Now, Indians can no longer work in UK after studies

A facility that allowed Indian students to work here for two years after their courses are over will be closed from Friday as part of the Cameron government39s drive to cut migration which may putoff those aspiring to study in the UK Under the Tier 1 Poststudy work route Indian and other nonEU students were able to take up work for two years here after the completion of their university courses u00a0 This route will be closed from Friday the Home Office has announced u00a0 Representatinal photo u00a0 The facility was popular among selffinancing Indian students who sought to recover some of the expenses of studying here by working for two years u00a0 The facility also enabled them to gain work experience in the UK that was seen to aid career prospects in India u00a0 There are already reports of falling numbers of Indian students applying for university courses starting from September 2012 u00a0 From tomorrow following the closure of the facility international students will be able to apply for leave to remain in the UK under other immigration routes if they meet the criteria but most such students are unlikely to meet the higher income level and other criteria u00a0 International students are estimated to contribute over 14 billion pounds annually to the UK economy u00a0 The closure of the poststudy route was opposed by Universities UK and the British Council given the possibility that the measure would reduce Britain39s attraction as a destination for students from India and other nonEU countries u00a0 Prime Minister David Cameron had promised to crack down on immigration at last year39s Conservative party conference u00a0 In February the British Council had called for an quoturgent reviewquot of the changes to the student visa system particularly the closure of the popular poststudy work visa from April this year u00a0 The Council which is responsible for promoting British education overseas presented a detailed report to the government on the likely impact the recent student visa changes will have and compared the experiences of Australia and US in this regard u00a0 In a report titled 39Impact of Visa Changes on Student Mobility and Outlook for the UK39 the British Council said quotStudents from certain countries who mainly study postgraduate courses in the UK such as India Pakistan and others will be affected by the removal of the poststudy work visaThe sooner this situation is addressed the more contained the damage of bad publicity overseas will bequot u00a0 The Home Office also announced that the annual limit for skilled Indian and other nonEU migrants with job offers in the UK would remain at 20700 for the next two years until April 2014 u00a0 During the first year of its operation ending this month the limit has been undersubscribed by about 50 per cent u00a0 Immigration minister Damian Green said quotThe government has been clear that the UK is open for business and our limit has been designed with the industry39s needs in mind u00a0 We believe there is no incompatibility between economic growth and controlling migration our reformed more selective immigration system can achieve bothquot