The figures also highlighted a sharp rise in immigration detention.
Indian student visas to the UK have dropped, continuing a downward trend that places Indians just behind Chinese nationals in study visa grants.
According to the latest Home Office statistics, 98,014 Indians were granted visas in the year ending June 2025. This compares with 99,919 granted to Chinese nationals.
Both groups recorded declines from the previous year, with Indians down 11% and Chinese down seven per cent.
The Home Office noted that the majority of Indians continue to arrive for post-graduate studies. It said:
“The trend in sponsored study visas in recent years has been mainly driven by those coming to study for a Master’s.
“In the year ending March 2025, four out of five (81%) Indian students came to the UK to study for a Master’s level qualification, compared to just over half (59%) of Chinese students.”
The figures also highlighted a sharp rise in immigration detention.
Indian nationals detained in the UK almost doubled in the past year, with 2,715 logged for breaches of immigration law.
The Home Office stated: “Albanians have been the most common nationality entering detention since 2022, but their numbers have been falling; numbers of Brazilian and Indian nationals have both doubled in the last year (up 91% and 108% respectively).”
Asylum claims have also reached record levels, with 111,000 lodged in the year ending June 2025. This marks the highest number since comparable records began in 1979.
The surge has placed pressure on the Labour government after it lost a legal battle over the use of hotels to house asylum seekers.
The wider immigration picture shows a significant slowdown.
Total visas issued fell by 403,000, or 32%, over the previous year.
The fall has been largely attributed to new restrictions on dependent family members of skilled workers and students.
UK Home Secretary Yvette Cooper said: “We are bringing legal migration back under control, with a 48% reduction in work visas this year and further stronger visa controls and higher skill requirements introduced through our White Paper expected to bring those overall numbers down further.”
The Migration Observatory at Oxford University noted a growing link between former visa holders and asylum claims. Indians rank sixth among such claimants since Brexit.
Researcher Dr Ben Brindle said: “It’s possible we’ll see further declines in the coming months, though probably smaller ones, as the data catches up with more recent restrictions like the closure of the care worker route to overseas recruitment.”
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