Indian students overseas are experiencing their largest setback in five years, as visa approvals from the top three study destinations — Canada, the United States, and the United Kingdom — all fell simultaneously in 2024. A recent report by The Indian Express, based on official visa statistics, has shown an overall 27% decline in study permits for Indian students in these major countries.
This dramatic plunge is the first time in five years that Indian students abroad have faced such a synchronized decline in all three nations — a troubling sign for both students and foreign universities that have long depended on Indian enrollments.
Canada Experiences Steepest Decline Among Indian Students Abroad
Out of the three countries, Canada experienced the sharpest decline. The figure of Indian students abroad going to Canada dipped by 32%, from 2.78 lakh in 2023 to 1.89 lakh in 2024. This decline can be squarely attributed to a succession of policy changes and immigration curbs enforced by the government of Canada.
In January 2024, Canada imposed a national limit on overseas student visas, reducing the volume of new study visas by 35%. Further, the discontinuation of the expedited Student Direct Stream (SDS) program — a popular route for Indian applicants — further restricted the outflow of Indian students abroad. By 2025, Canada aims to bring the number of temporary residents down to 5% of its population, making it even more difficult for international students to gain entry.
Interestingly, while Indian students overseas took a sharp hit in Canada, Chinese students experienced a marginal decline — from 58,080 in 2023 to 56,465 in 2024, revealing a focused effect of these policy changes.
US Sees 34% Decline in Indian Student Visas
The United States, historically a high-end choice for Indian students overseas, saw F-1 student visas decline by a whopping 34% from FY 2023’s 1,31,000 to only 86,110 in FY 2024. Reasons behind this are the prolonged delay in visa processing, increased scrutiny, and also rumblings ahead of the next presidential elections.
Subject specialists have observed that despite the fact that Indian students have surpassed Chinese counterparts in U.S. enrollment statistics, policy volatility and increasing anti-immigration sentiment might have dissuaded several from applying for admission in 2024.
UK Experiences a 26% Dip: Dependent Visa Ban a Key Catalyst
In the United Kingdom, the scenario is no less alarming. The number of study visas issued to Indian students overseas dropped by 26%, from 1.20 lakh in 2023 to 88,732 in 2024. This sharp decline comes after post-Brexit visa restriction and the UK Home Office’s prohibition on dependents joining most international students, with the exception of those in postgraduate research courses.
Interestingly, the UK had already seen a 13% decline in 2023 — decreasing from 1.38 lakh in 2022 to 1.19 lakh in 2023 — and thus 2024 was the second year in a row of decline for Indian students abroad in the UK.
Why Are Indian Students Abroad Undergoing This Backlash?
Indian students overseas have long constituted the core of overseas student groups in all three countries. Between 2015 and 2023, Indian student enrollments went through the roof:
- In Canada, they rose eight times — from 31,920 to 2,78,160.
- In the UK, they grew ten times — from 10,418 to 1,19,738.
- In the US, they increased almost twice — from 74,831 to 1,30,730.
But these very rises have now come under political focus. Governments within these nations have now started raising issues about a lack of housing space, overwhelmed healthcare systems, and pressure from immigration — all of which are now being invoked to justify curbing the number of Indian students abroad.
Indian Students Abroad: Will This Decline Result in a Shift in Preferences?
With these disconcerting trends in mind, will Indian students overseas now turn their attention to other, less restrictive nations?
Based on recent statistics, alternative destinations like Germany, France, and Russia are seeing a boom in Indian student interest. These nations provide low-cost tuition, open visa policies, and routes to permanent residency — making them appealing alternatives to traditional choices like Canada and the UK.
Indeed, education consultants have observed a 20–25% rise in inquiries to universities in continental Europe, which could be an indication of a geographic shift in the ambitions of Indian students abroad.
Shifting Trends in Academic Preferences
The fall isn’t geographic alone — it’s also structural. In Canada, Indian students generally go for diploma and certificate courses instead of full university degrees. In 2023, about 16,000 visas were given for bachelor programs and around 15,640 for master’s programs.
Conversely, the United States has traditionally witnessed Indian students opting for postgraduate courses. Based on Open Doors statistics, mathematics and computer science have replaced engineering as the most popular courses.
The UK also follows the same pattern. Approximately 80% of Indian students in the UK are studying at the master’s level. Undergraduate admissions among Indian students abroad in the UK have declined drastically — from 50% in 2014 to a mere 20% in 2024.
What’s Next for Indian Students Abroad?
The fall of Indian students abroad in all major destinations is a serious issue for international higher education. As Indian students surpassed Chinese students in most categories until recently, their recent decline might affect not only university revenues but also global academic diversity.
Unless governments get serious about student-friendly policies and offer clarity about long-term immigration regulations, the world map of higher education can become fundamentally rewritten — one in which traditional big guns forfeit their hegemony over the dreams of Indian international students.
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