The University Grant Commission (UGC) has mandated that all foreign nationals studying in Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) and universities in the country have to register themselves in a new Study In India (SII) portal. In a public notice, UGC has said, henceforth, study visas will be linked to the SII portal. Until now, foreign nationals wishing to study in India’s higher education institutions would apply to the respective higher education institutions or universities, and the respective institutions would help in obtaining visas for the selected and eligible students. There is no centralised data of foreign students in the country, making it tough to track them, especially amidst several complaints by the police of them overstaying and in some cases indulging in crimes.To plug this gap, UGC on the directions of the Ministry of Education, Government of India, has now mandated that all foreign students and even those HEIs onboarding foreign students have to mandatorily register on the SII portal from the year 2025-26 itself. UGC has further instructed HEIs onboarding foreign students to appoint a “Compliance Officer in the institution for ensuring compliance of all guidelines under SII programme and portal and also facilitating smooth admission/visa process of the foreign students as well as their safe and proper stay in the campus”. K.G. Chandrashekhara, Executive Director, Karnataka State Higher Education Council, said that the influx of foreign students into the state was only expected to go up with more foreign universities expected to set up their campuses in Bengaluru. “We already have Imperial College of London in Bengaluru, and Liverpool University has signed an agreement to establish a campus in the city. Now we have also invited Wolverhampton University to establish its campus in Bengaluru. Therefore, the number of students coming to Karnataka for higher education will only increase further. All educational institutions registered on the SII portal should display the information of the students. This will help in making appropriate accommodation, protection, and monitoring for foreign nationals,” he said. Published - September 28, 2025 11:34 pm IST