Which global region is granted the most UK student visas?

Study International Staff

28 Jun 2018

Tier 4 student visa issuance saw a 7 percent increase this past year. Source: Kamira/Shutterstock. — Tier 4 student visa issuance saw a 7 percent increase this past year. Source: Kamira/Shutterstock

According to statistics from the UK Home Office, the nation saw a 7 percent increase in student visa applications this year, with a total of 223,839 student visas granted.

More than half of these visas were given to students from China, India and the US. In fact, Chinese students made up 40 percent of study visas with 88,675 students gaining admission between March 2017 and March 2018.

There was also a rise in the number of university-sponsored study visa applications, up 6 percent from the previous year, totalling 178,612 applications.

Russell Group universities saw an 8 percent increase for sponsored applications, with a total of 87,175 sending off sponsored visa proposals.

UK Tier 4 visa issuance up 7%, with promising growth in South Asia
https://t.co/V2CiE9q3Xw #Immigration #ukimmigration #ukvisa #tier4 #student #study

— WH Solicitors (@whsolicitorsuk) June 26, 2018

China and India’s numbers continued to grow with India seeing a 30 percent increase and China 15 percent.

The council said the figures showing increasing numbers of students from South Asia were “encouraging news” for the UK.

However, while there was an overall increase in applications, applications from certain global regions are down.

Fewer students are coming from certain countries which were popular before, including Malaysia (8 percent decrease) and Saudi Arabia (5 percent).

Indonesia also saw a decrease in numbers with a sharp decline of visa applicants, down 28 percent on the previous year.

A spokesperson for UUKi told The PIE News this was “concerning.”

However, the spokesperson stressed “it is important to remember that these are just application figures and rises in the past have not always equated to increases in actual enrolments.”

Considering the UK’s University Minister Sam Gyimah and UUKi have announced plans to double the number of international students in the UK by 2020, the future looks bright for international higher education in Britain.