The new plan from the British Home Secretary could hit foreign students hard. Details here

London:

UK Home Secretary Suella Braverman is said to be on a collision course with the country’s education department over plans to shorten the allowed period of stay for foreign students under a post-study visa route, according to a British media report on Wednesday.

The new Graduate Visa route, which gives foreign graduates – including Indians – the chance to continue looking for a job and gain work experience for up to two years without the requirement of a specific job offer, is expected to be dropped under the Braverman-approved proposed revision.

According to “The Times,” India’s Home Secretary has drawn up a plan to “reform” the Graduate Visa route, which would require students to get a work visa by seeking skilled employment or leaving the UK after six months. The paper refers to leaked advice to say the UK’s Department of Education (DfE) is trying to block the changes, fearing it would harm the UK’s attractiveness to international students.

A government source supporting Braverman’s plan said the Graduate Visa is increasingly being used by short-course students at “less respectable universities.”

“It’s being used as a back door for immigration,” the paper quotes the source as saying.

However, the DfE argues that the two-year graduate visa, often referred to as the UK’s post-study offer, was in line with most of Britain’s main competitors, with only the US offering a one-year visa.

According to the latest statistics from the Office for National Statistics (ONS), Indians overtook Chinese as the largest cohort of foreign students last year and the new Graduate Visa route, introduced in July 2021, was dominated by Indians – accounting for 41 percent of visas granted .

Braverman’s proposal is reportedly one of several drafted after Prime Minister Rishi Sunak asked the Home Office and the DfE to put forward proposals to reduce the number of foreign students coming to the UK. Figures released last week showed there were 680,000 overseas students in the UK. The government’s higher education strategy for 2019 included a target of 600,000 students by 2030, which was itself met last year.

Another proposal under consideration would reportedly allow foreign students to bring dependent relatives only if they are taking postgraduate research-based courses, such as a PhD, or postgraduate courses of at least two years.

The Home Office declined to comment on the leak, but a government spokesman said: “Our points-based system is designed to be flexible in line with the UK’s needs, including attracting top talent from around the world. to contribute to the excellence of the UK’s academic reputation and to keep our universities competitive on the global stage.

“We are constantly reviewing all of our immigration policies to ensure they best serve the country and reflect the priorities of the public.”

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