UK exports classrooms, won’t allow easy student visas
In a shimmering pocket of Gujarat, known as GIFT City, British universities are quietly carving out a new colonial echo — not with armies or railways, but with degree programmes and research hubs. GIFT City, short for Gujarat International Finance Tec-City, is India’s first international financial hub designed to attract global investment and talent.
While official statements in London and New Delhi celebrate the number of approvals and the promise of new partnerships, the real story lies in where Britain is building — inside Gandhinagar’s GIFT City — and why the British government prefers to export its classrooms rather than relax its visa rules.
Three British institutions — Queen’s University Belfast, Coventry University and the University of Surrey — have received approval to open campuses inside this zone, making Gandhinagar the focal point of the UK’s largest education expansion anywhere in the world.
According to the British prime minister’s office, the initiative will “boost Britain’s influence abroad while supporting growth at home”. Collectively, these new campuses and others in the pipeline are expected to generate £50 million for the UK economy.
Where they are opening
GIFT City, Gandhinagar: Queen’s University Belfast, Coventry and Surrey opening campuses to teach business, technology, cybersecurity
Gurugram: Southampton University already open, teaching business and computer science
Bengaluru: Lancaster, Liverpool universities plan to launch by 2026, focusing on engineering, AI, data science
Other approvals: York, Aberdeen, Bristol have permission to open campuses
“Our great British universities are admired all over the world for their teaching excellence, high-quality research and commitment to innovation,” Prime Minister Keir Starmer said in the official announcement. “I’m delighted that more Indian students will be able to benefit from a world-class British education in the near future — strengthening the ties between our two countries while pumping millions back into our economy and supporting jobs at home.”
The Queen’s University Belfast campus is slated to admit its first students in January 2026, offering postgraduate degrees in financial technology and cybersecurity. Coventry University will focus on business, design technology and management studies, while the University of Surrey has received in-principle clearance to launch a branch specialising in business analytics and artificial intelligence.
The GIFT City cluster is only the beginning. Britain now has nine universities either operating or planning campuses across India, making it the foreign country with the largest higher-education footprint in India.
The University of Southampton has already opened its campus in Gurugram, offering business, finance and computer science degrees to its first intake of 150 students. Lancaster University is planning a campus in Bengaluru, and the University of Liverpool will follow by 2026, also in the southern technology hub.
Other universities, including Aberdeen, York, Bristol and Queen’s Belfast, have received letters of intent from India’s University Grants Commission under the 2023 foreign-campus regulations.
“British higher education is world-leading and this expansion shows its global appeal,” Education Secretary Bridget Phillipson said. “Opening new campuses in India will give more young people the chance to benefit from British education, while delivering real returns for our universities at home.”
Yet the same government promoting these new campuses has drawn a firm line on immigration. Asked during his Mumbai trade mission whether student visa concessions formed part of the bilateral deal, Starmer was categorical: “Britain will not pursue a visa deal with India… That isn’t part of the plans.”
The message is clear: Britain wants to tap into India’s education boom without reopening its borders.
British officials describe the new campuses as a way to expand education exports, create jobs and extend soft power. A statement from the prime minister’s office said the strategy would “expand Britain’s higher education influence overseas while supporting domestic growth”.
Starmer’s advisers say the policy aligns with his wider economic agenda, combining export earnings with reputation. “Universities are one of Britain’s most successful exports,” one official told British media outlets. “We can grow the sector globally without adding strain to domestic services.”
In economic terms, the move reflects post-Brexit diplomacy: if migration and aid are politically fraught, education becomes the safest currency of influence. Some academics have warned that overseas expansion does little to relieve financial pressures at home. One vice-chancellor told British newspapers that “offshore campuses are prestige exercises. They project reach, but don’t fix the funding shortfall in UK higher education.”
Others see the Gandhinagar project as symbolic: Britain exporting its classrooms eastwards, turning a visa debate into an investment strategy. As a senior official told the British media, “It’s about influence and income, expanding the footprint of British education without adding pressure to migration numbers.”
For now, the formula appears politically sound: it earns revenue, flatters bilateral ties and reassures voters wary of migration. But the larger question lingers: whether a country that once welcomed the world’s students is now content to let its universities do the travelling instead.
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