The
UK government's decision to exclude the Indian students from the list
of 'low risk' countries has invited an outrage from the students,
which means that getting a visa for the UK
Universities will not be a hassle-free
road for the Indian students.
Changes
to the UK's immigration policy were tabled by the UK government
yesterday in which it announced the
relaxation of the Tier 4 visa category for the foreign students from
25 countries.
The
list already has countries like the US, Canada and New Zealand and it
further added the countries such as China, Bahrain and Serbia.
Students coming from these countries will face reduced checks on
educational, financial and English language skill requirements if
they want to study in the British Universities.
These
changes will come into effect on July 6.
Leavin
India out of the list means that students from the country will have
to face rigorous checks before
they are approved to study in the UK universities.
Lord
Karan Bilimoria, Indian-origin entrepreneur and President of the UK
Council for International Student Affairs (UKCISA), described the
move of the UK government as insult to India and "economically
illiterate and hostile attitude to immigration".
"I
consider this another kick in the teeth for India... This sends
entirely the wrong message to India, to exclude it from these Tier 4
measures. The government has simply got it wrong," said
Bilimoria.
He
further added “It is completely hypocritical that this is announced
at the same time that Britain is talking about doing a post- Brexit
free trade agreement (FTA) with India. If this is the way they treat
India, they can dream on about an FTA with India”.
"India
has always been one of Britain's closest allies and an emerging
global economic superpower. Excluding India from this list is
myopically short-sighted and is damaging what has always been a
special relationship between our countries," he said.
The
National Indian Students and Alumni Union (NISAU) UK also
expressed its disappointment over the decision.
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