The United Kingdom Prime Minister Rishi Sunak greenlights 3,000 visas for young Indian professionals to live and work in the country each year. In this regard, highlighting the UK-India Migration and Mobility Partnership agreed upon in 2021, the British government said that India is the first visa-national country to benefit from such a scheme, as stated in a report by Livemint.com.
According to the UK Prime Minister's Office statement, “I know first-hand the incredible value of the deep cultural and historic ties we have with India. I am pleased that even more of India’s brightest young people will now have the opportunity to experience all that life in the UK has to offer – and vice-versa - making our economies and societies richer." Further, the UK Prime Minister's Office tweeted "Today the UK-India Young Professionals Scheme was confirmed, offering 3,000 places to 18-30-year-old degree-educated Indian nationals to come to the UK to live and work for up to two years."
This announcement was made following the meeting of the PMs at the 17th edition of the G20 Summit in Bali. Also, this is their first meeting after the first Indian-origin British PM took charge and assumed office last month, October 2022. "Prime Ministers @narendramodi and @RishiSunak in conversation during the first day of the @g20org Summit in Bali," PM Modi's Office said in a tweet.
What is the UK-India Young Professionals Scheme?
Under this scheme, annually, 3,000 visas will be given to young Indian professionals ranging between the age group of 18-30 years. Indian nationals with degrees can come to the UK to live and work for up to two years. The scheme will be reciprocal as well.
In the Indo-Pacific region, the UK has more links with India than almost any other country. Almost a quarter of all international students in the UK are from India and Indian investment in the UK supports 95,000 jobs across the UK. "The launch of the scheme is a significant moment both for our bilateral relationship with India and the UK's wider commitment to forging stronger links with the Indo-Pacific region to strengthen both our economies," the Downing Street statement read.
