Several students from India who completed their studies in British universities and switched to employment in the UK face an uncertain future due to changes made to the Highly Skilled Migrants Programme (HSMP) in November 2006. The number of students from India enrolling in British universities has been increasing every year. All of them pay fees that are at least three times more than that paid by British students, and seek to recover the costs of their studies through employment.

In recent years, after completing their courses, many Indian students have switched to the HSMP and sought employment based on qualifications gained in Britain. However, the recent changes mean that most of the Indian students who switched to HSMP will not be able to meet the new criteria and will have to return home.

Campaigners working to reverse the recent changes to HSMP say that it is ironic that on the one hand the British government is seeking to increase the number of students from India, and on the other it is making it difficult for them to continue in their jobs after securing qualifications from British universities.

Amit Kapadia, coordinator of the HSMP Forum who did his MBA from Strathclyde University in Glasgow, and runs a consulting firm, told IANS: "Many students who came to UK with a thought that after studies HSMP would be a payback period are proved wrong. The unpredictable nature of UK immigration rules is creating hardships for one and all. Highly qualified and experienced professionals are being denied further visa extensions based on the new rules.

"This shows that the new legislation introduced by the UK Home Office is not only unfair but is designed without taking into consideration the ground realities. Also given the fact that the UK Home Office has been going back on its promises very often, people from the sub-continent should think twice before making life changing decisions by coming to UK as the Home Office cannot be taken on their word anymore."

Kapadia cites the example of Nirupam Kumar, an engineer who worked for Reliance Info in India, completed his MBA from the De Montfort University in Leicester and got his HSMP visa early last year. However, he will not qualify for extension of his visa under the new rules that require the migrant to hold a job that earns a salary of 35,000 pounds per annum.

Kapadia quotes Kumar as saying: "I spent around 20,000 pounds on my courses and got my HSMP but now due to the unfair new changes introduced in November 2006 I don't qualify for HSMP extension as my earnings are less than 35,000 pounds.

"If I knew this before hand then I would never have done my studies from UK and would not have thought of settling here. They might keep on changing the rules so I don't prefer sticking to this country and I will never trust this country again."

A large number of Indian students come to Britain for higher studies year after year. They are prized by universities here not only for the high fees they pay, but also for their academic achievements. Indian students consistently achieve high results in the courses they enrol in.

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