier year. "There is no single reason, but a lot of it is to do with myths. We would like to clarify that we do not have any limit on the number of visas issued to Indian students. Some students also believe that they cannot work after completing their education. However, we have in fact bettered the work rules," said British High Commissioner to India, James Bevan, at the inauguration of a new visa application centre at BKC on Wednesday.

Students can now work in the UK for up to six years, provided they have a graduate level job.

The dip in numbers came after a Pune-based Anuj Bidve, was shot dead for no apparent reason by a local factory worker near Manchester on December 26, 2011.

Clarifying UK's position on visa bond, which was attributed as one of the most important deterrent for students applying aboard, Bevan said, "There is no visa bond."

Over 90% of the applications received get the visas, he said, clarifying that Britain does not look at India as a high risk country as some reports had stated. "We look at each country on its merit. In each country, there might be some category of high risk individuals, but that would apply worldwide. India is not seen as a high risk country," he said.

In 2013, the UK issued over 4 lakh visas to Indians, which is 5% higher than 2012.

To improve the applicants' visa procedure experience, the UK has introduced two new services which is the 'passport passback' and the same-day visa service. The passport passback service, allows applicants to retain their passport during the visa approval duration with an extra fee of 40 pounds. The service which is running as a pilot in Chennai, will be extended to the other parts of the country within the next two months.

inbox@dnaindia.net