Greener pastures: Indians got 43 per cent of all skilled work visas in 2021

Indians form the top nationality in the skilled work category in the UK.

They get two-fifth of visas granted, a British High Commission spokesperson said.

According to him, more than 65,500 Skilled Worker visas were issued to Indian nationals last year.

So far, Indians have accounted for 43% of the total skilled worker visas in 2021.

The figure shows a 14% increase from 2019.

Reports suggest that in May 2021, the UK signed the Migration and Mobility Partnership with India. It marked an increasing cooperation on migration and opening access for youth mobility.

UK is offering a number of legal routes to work in that country.

Skilled Worker route, Graduate Route and Health and Care Worker visa are some routes.

UK Home Office said the number of UK Skilled worker visas issued to overseas nationals since 2020 has risen by a staggering 110%. Indians and Nigerians have gained the most from this.

A report said 239,987 work-related UK visas were granted in 2021. Out of this, 150,000 were skilled worker visas.

The figure is 25% higher than what was issued in 2019.  The number of skilled workers arriving into UK from the US declined by a quarter compared to 2019. The visas issued to people from Pakistan increased by 62% when compared to 2019.

Sources said the Tier 1 Investor visa route to get permanent citizenship in the UK was scrapped earlier this year.

Nirav Modi is said to have got his citizenship through this visa scheme. There are close to 254 Indian millionaires who got British passports due to this scheme since 2008.