LONDON – The British home secretary, James Cleverly, has asked the Migration Advisory Committee (MAC) to investigate whether the Graduate Visa is being abused by international students.
The official highlighted that international students may be undermining the integrity and quality of the UK higher education system by using university courses as a cheap way of getting work visas.
The UK’s graduate visa entitlement allows international students to work for two or three years after graduating but the official noted that it was 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. The particular concern of Cleverly is 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 said.
The secretary added that this implies international graduates are able to access the UK labour market with salaries significantly below the requirement imposed on the majority of migrant skilled workers.
In 2019, the Conservative government reintroduced the graduate visa program with the aim of aiding UK universities in attracting international students to compete against countries like the US and Australia, which provided more favorable post-graduation work visa options or pathways to citizenship.
The decision to look for abuse of the system comes as the UK introduces a series of measures to discourage immigration. A few of the measures include raising the salary threshold for Skilled Worker Visa and banning international students from bringing dependents to the country with few exemptions.
