BW Communities

India Got The Lion's Share Of UK Visas In 2016

Prateek Shukla May 26, 2017

The US might have tightened the noose on the issuance of H1-B visas but the UK issued maximum number of work visas to Indians in 2016. According to a PTI report on Friday (26 May), Indians accounted for 58 per cent (53,863 out of 93,566) of the total skilled work visas granted last year.

“The information technology sector sponsored 42 per cent of skilled work visa applications, followed by professional, scientific and technical activities (18 per cent) and financial and insurance activities (12 per cent),” the Office of National Statistics said.

There was a minimal increase in the number of India students going to study in UK in 2016 (11,642) from 2015 (11,160). However, the statistics show that there has been a significant drop of 84,000 in net migration figures for the UK.

The fall in immigrants’ number suggests a Brexit effect as 117,000 European Union (EU) citizens moved out of the UK in 2016, up by 31,000 from 2015.

“It’s good that the overall figure has come down now by nearly a quarter in a year. We’re determined to make sure that we do continue to reduce the overall net migration number,” UK home secretary Amber Rudd reportedly said.

The figures show that the ruling Conservative Party in the UK has been able to fulfill its promise of cutting down on migration. Theresa May succeeded former Prime Minister David Cameron as leader of the Conservative Party and the PM in 2016 when Cameron resigned after the UK was voted out of EU.