Planning to go to the UK for academic or professional work? Well, worry not! The governments of India and the UK have something for you. Next month, India and the United Kingdom will launch the Young Professionals Scheme, allowing degree-holding Indian nationals to live and work in the United Kingdom. According to a statement issued by the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) following the 15th India-UK Foreign Office Consultations (FOC), the scheme will be launched on February 28th, 2023.
The Indian delegation was led by Foreign Secretary Vinay Mohan Kwatra, while Philip Barton, Permanent Under-Secretary, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, led the British delegation. During the FOC, Barton and Kwatra noted that letters formalising the Young Professional Scheme were exchanged during the Pravasi Bharatiya Divas in London on January 9.
Let’s now dig more into the details of the scheme.
The UK-India Young Professionals Scheme will provide 3,000 places per year for degree-educated Indian nationals aged 18 to 30 to live and work in the UK for up to two years. Professionals from the United Kingdom can also participate in a professional exchange by living and working in India as part of the programme.
This is an opportunity for everyone looking to study or work in the UK. For the past few years, many Indian nationals have been issued Visas to travel and work in the UK. Surprisingly, this number has increased exponentially. According to UK Home Office statistics, India surpassed China as the most crucial source country for student visas issued by the UK in the year ending June 2022. A statement issued by the MEA stated that India and the United Kingdom have a Comprehensive Strategic Partnership, as evidenced by the adoption of the Roadmap 2030 for Future Relations.
While this was all for the scheme, let us now move ahead with the promises made by the two countries during the event. Britain praised India’s priorities as President of the G20 this year, saying it was looking forward to its participation. Aside from that, according to the statement, both sides agreed to maintain regular exchanges at the political and senior official levels and to hold the next FOC in London in 2024
