New Geography of Indian Students Abroad

For decades, Indian students have seen the United States and the United Kingdom as the twin poles of international higher education.

- Dipak Kurmi

The prestige of Ivy League institutions, Russell Group universities, and other globally ranked centres of learning, combined with robust alumni networks and long-standing academic traditions, established these two nations as the default destinations for thousands of Indian undergraduates and postgraduates each year. Yet the certainties of the past are increasingly giving way to a more fragmented and recalibrated global educational landscape, as shifting immigration policies, economic constraints, and changing institutional priorities begin to influence how Indian students weigh their options.

At the heart of this change lies a complex and evolving policy environment in both the UK and the US-two countries that have historically dominated India’s outbound student traffic. Recent visa and immigration developments in both nations have injected a sense of uncertainty into what used to be a well-trodden academic journey. In the United Kingdom, for example, the government's tightening stance on dependent visas for international students pursuing taught postgraduate programmes has been a cause of considerable unease. Dependents, typically spouses or children, have traditionally accompanied Indian students to the UK, allowing families to stay united during extended study durations. But new restrictions and a lack of clear alternatives have disrupted this practice, causing many to reconsider the UK as a viable option.