Do Most Indian Students Stay Abroad After Graduation? The Myth, The Data, and What It Means

Do Most Indian Students Stay Abroad After Graduation? The Myth, The Data, and What It Means

A persistent story in media and policy debates is that Indian students flood abroad to study and then remain in their “destination” countries whether it be in Australia, Canada, the UK, or the US, in numbers many assume are permanent. The recent changes to the US H-1B visa regime, where Indians receive about 71% of approved visas (China the next highest at ~12%), have intensified this narrative. Suddenly, the idea is everywhere that the best and brightest are staying put, “stealing domestic workers’ jobs.” But the evidence suggests something far more nuanced: many Indian graduates return home, and their return is central to their careers and to India’s economic growth.

In the UK, the Graduate Route post-study work visa has become closely linked to this myth. Indians are the largest beneficiary group: between its launch in mid-2021 and the end of 2023, they accounted for around 42% of all Graduate visas granted to main applicants – roughly 48,000 visas in 2023 alone. In that year, just over 114,000 Graduate Route visas were issued in total, against 732,285 international students enrolled in UK higher education, according to HESA. Put another way, only about 15% of the international student body accessed the Graduate Route, with Indian graduates making up just 6–7% of the overall international student population. The figure is striking, but it does not show how long these graduates stay, or what happens to them afterward.

Graduates UK-wide do not often stay forever, and return rates are significant. Home Office data shows that of the 25,469 people whose Graduate visas expired by the end of 2023, 63% had switched to another visa route. Of those, 33% moved into Skilled Worker roles, 9% into Skilled Worker–Health & Care, and 4% into other work routes. If 63% change their visa, that equates to just 2% of the total number of international students. Unless there is major overstaying, which UK universities assure government there is not, after two years only around 2% of international students remain in the UK on working visas. In reality, more than 90% return home, and it is here that Asia Careers Group data captures the impact.

Asia Careers Group’s dataset of over 120,000 tracked graduates shows that Indian returnees consistently achieve stronger outcomes than their domestically educated peers. UK returnees to India secure early-career salaries 20–25% higher than local graduates, and many gain access to global employers such as Infosys, Tata Consultancy Services, and Accenture. These outcomes underscore the continued value of a UK education, even if simplistic narratives suggest students are “stealing jobs” abroad rather than contributing at home.

But there is a new challenge, as the UK government is narrowing options for international graduates, some of the world’s biggest technology companies are expanding their presence here. Microsoft recently pledged £22 billion to build AI infrastructure and cloud services, including a supercomputer project in Essex with more than 23,000 Nvidia GPUs. Google is investing £5 billion in a hyperscale data centre in Waltham Cross. Amazon has announced a £40 billion expansion over three years, creating thousands of jobs, including at least 2,000 roles at new centres in Hull and Northampton.

Normally, these roles would have been magnets for H-1B talent in the US. Yet Donald Trump’s decision to impose a $100,000 annual fee for each H-1B visa makes it prohibitively expensive for many firms to sponsor international graduates across the Atlantic. The result is a major shift: the US’s loss could become the UK’s gain. Indian students, who dominate both H-1B allocations and Graduate Route visas, may increasingly view Britain as the gateway to global tech careers. Instead of heading for Silicon Valley, the next generation of engineers and data scientists may be launching their careers at FAANG-equivalent roles in London, Manchester or Cambridge.

But with the exception of landing a dream job with one of the FAANGs, is it realistic to expect the majority of international students to transition successfully from the Graduate Route, now reduced to 18 months in the UK’s White Paper, when the average graduate starting salary is £25,900 and the “new entrant” minimum salary will increase from £30,960 to £33,400?

The numbers speak for themselves. A graduate in their first job is unlikely to reach the Skilled Worker threshold. The dream that overseas students will graduate, land their dream role at a Big Four accountancy firm or tech giant, get sponsored and secure indefinite leave to remain is, in fact, far from reality.

As Fayez Bin Khalid has put it: “Thousands of international students in the UK get rejected because of their visa status, even with the Graduate Route in place. International students are not eligible for 93% of UK jobs. And for the 7% we are eligible for, employers would rather hire a British graduate to avoid sponsorship costs.”

