UK: Keir Starmer’s immigration crackdown to impact Indian students and workers

London: There was a mixed reaction as British Prime Minister Keir Starmer on Monday set out tighter new rules to clamp down on soaring immigration figures, which is set to impact Indians as one of the largest groups of student and skilled worker visa applicants to the UK.

The new rules, framed in a new Immigration White Paper, doubles the standard qualifying period for settlement status in Britain to 10 years and imposes stricter English requirements, with assessments of improvements in language skills embedded within the visa rules for applicants and their dependents.

Overseas student visas, a category dominated by China and India, will witness a tightening of the post-study Graduate Route visa offer from the current two years to 18 months.

“While we are relieved that the Graduate Route has been preserved, albeit with a reduced duration,

we urge that its implementation, and that of the wider reforms, be approached with care, clarity, and collaboration,” said Sanam

Arora, chair of the National Indian Students and Alumni Union (NISAU) UK.

The organisation flagged concerns about the impact on Indian students, the largest users of the Graduate Route with an aim of acquiring international work experience at the conclusion of

their degrees.