(MENAFN- Live Mint) UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer is scheduled to visit India on 8-9 October and will discuss regional and global issues with Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

His visit is expected to boost bilateral trade as it is scheduled only months after the two nations signed the Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (CETA).

Interestingly, his visit coincides with his government's move to crack down on immigrants, including students from India, who typically go there on student visas with the intent to settle there permanently.

On 30 September, the UK Parliament announced several changes to the UK visa and settlement rules after the 2025 immigration white paper.

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The British government on 12 May 2025 released a white paper policy document called Restoring control over the immigration system. The document proposed some changes to make it harder to move to and settle in the UK, with a view to reducing immigration .

These are some of the radical changes which would impact international students planning to study in the UK, including those from India, which sends the second highest number of students to British institutions of higher education after China. In 2025, the UK has already issued student visas to one lakh students from India.

However, the Starmer government is geared to crack down on international students by rolling out a set of changes to visa rules as indicated in the white paper.
These changes include the following.

Tougher visa rules in white paper

I. Levy on fee : There is a proposal to put a 'levy' on British universities' income from international student fees. More details will be released around this in the Autumn Budget, according to the UK Parliament's website.

II. Tough for universities : The Starmer-led Labour government has also proposed to make it harder for universities to keep their licence to sponsor student visas by introducing tougher compliance rules.

III. Graduate visa : Most students go to the UK as they are tempted by the two-year-long Graduate visa, which they are entitled to. There is a proposal to reduce this 2-year period to 18 months.

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IV. List of sponsored jobs : There is a proposal to shorten the list of jobs for which employers can sponsor a worker from overseas for a Skilled Worker visa. This would impact the students who look for work sponsorship after their studies are complete.

V. Permanent residency : Another radical change is to increase the standard qualifying period for permanent residence from 5 to 10 years.

VI. English requirement : Additionally, there is a proposal to impose stricter English language rules: requiring the partners of people moving to the UK on work visas to have basic English to qualify for a 'dependant' visa.

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