As many as 5,500 Indian citizens sought asylum in the United Kingdom and applied for it in the last five years, revealed the latest figures released by Office for National Statistics (ONS) on Feb. 22.
A majority of the applications had been made after the Indians arrived in the United Kingdom, pointing to that fact that they may have travelled with valid visas and applied for an asylum later, reported Hindustan Times.
About less than 5 per cent of the applications were made at UK ports on arrival. The statistics also show that 2,775 Indians were refused entry at ports and deported since 2013.
Last year, India and China alone made up for 46 per cent of visitor visa granted by the country. India followed China in the number of visas with 433,852 visas, accounting for 11 per cent.
About 285 Indian citizens–251 men and 34 women– are in UK jails for committing different offences. The statistics also revealed that from 2014, 22,175 Indians returned to India voluntarily. The UK Home Office has schemes in place to provide financial help to those returning to their home countries voluntarily
China, India and the United States dominated the in study-related visas granted in 2017, with 53 per cent of 223, 536 study-related visa being granted to these three countries in 2017.
China led the way with 88,456 grants or 40 per cent of the total, a 15 per cent jump from 2016. There were increases in study-related visas for Indian nationals, up by 28 per cent with 14,445 visas being granted last year.
An analysis of the figures showed that ever since the Brexit vote in 2016, the migration from European Union has fallen and it is the lowest since 2012. While net migration from the EU in 2017 dropped by 75,000 from 90,000, while net migration from countries outside the EU in 2017 rose by 40,000 to 205,000.
“Looking at the underlying numbers we can see that EU net migration has fallen as fewer EU citizens are arriving, especially those coming to look for work in the United Kingdom, and the number leaving has risen,” said Nicola White, head of international migration statistics, according to HT.
She added that Brexit could be a factor in people’s decision to move to or from England. “People’s decision to migrate is complicated and can be influenced by lots of different reasons,” White added.
George Koureas, a partner at immigration law firm Fragomen, pointed out that immigration to Britain will be further impacted from the National Health Service (NHS) doubling its surcharge. “The UK has become a significantly less attractive place for European citizens to work since Brexit, so it’s no surprise that more European Union workers are leaving the country,” he said, reported The Independent. He added that although the Government may see this as good news, the flip side to this is that it posed a threat to UK businesses, already struggling to hire the skilled workers they need to thrive.
The UK government had announced on Feb.5 that the health surcharge paid by professionals, students and long-term visitors from countries outside the European Union, including India, during the application process for UK visa is set to double from £200 pounds to £400 per year.