UK lifts ban on Visa restriction on Students from North India

Pat McFadden, the UK minister for business, skills and innovation made it clear that the temporary ban on visas for students opting to pursue sub-university, ‘lower level’ studies would be there till further notice from UK Immigration officials.

The announcement was made by the UK minister at Delhi University’s COL (Campus of Open Learning), Keshavpuram.

The decision to lift ban on Tier 4 visa for higher studies in UK is being seen as a welcome relief for several students from North India wanting to go to Britain for studying foundation, undergraduate or postgraduate degrees in British universities.

UKBA (UK Border Agency) had put to a temporary halt any issuance of UK Tier 4 student visa to applicants from North India since February 1 after an overwhelming number of applications in a short span of time.

The agency had ordered that no visa applications will be accepted from three visa centers in North India, namely New Delhi, Jalandhar and Chandigarh when the number of Tier 4 visa applications received in a single day equaled to the number of applications received in one 
month.

The overseas students’ contribution to the economy of the UK is a whopping 8.5 billion pounds annually.

The British Minister McFadden, who is on a five-day visit to India these days, assured that the temporary freeze on issuance of visa for studying at lower levels is being reviewed and the ban will soon be lifted when highly trusted sponsor system for UK colleges and other educational institutions gets in place.

Once such system is set up by the UK for sub-university education institutes, it will ensure that the main motive of any educational institutes registered with either UKBA or other bodies is not providing employment but education.

A nuclear MOU (memorandum of understanding) was also signed between India and UK, that is likely to throw open the doors for discussions seeking ways to cater to the nuclear supply chain needs of India in the coming times.