India overtakes China in sending number of students to UK this year

New Delhi: India has overtaken China as the largest nationality for sending students to the United Kingdom, as per the Immigration Statistics Report released today. The report shows an increase in study visas, as compared to the pre-pandemic years.

According to the statistics, in the year ending June 2022, there were 486,868 Sponsored study visas granted (to both main applicants and their dependents) — 71 per cent (202,147) more than 2019. This massive increase in the number of granted study visas shows “both a recovery from lower numbers during the Covid-19 pandemic but also an increase on the pre-pandemic period,” the report states.

The number of Sponsored study visas granted in the year ending June 2022 is the highest on record since this time series began in 2005. Before 2022, the highest number of student visas granted was 307,394 in the year ending June 2010.

From the year ending September 2018 to March 2020, Sponsored study grants increased steadily to a high of almost 3 lakh. However, this was



followed by a sharp decrease due to the pandemic, because of which September 2020 recorded the lowest number of granted visas. “The numbers of students granted a visa have since recovered, and reached a new high of 486,868 in the year ending March 2022,” the report indicates.

Additionally, this year, India has overtaken China when it comes to study visas. The report shows that there were 117,965 grants to Indian nationals in the year ending June 2022, an increase of 80,569 (+215 per cent) compared to 2019. However, China had 115,056 visas granted, 4 per cent lower than the number seen in 2019 (119,825). Indian and Chinese nationality students comprise almost half (48 per cent) of all Sponsored study grants, this year.

After India and China, Nigeria has the third most students in the UK as 65,929 student visas were granted, which is a major increase from 8,384 in 2019. Pakistan and the United States are at the fourth and fifth positions with 23,490 ( 4,927 in 2019) and 16,137 ( 14,837 in 2019) study visas granted till June 2022.