After opposition from cabinet colleagues, UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak has reportedly abandoned the radical crackdown on the graduate visa which currently allows international students the right to work in the UK for two or three years after graduation.
The restrictions to the graduate visa were originally considered as a way of reducing migration figures. However, according to The Guardian, it is now expected that the Sunak government will likely opt for more modest reforms to close loopholes and “prevent abuse” of the immigration system.
Potential measures under consideration include restrictions on recruitment agents and mandatory English tests.
In a recent report by the Financial Times, the UK government is considering cracking down on the recruitment agents who market British degree courses overseas. Those who fail to supply the types of students they promise will be penalised.
Additionally, foreign students who stay in the UK under the graduate visa route could be faced with new mandatory English tests, according to the Sun.
The Sun also reports that universities with high dropout rates risk losing their license to recruit overseas all-together.
Interventions by cabinet colleagues lead Sunak to reconsider radical proposals of restricting the graduate visa.
The chancellor Jeremy Hunt, the foreign secretary David Cameron, the home secretary James Cleverly, and the education secretary Gillian Keegan have all argued that restricting the graduate visa would be damaging for universities and the economy.
While there has been no official announcement, The Guardian has reported that an announcement is likely to coincide with publication on Thursday of the Office for National Statistics’ quarterly net migration figures.
Among those vocally urging for the visa to remain unchanged were Indian students and alumni in the UK.
The National Indian Students and Alumni Union (NISAU) warned the prime minister that the graduate visa was critical to the UK’s attractiveness as a study abroad destination for all international students.
Sanam Arora, the NISAU chair, wrote:
“The best will go to where the best offer is, and any worsening of the graduate route will make the UK’s offer significantly worse.”
“International students and graduates are by and large extremely hard-working young people who have typically invested tens of thousands of pounds into their UK education, alongside their dreams and aspirations for a better future,” Arora said.
“It is only reasonable that they would want some return on this very significant investment. And the return they seek is the very simple opportunity to gain meaningful work experience for a temporary period of time.”
Universities remain vocally opposed to additional restrictions on the graduate visa.
One option under consideration – limiting the graduate visa to the 24 research intensive Russell Group universities – has received backlash by universities.
A letter signed by vice-chancellors at more than 20 universities urged Sunak to accept the findings of the Migration Advisory Committee, which recommended the graduate visa remain unchanged.
“Universities from Sunderland to Sheffield, Leeds to Lancaster, Liverpool to Teesside, Bradford to Huddersfield, and York to Newcastle will all be harmed by the removal or reduction of the graduate route visa,” the letter states.
“In the north of England, the international student cohort from the first academic year in this decade (2020-21) alone was worth £7.2bn.
“Universities are now reporting reductions in applications of as much as 80% in some areas and that reduction in income will have a catastrophic impact on the region’s economy.”
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