UK granted 917,683 visitor visas till September 2020 which is a 61 per cent fall over the last 10 years, due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
Even as Covid-19 pandemic has significantly impacted UK's immigration system, Indian citizens continue to top visa-related categories in the year ending September 2020.
Covid-19 has impacted UK's immigration system, both in terms of restricting migrant movements to and from the UK and the impact on operational capacity. Curbs across the European Union and elsewhere also impacted travel to the UK.
Going by the data, UK granted 917,683 visitor visas till September 2020 which is a 61 per cent fall over the last 10 years, due to the pandemic. Over the last 10 years the general trend has been upwards.
As per Hindustan Times, London, Chinese (171,610) and Indian (156,725) nationals together accounted for 36 per cent of all visitor visas granted till September 2020.
Indian professionals accounted for almost half (45 per cent) of all Tier 2 visas granted, but their number of grants fell by 36 per cent to 36,219 in the year ending September 2020. In the year ending September 2019, 56,164 such visas were granted to Indians.
Hindustan Times reported that during this time period 11,801 Indians were granted the British citizenship. The citizenship is granted after a period of mandatory stay in the UK, usually five years in the case of professionals.
There was a 'notable increase' in the number of Tier 4 (student) visas granted to Indians: an increase of 48 per cent compared to the year ending September 2019, and continuing an increase seen since 2016.
However, how many of them actually arrived to begin their courses at UK universities and higher education institutions from September will not be clear until early 2021 when new student enrolment figures are released.
The number of student visas to Indians was up 14,496 or 48 per cent to 44,992. India was the only nationality to see a large increase and now account for 26 per cent of all Tier 4 visas in the year ending September 2020, up from 11 per cent a year earlier, the Home Office said.
While Tier 4 visas to Indian nationals decreased by 6,444 or 48 per cent from April-August 2020 compared to the same period in 2019 due to Covid-19, the significant increase in other months of the year ending September 2020 sustained a notable increase compared to 2019.
Those arriving in the UK on student visas bring relatively few dependants. In the year ending September 2020 the top three nationalities accounted for more than two thirds (68 per cent) of Tier 4 dependants: India (40 per cent), Nigeria (15 per cent), and Saudi Arabia (14 per cent).
On grants related to family visas, officials said there was a fall for most nationalities as a result of the pandemic, but there were particular falls for the top two nationalities: Pakistan (down 2,588 or 28 per cent), India (down 778 or 19 per cent),
Indian nationals in the UK were granted the highest number of all work-related extensions during the year (41 per cent of the total, which reflects the higher proportion of successful applications for Tier 2 visas issued to Indian professionals).
Up to the end of September 2020, 14,612 Indians who were unable to travel home at the end of their current visa were given visa extensions.
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 "Indians top UK immigration list despite Covid-19 pandemic impact")
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