On May 4, 2021, the governments of the U.K. and India have signed a new landmark migration agreement that will see both the countries benefitting from “enhanced arrangements on migration issues”.

The landmark agreement – the Migration and Mobility Partnership agreement – was signed by India’s Foreign Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar and Home Secretary Priti Patel.

The landmark agreement is aimed at supporting individuals to live and work in both the countries, while, at the same time, addressing illegal migration from India to the U.K.

One of the objectives of the Memorandum of Understanding [MoU] between the countries is that of the “facilitation of mobility of students, academics and researchers and migration for professional and economic reasons”.

As per the Policy Paper on the MoU on the migration and mobility partnership between India and the United Kingdom, “Visas will be issued as soon as possible after a valid application is made.”

Aimed at enhancing the cultural economic and scientific relations between the U.K and India, the visa recipients might include, but not be limited to, —

• Skilled workers,
• Start-up entrepreneurs,
• Business people,
• Experts,
• Specialists,
• Scientists,
• Researchers, and
• Academics

As per Home Secretary Priti Patel, the announcement comes towards delivering “a fair but firm New Plan for Immigration that will attract the best and brightest talent to UK”.

The new route for young professionals will be allowing 18- to 30-year-old individuals “to work and live in the other country for up to 24 months”.

To work similarly to the existing Youth Mobility Schemes, India will be “the first visa national country” to benefit from the present professional and cultural exchange program between India and the U.K.

As per official statistics, over 53,000 students from India came to the U.K. for study abroad in the previous year.

The UK Graduate route to open for applications on July 1, 2021.Almost a quarter of all international students in the U.K. come from India.