Indian Nationals Take the Lead: UK Immigration Statistics Reveal Surge in Skilled Workers, Medical Professionals, and Students
Indian nationals continue to dominate the UK's visa statistics, with significant increases in skilled worker and healthcare visas, as well as student visas. They also hold the highest proportion of tourist visas. While voluntary returns of illegal migrants primarily involve Albanian, Indian, and Chinese nationals, overall migration statistics have seen a modest decline. The top five non-European Union nationalities for immigration flows into the UK are Indian, Nigerian, Chinese, Pakistani, and Ukrainian, highlighting their contributions to the UK's economy and education sector.
The dominance of Indian skilled workers, medical professionals, and students in the UK's visa statistics over the past year has been reaffirmed by official immigration statistics. Data compiled by the Office for National Statistics (ONS) and the UK Home Office for the year ending September 2023 reveals that Indian nationals were the highest recipients of both Skilled Worker visas and Health and Care visas. While there was only a modest increase of 9 percent in the number of Skilled Worker visas granted, the number of Skilled Worker - Health and Care visas more than doubled, showing a significant increase of 135 percent to reach 143,990.
Indian, Nigerian, and Zimbabwean nationals witnessed the largest increases in this visa category compared to the previous year. In terms of student visas, Indian nationals continued to represent the largest group of students granted leave to remain on the post-study Graduate visa route, accounting for 43 percent of grants. There were a total of 133,237 sponsored study visa grants to Indian nationals in the year ending September 2023, representing a 5 percent increase compared to the previous year and nearly five times higher than in the year ending September 2019.
Indian nationals also accounted for 27 percent of all sponsored study grants to main applicants, highlighting their stronghold in the education sector. Furthermore, Indian nationals held the highest proportion (27 percent) of tourist 'Visitor' visas granted, followed by Chinese nationals (19 percent) and Turkish nationals (6 percent). However, due to new regulations implemented earlier this year, Indian nationals are no longer the topmost country in the category of dependant family members accompanying overseas students to the UK. Nigerian nationals have overtaken Indian nationals in this regard.
The ONS data also revealed that voluntary returns of illegal migrants to the UK were primarily recorded for Albanian, Indian, and Chinese nationals, as part of the India-UK Migration and Mobility Partnership. However, the overall migration statistics in the UK have seen a modest decline, with the latest figures indicating a drop compared to the previous year.
The top five non-European Union nationalities for immigration flows into the UK were Indian, Nigerian, Chinese, Pakistani, and Ukrainian. While these numbers have increased compared to the previous year, it is uncertain if this trend will continue or if it is influenced by the shifting patterns and behaviors post-pandemic. The dominance of Indian skilled workers, medical professionals, and students in the UK visa tally showcases their valuable contributions to the UK's economy and education sector, further strengthening the ties between India and the UK.