Indian nationals continued to lead several major UK visa categories in 2025. New migration statistics released by the UK Home Office show that Indians topped the numbers for sponsored study visas, Graduate Route extensions and skilled worker visa extensions in the year ending December 2025.
Indian students remain the largest group in UK universities
Indian students remained the biggest group of international students in the UK in 2025. For more than a decade, Chinese nationals had dominated international student numbers, but Indian students moved ahead in 2022 after the UK expanded post-study work opportunities. The data explains India’s growing presence in the UK as both a major source of international students and skilled workers.
The latest figures show that 95,231 sponsored study visas were granted to Indian nationals in 2025, accounting for about 23 per cent of all study visas issued to main applicants. Chinese students came second with 89,019 visas.
The number of visas issued to Indian students increased by around 3 per cent during the year, while Chinese student visas dropped by about 7 per cent. Refusal rates for Indian study visa applications also remained relatively low at around 4 per cent, much lower than the double-digit refusal rates seen for applicants from countries such as Pakistan and Nigeria.
Dependents fall sharply after UK tightens rules
Although the number of Indian students continued to rise, the number of dependents accompanying them dropped sharply. This followed a policy change introduced in January 2024 that restricted most international students from bringing family members to the UK.
As a result, dependents linked to Indian students fell by nearly 80 per cent. The change played a major role in reducing overall migration numbers, even though demand for study visas remained strong.
Indians lead graduate and skilled worker visa extensions
Indian nationals also dominated extensions under the UK’s Graduate Route visa, which allows international students to stay in the country after completing their degrees to work or look for jobs.
In 2025, 90,153 Graduate Route extensions were granted to Indians, accounting for around 42 per cent of all such extensions worldwide. Nigerians received 42,220 extensions, while Pakistani nationals received 30,464.
Indians also topped the list for skilled worker visa extensions, with 90,031 approvals. This was far higher than the numbers for Pakistani nationals at 16,098 and Nigerians at 12,485. The median salary for skilled worker extensions granted to Indians rose to £38,700 following new salary thresholds introduced under recent UK immigration reforms.
In the health and care worker category, 104,555 extensions were issued to Indian nationals. Nigerians received 88,461, while 28,914 went to Zimbabwean nationals. However, the number of new health and care worker visas issued globally fell sharply by 91 per cent, which shows that most approvals were for workers already living in the UK who were extending their stay.