India–EU trade agreement puts spotlight on student and workforce mobility
‘If the FTA improves transparency on visa categories and processing timelines, it could significantly reduce friction for both Indian professionals and European employers’
Publisher: The Hindu BusinessLine
Updated - January 27, 2026 at 09:16 PM IST. | Bengaluru / Chennai
XIPHIAS point of view (what changes if the mobility clauses execute well)
India is not “moving away” from traditional destinations — but the India–EU FTA can make Europe more predictable if it delivers on two practical pain points we see daily:
- Visa clarity + processing transparency (category mapping, timelines, documentary expectations)
- Recognition of qualifications + smoother professional access (especially in regulated/skilled roles)
What we advise students & professionals to do now (before the policy fully rolls out)
- Avoid single-point planning: build intake timelines with buffers and Plan B routes (different EU countries have different post-study work and hiring rhythms).
- Choose pathways that already work today: don’t wait 12–18 months to start exploring EU options if your profile is ready.
Helpful internal resources:
- European Work Permits Guide (EU Blue Card + national work visas): /blog/european-work-permits-guide
- Germany Job Seeker Visa (fastest “on-ground search” pathway for many profiles): /skilled/germany/germany-job-seeker-visa
- Study-abroad trend context (why students are diversifying): /news/indian-students-study-abroad-trends-2025
- Book a strategy consult with Varun Singh: /personal-booking
Varun Singh (MD, XIPHIAS Immigration):
“If the FTA improves transparency on visa categories and processing timelines, it could significantly reduce friction for both Indian professionals and European employers.”
People movement has emerged as a key pillar in the India-EU free trade agreement (FTA), with education consultants, immigration firms and staffing companies expecting a structural shift in student flows and skilled workforce mobility, if the deal delivers on recognition of qualifications and visa clarity.
At present, Europe accounts for a relatively modest share of India’s outbound student market. Around 100,000 Indian students head to EU countries every year, making up 10-12 per cent of the total outbound volumes, according to Aman Singh, co-founder of GradRight. This comes at a time when the overall overseas education market has slowed amid macroeconomic uncertainty and geopolitical tensions.
“Germany alone attracts nearly 50,000 Indian students, while France and Ireland host about 10,000 students each, followed by Italy, Spain and other EU countries,” said Singh. He added that the flow is heavily skewed towards postgraduate education, with 80 per cent of students enrolling in master’s programmes, 15 per cent in undergraduate courses and the remaining 5 per cent opting for short-term upskilling.
Singh said this composition could change meaningfully if the India-EU FTA improves mobility outcomes. “The agreement has the potential to alter the current dynamics if it leads to mutual recognition of qualifications and smoother professional access, making Europe a more predictable destination,” he said.
Visa clarity key
Beyond education, Germany has also emerged as the leading EU destination for Indian researchers and skilled professionals, particularly across engineering, manufacturing, IT and applied sciences, said Varun Singh, MD at XIPHIAS Immigration. Other countries that have seen a rise in interest include France, Spain, Italy, Poland and the Netherlands.
According to Singh, a key constraint today is the lack of clarity around visa pathways. “If the FTA improves transparency on visa categories and processing timelines, it could significantly reduce friction for both Indian professionals and European employers,” he said.
Europe’s push to ease mobility is driven by deeper structural challenges. The region faces acute skill shortages and demographic pressures, which are forcing governments and employers to look outward for talent.
“If mobility norms are relaxed, we expect the earliest demand to come from digital and IT services, core engineering roles, healthcare and life sciences and green and sustainability-linked jobs, where shortages are already pronounced,” said Yeshab Giri, Chief Commercial Officer, operational talent solutions at Randstad India.
Over time, the opportunity could expand beyond white-collar roles, Giri added. “As skills become more standardised and recognition frameworks mature, this could extend to select blue-collar and technical roles as well,” he said.
Workforce pipelines
European employers are also likely to rethink how they engage with Indian students studying locally. According to Giri, companies may increasingly view Indian students as a ready, locally trained talent pool, leading to more structured campus hiring, internships-to-employment programmes and early-career recruitment strategies anchored within the EU.
The FTA is also expected to accelerate the expansion of Global Capability Centres (GCCs) of EU-headquartered companies in India. Mohammed Faraz Khan, partner at Zinnov, says an India strategy anchored by a strong FTA will mean reduced risk when moving engineering, R&D, AI, and other core operations to India, given the talent shortage back home.
“EU-headquartered companies account for over 15 per cent of India’s GCC landscape, including majors such as SAP, Siemens, Bosch, and Ericsson, who are already running India centres that own core operations. With the FTA, more EU firms are expected to expand into this ecosystem and move higher-end work to India, leading to a win-win situation,” he said.
On the investment front, Prem Barthasarathy, founder and managing partner of Pontaq, believes the FTA will lower the perceived risk of investing in India, unlocking previously sparse EU capital into Indian start-ups. Conversely, it will also reduce barriers for Indian start-ups entering the EU market, though they’ll need to adapt to Europe’s stricter compliance standards, a challenge that could ultimately improve product quality and market credibility
However, industry executives caution against expecting immediate results. Even if the agreement is signed, tangible movement on the ground is likely to take 12 to 18 months, as policy changes are notified and implemented across member states. Sustained and larger talent flows could take two to three years, once regulatory frameworks are fully operationalised, said Giri.
For India, improved access to Europe could help diversify student and professional destinations beyond traditional markets such as the US and UK. For the EU, the deal offers a pathway to align trade policy with long-term workforce and demographic needs, provided mobility commitments translate into execution.