The reduction of the Graduate Route from two years to 18 months shortens the already narrow window for students to find roles that meet visa requirements. Combined with rising salary thresholds, the odds of making that transition diminish further. This is why UK universities desperately need a Plan B: supporting international graduates into careers back home or in third countries. Asia Careers Group is in a position to help UK higher education do just that, by connecting graduates to employers in India and other markets, and by evidencing the global career impact of UK degrees.

So why does the misconception persist that most Indians stay abroad? In part, because it suits political narratives in destination countries. In the US, the focus on H-1B allocations creates the impression that every Indian graduate wants to remain indefinitely, fuelling protectionist rhetoric. In the UK, debates about the Graduate Route are framed by fears that international graduates stay on in large numbers, displacing domestic workers. The truth is more complex. The majority of Indian students stay temporarily, one to two years to gain experience and then return home, enriched by that global exposure.

Voices in Indian industry are challenging the myth from the other side. Alakh Pandey, founder and CEO of Physics Wallah, recently urged Indian students studying at Harvard, Stanford, and the University of California to return home—or, if they cannot, to contribute “directly or indirectly” to India’s progress. “Yes, there are many shortcomings in our country, but no nation is perfect. There is a need to improve the use of the youth of the country,” he said. Other entrepreneurs have echoed this, warning that highly qualified Indians who remain overseas represent a lost opportunity for India’s growth. Trump’s H-1B proclamation has only heightened these calls: if the US makes it prohibitively expensive for firms to sponsor international workers, the economic case for returning home becomes stronger.

For UK universities, this matters enormously. The Graduate Route is valuable, but it has never been intended as an immigration back door. As the Migration Advisory Committee (MAC) put it in its 2024 rapid review: “The Graduate Route should be seen as part of the UK’s education offer rather than a means of meeting labour market needs.” The committee stressed that the route was “not designed as a route to settlement” and that its purpose was to enhance the UK’s international education offer, giving students short-term post-study work experience rather than long-term immigration opportunities.

The Graduate Route should be understood as a bridge. It gives Indian students a chance to gain work experience, bolster their CVs, and demonstrate their capabilities in a global labour market. Only a very small percentage of all international students will transition to Skilled Worker visas in Britain, or other migration pathways, the vast majority over 90% will go back home to India. What sustains demand for a UK degree is not whether every student stays indefinitely, but whether they succeed, wherever they go.

That is why the current policy debate is so dangerous. An international student levy in November’s Budget, combined with a shorter Graduate Route and higher skilled visa thresholds, risks signalling to Indian students that Britain is less welcoming and less supportive of their careers. At precisely the moment when the US is making itself less attractive, the UK risks squandering a competitive advantage.

Employability must be the counterweight. As Asia Careers Group’s recent University World News article Losing the Edge? showed, outcomes for international graduates are becoming more precarious. Full-time employment rates for returnees have fallen from close to 80% in earlier cohorts to nearer 30% today. The premium is still there, 20–40% higher salaries than domestic peers in countries like China, India, Malaysia and Singapore but it is slipping. Without targeted investment in employability, the UK’s value proposition could erode.

Nick Hillman of HEPI has been clear that international students are “savvier than ever about the return on their investment.” They want evidence that their education will translate into career outcomes. Yet too often UK universities treat employability as a recruitment tool rather than a strategic imperative. Few publish outcomes data for international graduates. Fewer invest systematically in career support for students returning to India or other home markets.

When post-study work was scrapped in 2012, international recruitment collapsed. Only when it was reinstated in 2019 did numbers recover. To cut it again now, just as the US is pricing itself out of the market with its changes to H-1B and threats to OTP, would be extraordinary short-sightedness. Canada and Australia are already moving to fill the vacuum, linking post-study work rights to skills shortages and global labour demands. Britain has an opportunity to lead, but only if it resists repeating its mistakes.

The real measure of success is not how many Indian students Britain retains indefinitely, but how those students succeed in the global labour market, whether in London, Mumbai, Bangalore or beyond. The myth that the best and brightest are all staying abroad, “stealing jobs,” obscures the reality that many do return, and that their success at home is as vital to India’s economy as their temporary contribution is to the UK’s.

For universities, this is the message to hold onto. The future of international education will not be won by feeding myths, but by proving outcomes.