Indian students & U.K.

In his column “An idiotic own goal” (Feb.18), Timothy Garton Ash suggests that the U.K. does not welcome students from India. He’s wrong. The facts are that: we want India’s best and brightest to come to the U.K. to study. International students have helped make U.K. education what it is today: the best in the world; we have set no limit on the numbers of Indians who can come to study. All are welcome; we make it easy to apply for a visa: we have 12 visa application centres in India, more than any other country; most Indians who apply for a student visa get one: more than 80 per cent. And, finally, Indians can work in the U.K. for up to six years after completing their university studies, provided they get a graduate level job — exactly the sort of job which talented young Indians want.

Sir James Bevan KCMG,

British High Commissioner to India