Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what additional criteria will be used to decide whether (a) India and (b) other additional countries will be eligible for inclusion in the low-risk Tier 4 visa category for overseas students.

We have regular discussions with the Indian Government on a range of issues including on visas and UK immigration policy.

Careful consideration is given to which countries could be added to Appendix H of the Immigration Rules, taking into account objective analysis of a range of factors including the volume of students from a country and their Tier 4 immigration compliance risk.

The list of countries in Appendix H will be regularly updated to reflect the fact that countries’ risk profiles change over time.