Sunak advised to maintain graduate visas for international college students as ‘no proof’ of abuse
Ministers have been urged not to bring in draconian restrictions on international students in a desperate bid to drive down migration.
Experts from the independent Migration Advisory Committee (MAC) said there is no evidence of widespread abuse of the graduate visa route. This allows graduates to stay in the UK for two years after they finish their qualifications.
Hardline Tories, including former Immigration Minister Robert Jenrick, want to see the route abolished. But a MAC report published today warns a crackdown would have a massive impact on universities, which rely on recruiting international students. Many would be forced to shrink and less research would be carried out, meaning students from the UK would suffer, the committee warned.
It comes as universities feel the squeeze on the budgets due to a continued freeze in the home undergraduate tuition fee and struggles in recruiting overseas students since Brexit.
MAC chairman Professor Brian Bell said: “Our review recommends the Graduate route should remain as it is, and is not undermining the quality and integrity of the UK’s higher education system. The Graduate route is a key part of the offer that we make to International Students to come and study in the UK.
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Wiktor Szymanowicz/REX/Shutterstock)
“The fees that these students pay helps universities to cover the losses they make in teaching British students and doing research. Without those students, many universities would need to shrink and less research would be done. This highlights the complex interaction between immigration policy and higher education policy”.
The report, which was commissioned by Home Secretary James Cleverly, states that 114,000 Graduate route visas were granted for main applicants in 2023, with a further 30,000 granted for dependants. People from India, Nigeria, China and Pakistan account for 70% of all Graduate visas, with India accounting for over 40%.
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Vivienne Stern, chief executive of Universities UK (UUK), said the recommendations were “extremely important and welcome”. “The uncertainty caused by the decision to review the visa has been toxic,” she said. “We hope and expect that Government now listens to the advice they have been given and provides categorical reassurance that the graduate visa is here to stay.”
Tim Bradshaw, chief executive of the Russell Group, which represents some of the most selective institutions in the UK, said: “We recognise concerns around the behaviour of some agents and we would support targeted measures to address this.
“However, the overall message from the MAC is that the graduate route is achieving its objectives as set out by the Government. We would therefore urge ministers to end the uncertainty and confirm as soon as possible that the route will continue in its entirety.”
A Government spokesperson said: “We are committed to attracting the best and brightest to study at our world-class universities, whilst preventing abuse of our immigration system, which is why the Home Secretary commissioned an independent review of the graduate route.
“We have already taken decisive action to address unsustainable levels of migration and our plans are working, with a 24% drop in visa applications across key routes in the first three months of this year, compared with the same period last year. We are considering the review’s findings very closely and we will respond fully in due course.”
