UK varsities group calls for new post-study visa to attract Indian students
An influential representative body for the UK's leading universities on Tuesday called for a new post-study visa in an attempt to address a massive fall in international student numbers from countries like India.
The UK scrapped its poststudy work visa in 2012, which had allowed international students from countries like India to stay in the UK and work for up to two years after graduation.
Prof Steve Smith, Chair of Universities UK's International Policy Network, said the "dominant reason" quoted by Indian students for choosing other overseas education destinations was the lack of an attractive poststudy work option.
Smith, who is the ViceChancellor of University of Exeter, warned that the UK is in danger of losing its position as one of the world's leading destinations for international students unless a "more welcoming message" was sent out.
“The issue of post-study has loomed large. We think the UK is missing out on students looking to study overseas,” Smith said.
“We think our proposal is a win-win; a win for students, universities and businesses across all regions of the UK,” he said, adding that the timing of the proposal was crucial as Britain works out its post-Brexit positioning in the world.
The new temporary ‘Global Graduate Talent Visa’, which will allow qualified international students to work in a skilled job in the UK for a period of two years after graduation, was mooted as UK university chiefs gathered for their annual conference in Sheffield this week.
The UK scrapped its post-study work visa in 2012, which had allowed international students from countries like India to stay in the UK and work for up to two years after graduation
They highlighted the US and Canada offers a poststudy option of three years, Australia four years and New Zealand three years as part of recent changes to its immigration policy.
According to recent figures, the number of Indian students coming to the UK dropped from a peak of nearly 24,000 a year in 2010-11 to a low of around 9,000 a year in 2015-16. London Mayor Sadiq Khan also recently wrote to the UK Home Office calling for better post-study options to prevent this downward spiral.
Universities UK, with a membership of the country's 136 leading universities, says its new visa proposal will involve all higher education institutions registered as Tier 4 sponsors in the country being able to sponsor their graduates to search for and gain work experience in the UK for up to two years.