The gloomy period in India-UK education market seems to be finally over now! The latest reports released by the government reveal, a rise in the number of Indians receiving visas to study in the UK increased by 6 per cent in the third quarter of 2016 after seven years of decline.
Stringent visa policies released by the UK had led to a drop in the number of students applying for it. But now with a surge in the number of student visa issued, the pictures are turning rosy.
Closer partnerships between UK and Indian universities and transparency over visa processing are said to be the factors for the increase in the third quarter since the year 2009.
Rise in numbers
Between July and September, 8,692 student visas (known as Tier 4 visas) were granted to Indian applicants, compared with 8,224 issues during the same period in 2015.
This is for the first time since 2009, that in the third quarter, which is considered as the busiest quarter for student visa applications, when UK student visas issued to Indians increased by 72 per cent bringing the number to 29, 207.
Sponsored visa applications from Indians to study in the UK have also seen a rise by 5 per cent between 2015 Q3 and 2016 Q3 to 9,207, the largest since the year 2013.
Demonetisation effect
There might have been a rise in the number of students getting UK visa but demonetisation and lack of cash can dampen the spirits. As per the latest reports, education agents based in India claim that students studying abroad are facing problems due to the government's sudden decision to recall all 500 and 1,000 rupee notes.
The biggest issue is of cash, tuition fee, and visa fee is accepted through cash, but due to demonetisation there's a lack of cash. To streamline the process, VFS (the visa application service partnered with the UK government) started accepting bank orders, but even that doesn't work. As banks have a priority of dealing with customers. So, even this option goes in the air.