Nearly 6.5 lakh Indian students went abroad in 2022 – highest in five years, shows government data

Nearly 6.5 lakh Indian students went abroad for education in the first 11 months of 2022 – the highest in five years, The Hindu reported on Friday, citing data from the Bureau of Immigration.

In records placed before Parliament, the immigration office has said that 6,48,678 student visas have been issued this year till November 30. The data showed that visas issued only for the purpose of studying and travelling abroad have reached pre-pandemic levels, according to the newspaper.

The Bureau of Immigration also maintains records of visas issued for business, employment, pilgrimage, medical, residence re-entry, visiting, and tourism purposes.

A total of 1.83 crore Indians travelled to other countries for various purposes between January and November 30, the data showed. The number is 137% higher than what was recorded in 2021 – the second year of pandemic-induced travel restrictions.

However, in 2019, the last year before the coronavirus pandemic struck, the total number of Indians visiting other countries stood at 2.52 crore.

As far as favoured destinations for students are concerned, the number of visas has surpassed the pre-pandemic levels, according to the data. From 6.17 lakh Indians who went to Canada in 2019, the numbers have gone up to 6.60 lakh in the first 11 months of 2022. In the case of the United Kingdom, the student visas have risen from 7.45 lakh in 2019 to 7.54 lakh till November 30 this year, The Hindu reported.

“Our young brains leaving the country in large numbers will definitely have an impact on the economic growth of the country,” S Irudaya Rajan, the chairperson of International Institute of Migration and Development, told the newspaper.

He added that an increase in the number of those travelling on visiting visas indicated that more Indians were leaving the country using their children’s Permanent Residence status.