Prime Minister Rishi Sunak is believed to be considering plans to limit the UK's post-study visa scheme, which allows students to stay and work in the country for up to two years after graduating with their degree courses, in a bid to keep soaring legal migration figures at bay, amid strong opposition from his own Cabinet, a media report said on Sunday.
Plans to scrap the Graduate Route scheme are facing strong opposition in the Cabinet, sources told 'The Observer' newspaper, citing a move that has been central to luring Indian students to UK universities since it was introduced in 2021.
Downing Street is considering further restrictions, or even axing the route, despite the independent validation from the Migration Advisory Committee (MAC), which concluded that the scheme was not being abused and should be allowed to continue. The MAC also highlighted the route's role in preventing further financial losses to UK universities.
“Sunak is now finding himself caught between the demands of right-wingers with one eye on the Tory leadership and Conservative moderates who fear the consequences of a lurch to the right on the party’s reputation and election chances,” the newspaper quoted sources close to the dissenting ministers as saying.
Cabinet heavyweights such as Education Secretary Gillian Keegan, Chancellor Jeremy Hunt, and Foreign Secretary David Cameron are reportedly leading the charge to save the visa scheme amid warnings from university and business leaders that any curtailment of the post-study visa option would further dent the UK's appeal to international students, particularly Indians.
John Foster, Chief Policy and Campaigns Officer for the Confederation of British Industry (CBI), underlined the economic value of international students and called for clarity on the Graduate Visa's future in the same vein as Universities UK (UUK) did, demanding firm reassurance from the government.
“Studying at university is one of our biggest export successes. Attracting international students boosts local economies and losing competitiveness would put support for undergraduate teaching and innovation at risk,” said John Foster
“With the MAC finding that the Graduate Visa is achieving the government’s own policy objectives and is not being abused, it’s time to put its future beyond doubt and end this period of damaging speculation,” he said.
Professor Brian Bell, Chair of MAC, underlined that any restrictions would disproportionately affect Indian students, who make up a considerable proportion of the visas under the scheme granted. His views were echoed by Vignesh Karthik from the National Indian Students and Alumni Union, who represented NISAUK in strongly denouncing the review of the visa.
With an election year looming ahead, the Sunak government focuses on policy interventions to scale back both legal and illegal migration, with further curbs expected to come in the next quarterly immigration statistics.
In all of these steps, the macroeconomic equation of how best to balance migration numbers and keep the UK's international student destination attractiveness would be a balance that policymakers will continue to keep on their minds.
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