Indians top UK visas in 2025 with over 95,000 study permits, leading graduate and worker routes

Indian nationals continued to dominate key UK visa categories in 2025, underlining the growing footprint of Indian students and professionals in Britain’s education and labour markets. The latest migration statistics released by the UK Home Office show Indians leading in sponsored study visas, graduate route extensions and skilled worker extensions in the year ending December 2025.

The data highlights how India has consolidated its position as one of the most significant contributors to the UK’s international student pool and skilled workforce.

Indians remain the largest group of students

Indian students remained the largest cohort of international students in the UK in 2025.

Chinese nationals dominated UK international student numbers between 2010 and 2021. Indian students overtook them in 2022 after changes to the UK’s post-study work rules, and the latest figures show India continuing to lead.

According to the Home Office statistics, 95,231 sponsored study visas were granted to Indian nationals in 2025. This accounted for 23 per cent of all study visas issued to main applicants.

Chinese nationals were the second-largest group, receiving 89,019 visas during the same period.

The number of visas issued to Indian students rose by around 3 per cent, while visas granted to Chinese students declined by roughly 7 per cent.

Refusal rates for Indian study visa applications also remained relatively low at around 4 per cent, significantly lower than the double-digit refusal rates recorded for applicants from Pakistan and Nigeria.

Dependents drop sharply after policy change

Even as the number of Indian students rose, the number of dependents accompanying them fell steeply.

The decline followed a January 2024 policy change restricting most international students from bringing family members to the UK.

As a result, dependents linked to Indian students dropped by nearly 80 per cent, contributing to a decline in overall migration figures despite sustained demand for study visas.

Indians lead graduate route extensions

Indian nationals also accounted for the largest share of extensions under the UK’s Graduate Route visa.

A total of 90,153 Graduate Route extensions were granted to Indians in 2025, making up around 42 per cent of all such extensions globally.

Nigerians received 42,220 extensions, while 30,464 were granted to Pakistani nationals.

The Graduate Route allows international students to remain in the UK for up to two years after completing a degree to work or search for jobs. Doctoral graduates can stay for up to three years.

However, overall Graduate Route extension approvals declined by 6 per cent during the year.

Indians top skilled workers and health visas

Indian nationals also led in extensions under the Skilled Worker visa category.

A total of 90,031 skilled worker extensions were issued to Indians. This was significantly higher than the 16,098 granted to Pakistani nationals and 12,485 to Nigerians.

The median salary for skilled worker extensions granted to Indians increased to £38,700, reflecting revised salary thresholds introduced in recent UK immigration reforms.

In the health and care worker category, 104,555 extensions were granted to Indian nationals. Nigerians received 88,461, while 28,914 were issued to Zimbabwean nationals.

However, the number of new health and care worker visas issued globally fell by 91 per cent, indicating that most approvals were for workers already in the UK extending their stay.