London: Indian nationals continue to dominate long-term work and student visas issued by the United Kingdom to non-European Union nationalities, despite an overall decline in new arrivals and a corresponding increase in emigration of Indian-origin people from Britain.
Visa Issuance to Indians
Approximately 40,000 work visas, 89,000 study visas, and 9,000 other long-term visas were issued to Indian citizens in the year ending December 2025, totaling 138,000 arrivals. This figure represents an 11% drop compared to the previous year, when 156,000 such visas were granted, comprising 68,000 work and 82,000 study visas. The decline steepens to 50% compared to the year ending December 2023, when 277,000 visas were issued to Indians, including 132,000 work and 136,000 study visas.
Top Nationalities and Policy Changes
Other nationalities in the top five for visa issuance were Pakistani, Chinese, Nigerian, and Nepalese. The overall number of long-term UK visas given to all nationalities is declining due to policy changes implemented by both the Labour and Conservative governments. These measures include stopping most overseas students and care workers from bringing family members to the UK, increasing the income threshold for skilled worker visas, and closing the health and care visa route.
Overall Migration Trends
According to the Office for National Statistics, 813,000 people made a long-term move to the UK in the year ending December 2025, a decrease of 20% from the previous year and a continuation of a downward trend from the peak of 1,469,000 in March 2023, when Rishi Sunak was Prime Minister. Net migration has now fallen to 171,000, down from a peak of 944,000 in the year ending March 2023 and nearly half of the 331,000 recorded in the subsequent year.
The Home Office stated on social media platform X: "We are ending Britain’s reliance on overseas labour, ensuring migrants contribute more than they take and are increasing the removal of illegal migrants and foreign criminals."
Emigration of Indians
Indians were the most common non-EU nationality to emigrate from the UK in the year ending December 2025, with 642,000 people leaving overall. Of these, 75,000 were Indian, an increase of 29% compared to the previous year. Shadow Home Secretary Chris Philip MP commented: "British citizens are leaving the UK on a massive scale, driven away by Labour’s high taxes. Yet non-EU immigration, mainly from low-income countries, remains far too high."
