95,231 UK study visas granted to Indians; 23% share of work permits in 2025
UK Home Office data for YE December 2025 shows Indians remain the largest group across student, skilled worker and health visa extensions.
 "95,231 UK study visas granted to Indians; 23% share of work permits in 2025")
Indian students and skilled workers, including in the healthcare sector, continue to top the tally of visa extensions granted by the UK, according to official migration statistics released by the Home Office in London on Thursday.
After a recent downward trend, the number of sponsored study visas granted to foreign students rose by 3 per cent in the past year, with Indians granted 95,231 visas in the year ending (YE) December 2025.
On the work visa front, the highest number of skilled worker extensions during the same period were issued to Indians.
“Indian nationals were the most common nationality being granted sponsored study visas in the YE December 2025, with 95,231 visas issued to main applicants (23 per cent of the total),” the Home Office said.
“The highest numbers of health and care worker extensions in the YE December 2025 were issued to Indian (104,555), Nigerian (88,461) and Zimbabwean (28,914) nationals.
“The highest numbers of skilled worker extensions in the YE December 2025 were issued to Indian (90,031), Pakistani (16,098) and Nigerian (12,485) nationals.
“The highest numbers of graduate extensions in the YE December 2025 were issued to Indian (90,153), Nigerian (42,220) and Pakistani (30,464) nationals,” it added.
Key numbers
Indians granted sponsored study visas: 95,231 (23 per cent of total)
Health and care worker extensions — Indians: 104,555
Health and care worker extensions — Nigerians: 88,461
Health and care worker extensions — Zimbabweans: 28,914
Skilled worker extensions — Indians: 90,031
Skilled worker extensions — Pakistanis: 16,098
Skilled worker extensions — Nigerians: 12,485
Graduate extensions — Indians: 90,153
Graduate extensions — Nigerians: 42,220
Graduate extensions — Pakistanis: 30,464
Graduate Route extensions overall: Down 6 per cent in YE December 2025
Asylum claims in the UK: Down 4 per cent in 2025
Small boat arrivals: Up 13 per cent in 2025
India’s rank among asylum nationalities: Seventh
What the Graduate Route means for Indian students
The Graduate Route visa allows eligible international students who have successfully completed an eligible UK degree to remain in the country for up to two years to work or look for work, or 18 months for those applying on or after January 1, 2027.
Overall, Graduate Route extension grants fell by 6 per cent in the latest year as the government’s clampdown on family members joining international students as dependants took effect.
Concerns over fall in migrant professionals
The UK’s Work Rights Centre (WRC) charity warned about markedly fewer migrant care workers, nurses, therapists, scientists, education professionals and skilled tradespeople coming to work in the UK.
“The sharp decline in migrant professionals coming to work in UK hospitals, research institutes and schools raises serious questions about the costs of the government’s narrow focus on reducing migration,” said Dr Dora-Olivia Vicol, chief executive of the charity in a statement.
“No hospital is likely to welcome a 93 per cent drop in overseas nurses, at a time when 25,000 nursing vacancies remain unfilled, and no British worker will want the pressure of working a double shift.
“Meanwhile, the migrant workers who can still come to work in the UK face higher costs, longer routes to settlement, and risk labour exploitation by arriving on visas that tie them to employers. Ministers must look at what workers and public services really need, and go beyond the narrow focus on migrant numbers to design an immigration system that works for the people who actually use it,” she stated.
Other migration trends in the latest data
The latest Home Office statistics also pointed to the wider impact of some of the government’s tougher policies, with the number of people claiming asylum in the UK falling by 4 per cent in 2025 despite the number of people arriving illegally in the country on small boats rising by 13 per cent.
Indians were ranked seventh among nationals claiming asylum in the past year, with Pakistan, Eritrea, Iran, Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Sudan, Somalia, Nigeria and Vietnam completing the top 10 tally.
“These nationalities, as well as India, have also seen a large increase in work and study visa grants since January 1, 2021, following post-Brexit changes to the immigration system,” the Home Office said.