U.K. excludes India from relaxed student visa rules

Agencies
June 16, 2018

London, Jun 16: The U.K. government has caused outrage with its decision to exclude Indian students from a new list of countries considered low risk in order to facilitate an easier visa application process to U.K. universities.

In changes to its immigration policy tabled in Parliament on June 15, the U.K. Home Office announced a relaxation of the Tier 4 visa category for overseas students from around 25 countries.

On a list already covering countries like the U.S., Canada and New Zealand, the Home Office has added on the likes of China, Bahrain and Serbia as countries from where students would face reduced checks on educational, financial and English language skill requirements to study at British universities.

The changes, which come into effect on July 6, aim to make it easier for international students to come to study in the U.K.

However, India has been left out of this new expanded list, which means Indian students applying for similar courses will continue to face rigorous checks and documentary requirements.

'Kick in the teeth'
Lord Karan Bilimoria, Indian-origin entrepreneur and president of the U.K. Council for International Student Affairs (UKCISA), described the move as an insult to India and another example of Britain’s economically illiterate and hostile attitude to immigration.

“I consider this another kick in the teeth for India... This sends entirely the wrong message to India, to exclude it from these Tier 4 measures. The government has simply got it wrong, said “Mr. Bilimoria, while welcoming the overall visa relaxation measures introduced by U.K. Home Secretary Sajid Javid.

Mr. Bilimoria, the founder of Cobra Beer and founding-chair of U.K. India Business Council (U.K.IBC), added, “It is completely hypocritical that this is announced at the same time that Britain is talking about doing a post-Brexit Free Trade Agreement (FTA) with India. If this is the way they treat India, they can dream on about an FTA with India.”

“India has always been one of Britain’s closest allies and an emerging global economic superpower. Excluding India from this list is myopically short-sighted and is damaging what has always been a special relationship between our countries,” he said.

NISAU disappointed
The National Indian Students and Alumni Union (NISAU) U.K. also expressed disappointment at India’s exclusion from the list, which it said effectively categorises Indian students as high risk. The representative body for Indian students in the U.K. said it was unfair that Indian students should be treated differently from Chinese or other nationals on the list.

"It is important to note that June 16 announcement makes no change to the process of application for Indian students, but it is the perception of this message among Indian students that worries us. And, this raises another question — will China continue to get even more favourable actions while India gets the rhetoric," questioned Sanam Arora, president of NISAU U.K..

According to latest Office of National Statistics (ONS) data, India is among the top three countries from where overseas students come in to study at U.K. universities, after China and the U.S. While Indian students registered a hike of 30% to hit 15,171 Tier 4 visas last year, the numbers remain a far cry from around 30,000 six years ago.

The latest development will add to growing concern within Indian government circles, given that Ministers and diplomats have repeatedly highlighted the need for a more welcoming immigration regime for Indian students.

Last week, Indian High Commissioner to the U.K., Y.K. Sinha, held a meeting with the U.K.’s minister for universities, Sam Gyimah, during which he once again raised the issue of “smoother and greater student and faculty mobility between the two countries.”

“It is unfortunate that in the last six years we have seen a steep drop [in Indian student numbers]. What should be troubling universities here is that Indian students are now going in much greater numbers to the U.S., Australia — even France and Germany,” Mr. Sinha has said in the past.

Reduced documentation additional 11 countries
The U.K. Home Office said in order to make it easier for students to come and study in the U.K.’s world-leading education sector, it has expanded the list of countries from which students will be able to benefit from a streamlined application process.

Students from an additional 11 countries, including China, will be able to provide a reduced level of documentation when applying for their Tier 4 visa, the Home Office statement notes.

On being asked why India had been omitted from this expanded list, a spokesperson said, “We welcome Indian students who want to come to the U.K. to study at our world-leading educational institutions. We issue more visas to students from India than any other country except China and the USA.”

The Home Office stressed that 90% of Indian students who apply for a U.K. visa get one, a figure up from 86% in 2014 and 83% the year before that.

It added, “In addition, the proportion of Indian students coming to study in the U.K. at a university has increased from around 50% in 2010 to around 90% in 2016. Indian student visa applications are up 30% on last year. We continue to have regular discussions with the Indian government on a range of issues including on visas and U.K. immigration policy,” it said.

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News Network
November 13,2024

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Bengaluru: An estimated overall 10.14 per cent voter turnout was recorded during the first two hours, since the voting began for bypolls to three Assembly segments in Karnataka on Wednesday, election officials said.

The voting began at 7 am and will go on till 6 pm.

More than seven lakh voters are eligible to cast their votes in about 770 polling stations in Shiggaon, Sandur and Channapatna, where a total of 45 candidates are in the fray.

While Channapatna recorded 10.34 per cent voter turnout till 9 am, it was 10.08 per cent in Shiggaon, and 9.99 per cent in Sandur, election officials said.

Voters, including women and elderly were seen queuing up in front of polling booths in these segments.

By-polls for Sandur, Shiggaon, and Channapatna are necessitated, as the seats fell vacant following the election of their respective representatives -- E Tukaram of Congress, former CM Basavaraj Bommai of BJP, and Union Minister H D Kumaraswamy of JD(S) -- to Lok Sabha in May elections.

As many as 31 candidates are in the fray from Channapatna, while Sandur and Shiggaon have six and eight contenders, respectively.

Elaborate security arrangements have been made in the three segments for the smooth conduct of the polls.

