According to a top government official, the United Kingdom is considering placing limits on foreign students living in the nation on graduate visas for two years if they do not get the required high marks throughout their studies.
According to The Telegraph, the Home Secretary, James Cleverly, has requested the United Kingdom Migration Advisory Committee to “review the graduate visa as part of a five-point plan to reduce net migration by 300,000 from its record-high levels.”
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According to the data, almost 98,000 international students were given two-year UK visas upon graduation, a 74% increase over the previous year.
Furthermore, just 0.7 percent of applicants were rejected for the two-year graduate visa after completing their initial course.
Officials are concerned that the graduate visa is being abused to join low-skilled jobs or to stay in the nation without being required to find work.
In response, the MAC’s chairman, Professor Brian Bell, declared that ‘there is no necessity to earn certain marks in your university course or anything like that.’
He went on to say that the subject they want to look into in the graduate program is if it makes sense to adopt a rule that requires students to earn a particular grade or level of success in their course.
Furthermore, the committee would consider whether to implement severe requirements forcing foreign students to attend specified institutions or finish specific courses to stay in the UK.
However, he added that there are now no limits, adding that someone may just lounge about and do nothing in the UK for two years if they have the money.
“You can also take a minimum wage job or you can take a very highly paid job,” he went on to say.
It should be remembered that when the two-year visa was adopted under Boris Johnson’s term, the MAC fiercely opposed it, instead proposing a six-month extension after graduation during which students would be forced to either find work or leave the country.
Furthermore, Professor Bell regarded the visa as an appealing selling feature for attracting students, which might enhance university finances. He did, however, indicate that the MAC is considering restricting it to highly trained graduate professionals exclusively.
