3,000 Visas a Year: What We Know About the UK-India Young Professionals Scheme

British PM Rishi Sunak and Indian PM Narendra Modi.

(Photo: Twitter/@narendramodi)

The British government led by Prime Minister Rishi Sunak on Wednesday, 16 November, approved a new scheme that will benefit Indian professionals desiring to work in the United Kingdom.

Here is all that you need to know.

What is the scheme called?

The scheme is being called the UK-India Young Professionals Scheme.

What does the scheme entail?

The scheme entails 3,000 visas every year for young Indian professionals to live and work in the United Kingdom for two years.

Degree-holding Indian nationals between the age of 18 to 30 are eligible for the scheme.

What prompted the announcement on 3,000 visas?

Downing Street's announcement came hours after Sunak met Prime Minister Narendra Modi at the G20 Summit, which was also their first-ever meeting.

What has the UK government said?

"India is the first visa-national country to benefit from such a scheme, highlighting the strength of the UK-India Migration and Mobility Partnership agreed last year," read a statement issued by the UK prime minister's office.

What is the UK-India Migration and Mobility Partnership?

The UK-India Migration and Mobility Partnership, signed on 4 May 2021, wishes to "expand economic cooperation in the field of labour and employment to give a new impetus" to the partnership between both nations.

What has Rishi Sunak said?

"I know first-hand the incredible value of the deep cultural and historic ties we have with India. I am pleased that even more of India’s brightest young people will now have the opportunity to experience all that life in the UK has to offer – and vice-versa - making our economies and societies richer," read the British prime minister's statement.

How many Indians study and work in the UK?

Nearly 25 per cent of all international students in the UK are from India, and Indian investment into the country has created or supports 95,000 jobs across the country.

Additionally, according to data from the UK Home Office data, around 1,18,000 Indian students received a student visa for the country in the year ending June 2022. That is an almost 90 per cent increase from the previous year.