The by-polls will witness a straight fight between the ruling Congress and BJP in Sandur and Shiggaon segments, while in Channapatna, JD(S) which is part of the NDA alliance is in contest against the grand old party.

Among the three segments, Channapatna is considered to be a "high profile", where the contest is between C P Yogeeshwara, a five time MLA from the segment and former Minister, who joined the Congress quitting BJP ahead of nomination, and actor-turned -politician Nikhil Kumaraswamy, who is Kumaraswamy’s son and former PM H D Deve Gowda's grandson.

BJP's Bharath Bommai, son of Basavaraj Bommai, is fighting Congress Yasir Ahmed Khan Pathan, who had faced defeat against the former Chief Minister in the 2023 Assembly polls, in Shiggaon.

Bharath Bommai and his father cast their vote at a polling booth in Shiggaon segment.

In Sandur, Bellary MP Tukaram's wife E Annapurna of Congress is contesting from the seat vacated by her husband, against, BJP ST Morcha president Bangaru Hanumanthu, who is considered close to party leader and former mining barron G Janardhan Reddy.

Annapurna, Tukaram and other family members cast their votes at a booth in the segment.

With Nikhil Kumaraswamy and Bharath Bommai contesting, the third generation of Gowda and Bommai families are in the fray in this by-poll. Both their fathers and grandfathers have served as Karnataka's Chief Ministers in the past.

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News Network
November 17,2024

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An Israeli airstrike on the office of Syria’s Baath party in Lebanon’s capital Beirut has killed the Lebanese resistance movement Hezbollah's Media Relations Officer, Mohammad Afif, reports say.

Lebanon's National News Agency (NNA) reported that the Israeli raid struck the Ba'ath party’s building in central Beirut district of Ras Al-Naba'a on Sunday, adding that the strike was an attempt to assassinate the leader of the resistance media front.

According to Baath Secretary-General Ali Hijazi, Afif was having a meeting in the Baath Party headquarters when Israel carried out the attack.

"Afif did not fight with weapons and did not lead a military unit in Hezbollah. Rather, he led a media unit," he said.

Reuters, Sky News, Al Jazeera and a number of Henrew-language media reported that Afif was killed in the Israeli strike.

However, Hezbollah has not yet confirmed Afif’s death or whether he was present at the site or not.

Earlier, the Lebanese Health Ministry said at least one person was killed and three others injured after an Israeli strike targeted a central district in Beirut.

Lebanon's al-Mayadeen television network reported that five people were killed in the attack.

The latest development came after Afif said Hezbollah was behind the Caesarea operation and targeting Netanyahu’s home during a speech at the Ghobeiry area in the southern suburbs of Beirut on October 22.

This was the second assassination attempt on Afif in the last two months, after he survived an attack on the Hezbollah media relations office several weeks ago.

Israel launched a ground assault and massive air campaign against Lebanon in late September after a year of exchanging fire across the Lebanese border in parallel with the Gaza war.

At least 3,287 people have been killed in Israeli strikes in Lebanon over the past year, with the vast majority in the past seven weeks. Another 14,222 have been wounded, mostly women and children.

In response to the ongoing aggression, the Lebanese resistance movement Hezbollah has been staging hundreds of retaliatory strikes against the occupied Palestinian territories and the Israeli forces trying to advance on southern Lebanese areas.

The movement has vowed to sustain its strikes until the regime ends the escalation.

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News Network
November 12,2024

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Mysuru, Nov 12: Zameer Ahmad Khan, the Tourism and Waqf minister of Karnataka, who stirred a controversy by addressing the Union Minister HD Kumaraswamy as ‘Kaala Kumaraswamy’ has tendered apologies for his remarks.

Speaking to reporters in Mysuru on Tuesday, Minister Zameer stated that he will apologise if remarks have hurt JD-S workers.

“We both are very close. Then, in a total of 24 hours, we were together for 14 hours. He used to fondly address me as “kulla” (shorty) and I used to address him as “kariyanna” (blacky, kaalia),” Minister Zameer stated.

“I am not addressing him as ‘kaalia’ for the first time. I have not said something highly derogatory. It is being made as big in the backdrop of elections. With love, he used to call me a shorty and I called him a blacky. If I had caused pain to anyone by my words I apologise,” he said.

He further stated: “Kumaraswamy had said that he didn’t want the votes of the Muslim community. But now they are attempting to purchase Muslim votes. Against this backdrop, I have made the remark.”

Minister for Home G. Parameshwara stated on Tuesday, “Minister Zameer and Kumaraswamy are close friends. Their comments against each other are not significant.”

Zameer Ahmad Khan, the Tourism and Waqf minister of Karnataka stirred a controversy on Monday as he addressed the Union Minister as ‘Kaala Kumaraswamy’.

JD-S on Tuesday demanded a public apology and resignation of Minister for Waqf and Tourism Zameer Ahmad Khan over his ‘racist’ remarks.

“Remember, there is no place here for your divisive policies. You have insulted the people by making ethnic, racist and discriminatory statements. You should apologize to the people of the state and resign,” the JD (S) demanded in the post.

Union Parliamentary Affairs and Minister for Minority Affairs Kiren Rijiju reacted sternly to the racist jibe and stated, “I strongly deplore Congress Minister Zameer Ahmed calling Union Minister and former Chief Minister of Karnataka Kumaraswamy as 'Kaalia Kumaraswamy'.

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