UK plans to tighten Graduate Visa rules: As the Home Office and the Education Department battle, the UK intends to tighten the regulations for graduate visas.
Overview
In an effort to reduce net migration, the UK government is considering making major changes to its graduate visa regulations. According to reports, this action has strained relations between the Department for Education and the Home Office. International students would have to find graduate-level work in order to stay in the UK after completing their studies, according to the proposed revisions.
As part of its larger efforts to lower net migration, the UK government is thinking of making major changes to its graduate visa program. The move has reportedly caused friction between the Department for Education and the Home Office. The Financial Times claims that in order for international students to stay in the UK after finishing their studies, the proposed revisions would need them to land a graduate-level job.
What it sees as the education department’s attempts to thwart the reforms have angered the Home Office. According to officials, the department pushed Universities UK, the primary sector organisation, to openly criticise the revisions.
“The prime minister has given us the task of reducing net migration, and we are working to achieve that,” a Home Office official told FT. The education government had “lobbied Universities UK to go out there and fight this,” the same person continued, calling it “really frustrating.”
Since its introduction in 2021, the graduate visa route has permitted international graduates to remain in the UK for a maximum of two years after completing their studies, even if they are not employed. After a year, more than 60% of participants in the programme were making less than £30,000, which is less than the benchmark pay for graduates, according to research conducted by the Migration Advisory Committee.
However, authorities in the education sector are worried that limitations on this path would have a detrimental effect on colleges, many of which are struggling financially. Reducing the path would be insane, according to Vivienne Stern, the CEO of Universities UK. She pointed out that just one group of foreign students boosts the UK economy by £40 billion a year. The two-year visa, she continued, allows students time to obtain experience and land jobs.
Data from the Home Office has further bolstered its reform campaign. About 40% of the 40,000 asylum requests made in 2024 by people with prior UK visas were from former students. “We are finding people who are moving from student visas and graduate visas into asylum hotels,” a Home Office official stated. According to the official, a large number of these cases seemed to entail “fraud.”
Next month, a white paper detailing the Labour government’s migration strategy is anticipated to be presented under Sir Keir Starmer’s leadership. It is anticipated that modifications to the graduate visa program would be crucial.
The suggested revisions would surpass those implemented by the previous Conservative government, led by Rishi Sunak, which chose to implement only minor alterations due to worries about the possible effects on universities.
“To ensure that immigration is no longer utilised at the expense of domestic talent, the Home Office and Department for Education are collaborating closely to adopt an evidence-based approach, connecting migration policy to education and skills,” a government spokeswoman stated. As a vital component of our top-notch higher education system, they continued, “We will always welcome international students.”
Regarding the proposed migration reforms, the education department, on the other hand, claimed that it “did not recognise” any disagreement with the Home Office.