On Monday, Prime Minister Narendra Modi asked
Britain to relax visa rules for students stating that it is imperative to promote
greater mobility of young people although Prime Minister Theresa May asserted
that her country has a "good system" for applications.
Stressing on the importance of education and the role of youth in defining the
future, Modi addressed India-UK Tech Summit with Theresa May present. "We
must therefore encourage greater mobility and participation of young people in
education and research opportunities," he said.
May, who arrived in India to strike UK's first trade deal post-Brexit, was
quick to reassure that UK has a "good system" for applications.
BBC quoted Theresa May as saying that UK was already able to attract "the
brightest and the best" from outside the EU and "Nine out of 10 visa
applications from India are already accepted."
According to Bloomberg she told reporters on flight to New Delhi that Britain
has "a visa system for countries outside the European Union which ensures
that the brightest and the best are able to come to the United Kingdom."
"The figures show that we issued more work visas to India than I think the
US, Australia, Canada and China put together," May was quoted as saying.
As per a new policy of UK students are required to return home after their
courses finish. This policy has led to a 50% decrease in the number of Indian
students enrolling in British universities.
According to official statistics of UK, the number of study visas issued to
Indian nationals dropped from 68,238 in 2010 to 11,864 this year.
However, May announced at the Summit that businessmen coming to UK will face an easier visa regime.
"So we will offer, for the first time to any country that needs visas to
enter Britain, what we called 'Registered Traveller Scheme'.
"That means the Indian nationals who frequently come to the UK and to fuel growth in both our countries, the entry process will become significantly easier," she said.
In a bid to make visa applications smoother for high net worth individuals and
their families, Great Club - a bespoke visa and immigration service has been
introduced.
The Registered Travellers Scheme will also be open to Indians on work visas which
will mean that they can get through UK border controls more quickly.
"We want to attract more Indian businesses to the UK, which is why it's
right to offer Indian business executives a world-class visa service tailored
to their needs," Theresa May was quoted by Bloomberg.