Indian Students and Workers Lead UK Exit in Downward Migration Trend

(UNITED KINGDOM) Indian students and skilled workers are leaving the country in record numbers, topping the list of people emigrating from Britain as overall migration falls, new figures from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) show. In the year ending June 2025, about 45,000 Indian nationals on study visas and 22,000 professionals on work visas left the United Kingdom, making them the largest groups of departing non-EU+ nationals.

Overview: falling net migration and rising departures

The scale of departures comes as long-term net migration to the UK drops sharply, following a series of tougher immigration rules rolled out by the government. Net migration fell to 204,000 in the same 12-month period — almost two-thirds lower than a year earlier — with Indian students and workers now driving much of the outward flow.

• Non-EU+ study arrivals were 288,000 in the year ending June 2025, a 25% fall compared with the previous year and well down from a peak of 486,000 in September 2023.
• Indian nationals remained the most common non-EU+ nationality arriving to study, followed by Chinese and Pakistani nationals.
• Many students are choosing to leave once their courses complete.

Emigration by original visa reason

Emigration among those who first came on student visas has risen sharply.

• The ONS estimates 144,000 non-EU+ nationals who originally arrived for study left the UK in the year to June 2025.
• Indian and Chinese students are the main drivers of this trend.
• For many Indian students, the promise of a British degree still holds strong, but changing visa rules and higher costs push them to look elsewhere once their studies end.

Alongside the student outflow, Indian professionals on work visas are also leaving in greater numbers:

• Around 22,000 Indian nationals on work-related routes emigrated in the year to June 2025.
• This marks a change from recent years when graduates often moved smoothly from student permission onto work visas and then into longer-term settlement.

Policy changes affecting flows

The government introduced several high-profile immigration changes in 2024 and 2025 to reduce net arrivals, including:

• Closing the care worker visa route to most new overseas recruitment.
• Blocking dependants for most international students except those on PhD and research courses.
• Raising both English language and financial requirements for study visas.
• Proposals to shorten the Graduate Route from two years to 18 months, making it harder for graduates to gain the experience or secure employer sponsorship needed for work visas.

According to analysis by VisaVerge.com, these measures, combined with higher salary thresholds on skilled worker routes, have reshaped choices facing Indian students and professionals. Some now judge the UK offers fewer long-term prospects than competitor countries such as Canada or Australia, where post-study work options and routes to permanent residency can appear more open.

Mixed signals — some still staying

Despite the stricter stance, the data show some graduates are still finding ways to remain in the UK:

• Extensions from student permission onto the Graduate Route rose by around 10% in the year ending September 2025 compared with the previous year.
• This suggests many Indian students are still keen to gain UK work experience even if they later choose to depart.

Broader trends in non-EU+ immigration

The wider picture indicates a marked slowdown in arrivals from outside Europe:

• Non-EU+ immigration stood at 766,000 in 2024, 32% lower than the year before.
• About two-thirds of these arrivals came for study, work, or as dependants of workers.

Officials note that the earlier boom in student numbers was likely to produce higher emigration later, once degrees finished and visas expired.

Impact on families, universities and employers

Indian families weighing whether to send children to the UK now face a more complex picture:

• British universities remain highly popular and continue to recruit actively in India.
• Tougher rules on dependants, higher bank balance requirements, and shorter post-study stays are changing the cost–benefit calculation for students and parents.
• Some education agents report growing interest in alternative study destinations.

For employers and sectors that rely on international talent:

• Sectors such as information technology, engineering, and health care have long drawn on Indian workers via work visas.
• A faster churn of non-EU+ nationals — arriving to study or work and then leaving soon after — may meet headline net migration targets but could reduce longer-term benefits of training and employing them.
• For those already on UK work visas, rising salary thresholds can make it harder to renew sponsorship or bring family members.

Where do departing students go next?

The ONS does not track destinations of departing students, but anecdotal reports indicate:

• More Indian graduates are heading to other English-speaking countries for further work or study.
• Many departing students appear to prefer alternatives that offer more open post-study work routes or clearer paths to permanent residency.

Human impact

For the people behind the statistics, the choices can be personal and painful:

• Many Indian students borrow heavily or draw on family savings to fund a British education, aiming to use a period of work overseas to repay debts and build careers.
• When policy settings change mid-course, some are forced to leave sooner than planned, cutting off those hopes and pushing them to start again elsewhere or return to India.

Key takeaway: Policy changes have reduced net migration but also reshaped the incentives for international students and skilled workers — particularly from India — leading to record emigration that may weaken longer-term economic and educational benefits.

Where to find official guidance and data

• Current government guidance on work and study routes (salary levels, visa categories, Graduate Route) is available via the Home Office: https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/migration-statistics
• ONS data releases and background notes on international migration patterns are on the Office for National Statistics portal: https://www.ons.gov.uk/peoplepopulationandcommunity/populationandmigration/internationalmigration

Questions for policymakers

The figures raise several policy questions:

1. How to balance public pressure to cut immigration with the economic role of international students and foreign workers?
2. Whether shorter post-study stays and higher thresholds will reduce long-term benefits from overseas tuition and skilled labour?
3. How to manage the trade-off between meeting headline net migration targets and sustaining sectors that rely on international talent?

The latest ONS data suggest this pattern — high arrivals followed by substantial departures once courses and visas end — will shape national debates going forward.