Getting a UK or Canada visa from India

Which route fits you

Canada: Express Entry. No job offer needed. You are scored on age, education, language and work history. India is Canada's largest source country: 94,105 Indian citizens were admitted through economic immigration in 2024, plus 31,425 through family reunification (IRCC Annual Report 2025).

Canada: Provincial Nominee Programs. A provincial nomination adds 600 points and effectively all but secures an invitation.

UK: Skilled Worker. A licensed employer sponsors you first. You must be paid whichever is higher, the £41,700 (UK Home Office, effective July 22, 2025) general threshold or your job's going rate.

UK: Health and Care Worker. Lower fees and no health surcharge for eligible health and social care jobs. Overseas recruitment of care workers (6135 and 6136) closed on 22 July 2025.

UK: India Young Professionals Scheme. Only Indian citizens can use this: "an Indian national or citizen between 18 and 30 years old" with "a qualification at bachelor's degree level or above" and £2,530 (UK Home Office, effective February 28, 2023) in savings. It gives "a visa to live and work in the UK for up to 24 months", but "You must first apply to and be selected in the India Young Professionals Scheme ballot" (gov.uk). No sponsor, no job offer.

→ Work out your Canadian points: about two minutes, before you spend anything.

What is different for India

You are not exempt from proving your English. The UK exempts nationals of 18 majority-English-speaking countries, and India is not one of them (Appendix English Language, EL 4.1). English-medium schooling does not change that; you need an approved test or a degree confirmed as taught in English. Canada exempts nobody.

Your police certificate has four issuing channels. IRCC names the document as the "Police Clearance Certificate" and says you can apply "at your local district police station", a "Passport office", an "Indian embassy or consulate" or a "BLS International Centre" (IRCC: India). Two warnings there: "Character Certificates are not accepted", and certificates "with limitations relating to jurisdiction and time period" are rejected.

The UK expects ten years of address history on Indian police checks. Gov.uk guidance says you "apply in person directly to an Indian police service ... or via local regional passport office", that "residential history for previous ten years is desirable", and that collection takes "seven to ten days" at the station or "up to 30 days" by post (gov.uk, countries G to P). From the UK, apply through the Indian High Commission in London.

A TB test is required for UK stays of six months or more. India is on the Home Office list. Approved clinics cover 19 cities and states, including Mumbai (five), New Delhi (three), Bangalore, Chennai, Hyderabad, Kolkata and Pune (approved clinics in India). "We will not accept a TB test certificate from a clinic we have not approved."

Biometrics. Canada: ten visa application centres, in Ahmedabad, Bengaluru, Chandigarh, Chennai, Hyderabad, Jalandhar, Kolkata, Mumbai, New Delhi and Pune (IRCC). UK: VFS Global runs the centres; check the current list linked from gov.uk.

Your Indian master's may need your bachelor's documents too. WES wants "consolidated transcripts and yearly mark sheets" issued by the institution, sent directly or in sealed envelopes. For most Indian master's degrees, "WES cannot evaluate your master's degree without the bachelor's degree"; the exceptions are Education, Engineering, Philosophy, Technology, Nursing and Pharmacy (WES: Indian credentials).

UK Ancestry: Commonwealth yes, grandparent test strict. India "Joined the Commonwealth: 1947" (thecommonwealth.org), so Indian citizens pass UKA 1.3, but UKA 4.1 requires "a grandparent born in the UK or Islands" (Appendix UK Ancestry). A grandparent born in British India does not count.

Documents and steps specific to India

1. Language test first. Both countries need one.
2. Credential assessment (Canada). University sends transcripts and mark sheets directly or in sealed envelopes; add bachelor's documents to a non-exempt master's.
3. Police Clearance Certificate. One channel, ten years of address history, no "character certificate".
4. TB test (UK, six months or more). Only clinics on the gov.uk India list.
5. Biometrics. Canada at one of the ten VACs; UK at a VFS centre.
6. Ballot. Under 31 with a degree? Enter the India Young Professionals Scheme ballot first.

What it costs from India

Fees are set in Canadian dollars and pounds.

The health surcharge is what most people miss: over three years it costs more than the visa itself, paid upfront.

Alternatives if the obvious route does not fit

• Health and Care Worker visa (UK): lower fees, no health surcharge, eligible health and care jobs.
• Immigration Salary List (UK): reduced £33,400 (UK Home Office, effective July 22, 2025) threshold and lower going rate.
• New entrant and PhD thresholds (UK): reduced threshold for early-career applicants and relevant PhD holders.
• Global Talent visa (UK): no sponsor or job offer; endorsement in research, digital technology, or arts and culture.
• Canada category-based draws (2026): health care, trades, French, plus new categories such as transport and foreign doctors with Canadian experience; invitations at lower scores.
• Canada Provincial Nominee Programs: nomination adds 600 points; many healthcare and trades streams.
• Canada Home Care Worker pilots: intake paused since 19 December 2025.
• In-country switching (UK): 64,495 Graduate route extensions went to Indian nationals in the year ending June 2026 (Home Office); a licensed sponsor can move you into Skilled Worker without leaving.