UK likely to toughen post-study work conditions with Graduate Visa reassessment

LONDON – With each day passing, the authorities in the United Kingdom are trying to prevent the abuse of its immigration regime and the Graduate Visa is next in line to be scrutinized.

Home Secretary, James Cleverly has ordered the Migration Advisory Committee (MAC) to look into the Graduate Visa and its abuse by international students, hinting that the conditions attached to the visa might be made strict in future.

Cleverly has written a letter to MAC, highlighting that international students may be undermining the integrity and quality of the UK higher education system by using university courses as a route to get work visas.

The UK’s graduate visa is being used by foreigners as it allows international students to work for two or three years after completing their studies but the Home Secretary believes that it is failing to attract “the brightest and the best” to the UK.

In his letter to the MAC, the official instructed the body to ensure the graduate route is not being abused with a particular focus on whether some of the demand for study visas is being driven more by a desire for immigration.

“An international student can spend relatively little on fees for a one-year course and gain access to two years with no job requirement on the graduate route, followed by four years’ access to a discounted salary threshold on the skilled worker route,” Cleverly stated.

The secretary added that this implies international graduates can access the UK labour market with salaries significantly below the requirement imposed on the majority of migrant skilled workers.

The Graduate Visa program is seen by many as a route to permanent settlement in the UK. In 2019, the Conservative government reintroduced the graduate visa program to aid UK universities in attracting international students to compete against rivals like the US and Australia, which provide feasible post-graduation work visa options or pathways to citizenship.

The government is tightening the conditions regarding visas and immigration for foreigners – a move triggered after the Rishi Sunak government faced flak for record immigration figures.

A few of the recently introduced measures include raising the salary threshold for Skilled Worker Visa and prohibiting international students from bringing dependents to the country with few exemptions.

It is expected that after the MAC reviews the Graduate Visa, the government will bring in a new set of reforms though no timeline is available at the moment.