UK Indo-Pacific Minister Seema Malhotra defended her government’s immigration proposals during a visit to India, while raising concerns about a rise in foreign students seeking asylum at the end of their studies.
Under the new plans, some migrants could have to wait up to 20 years before being able to settle permanently in the UK and the qualifying period for indefinite leave to remain will be extended from five to 10 years.
The proposals will apply to around 2.6 million people who have arrived in the country since 2021. They have drawn criticism from some quarters, including some Labor MPs, despite the Conservatives giving a cautious welcome to the measures.
The reforms are “in line with what countries around the world are doing” to stop abuse of their immigration systems, Malhotra told the BBC in the southern Indian city of Chennai, adding that we also sent a “very strong message, which is that we welcome those who come legally.”
According to Malhotra, some 16,000 international students from around the world sought asylum in the UK last year after completing their courses, which she said was evidence of abuse of legal migration routes.
A further 14,800 students have applied for asylum this year until June 2025, latest Home Office figures show. It is not clear how many of them are Indian citizens.
“We have seen visa abuse in the case of legal routes, where people have traveled legally and then tried to overstay when their visas were not extended,” Malhotra said.
“If you see that level of abuse, it undermines your immigration system. It undermines public trust and the justice and control that people expect.”
India remains one of the UK’s biggest sources of international students, but demand is cooling.
The number of Indian students heading to the UK has fallen 11% on last year as stricter immigration rules come into force. This has sparked concern among UK universities which rely on overseas students and are already under financial pressure.
According to the Oxford University Migration Observatory, India was the top country of origin for foreign students in the UK in 2023-2024, accounting for 25% of arrivals. China followed with 23%, while Nigeria accounted for 8%.
Malhotra said that while Britain still “welcomes” Indian students, his government is working with universities to ensure they are genuine foreign students.
He said the recently concluded free trade agreement (FTA) between the UK and India had also encouraged UK universities to open local campuses in India, with the University of Liverpool announcing last week that it will open a campus in the city of Bengaluru in 2026.
The FTA, signed in July after years of negotiations, is expected to boost the UK’s GDP by £4.8 billion annually and expand bilateral trade between the two countries by £25.5 billion.
As part of the education strand of the deal, nine UK universities have been given permission to set up campuses across India.
However, these broader trade ambitions face a domestic political climate that has hardened around migration.
During a visit to India in October, Sir Keir Starmer said the UK would not relax visa rules for Indian citizens despite prolonged pressure from Delhi to facilitate mobility in exchange for trade concessions.
Malhotra rejected the idea that Britain wants deeper trade while closing the door to Indian professionals, citing the nearly half a million visas granted to Indian citizens last year in work, study and visitor categories.
The United Kingdom is moving towards a “contribution-based” immigration system, where settlement and long-term stay depend on a person’s economic contribution rather than how long they have lived in the country, Malhotra said.
The government’s proposal to overhaul the UK’s immigration system is part of a wider attempt to show firmer control over borders, but has drawn criticism from some Labor MPs and members of the House of Lords, particularly over its potential impact on international recruitment in sectors such as health and social care.
While the reforms are still under consultation, Malhotra, when asked about settlement routes for migrant professionals such as nurses and care workers, said: “we are expanding routes for those with skills in areas that the UK requires.”
A Royal College of Nursing (RCN) survey warned that up to 50,000 nurses could leave the UK if the government went ahead with its immigration proposals.
The report notes that the UK now has more than 200,000 internationally trained nurses, representing around 25% of the country’s total nursing workforce of 794,000 people.
A significant number of these nurses and healthcare workers are from India. Several investigations, including by the BBC, have shown that many of them have fallen victim to cross-border visa scams and have lost hundreds of thousands of pounds.
But Malhotra said the UK was stepping up its efforts to protect people from such exploitation and working with police agencies in countries such as India to share intelligence and crack down on such gangs.
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