London:

The UK’s Graduate Route scheme popular with Indian students as a post-study work offer is safe for now as the government announced on Thursday that it will be kept “under review”, as it set out proposals to crack down on student visas to ensure they aren’t used as a “gateway to immigration”.

The measures followed the Office for National Statistics (ONS) revealing a 10 per cent fall in net migration, welcomed by British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak on the first official day of his campaign for a general election now set for July 4. Curbing migration, legal and illegal, is among the British Indian leader’s top priorities as he makes his case to the electorate.

“Since I became Prime Minister, net migration has fallen by 10 per cent. The plan is working. Let’s stick with it,” he said.

The Home Office pointed out that the ONS figures released this week do not take into account stricter visa rules on family dependents that were enforced earlier this year, pointing to a 25 per cent drop in visa applications since then.

Under further tougher measures, it said it will regulate the recruitment of international students, “cracking down on rogue recruitment agents” who encourage people to apply to British universities by mandating universities to sign up to a “stringent framework for agents’. Tougher compliance standards for institutions recruiting students from overseas will be introduced under which universities that accept international students who then fail to pass visa checks, enroll or complete their courses, will risk losing their sponsor licence.

“Applications are already falling sharply…but we must go further to make sure our immigration routes aren’t abused. That’s why we are cracking down on rogue international agents and, building on work across government, to ensure international students are coming here to study, not work,” said UK Home Secretary James Cleverly.

With reference to the Graduate Route, the Home Office took note of the independent Migration Advisory Committee’s (MAC) warning in a rapid review last week that rogue recruitment agents pose a threat to the system, with poor practices exploiting student and graduate visa holders who are “mis-sold” UK higher education.

Since migrants on the student route transition directly to the Graduate Route, immediate action is necessary, the Home Office said, adding that it also remains concerned that the scheme is not attracting the “highest earners who contribute to our economy” after an analysis from the tax department.

“New proposals will further crack down on student visas, ensuring only genuine students can come to the UK; [Graduate] Route will be kept under review,” the Home Office added.

This implies that the route is safe at least until the election, when a newly elected government will take a decision on its future course.

“We are absolutely delighted and very relieved that the UK government has taken the right decision to keep the Graduate Route as this is critical for Indian students. We are very pleased also that the focus will instead be on regulating agents,” said Sanam Arora, Chair of the National Indian Students and Alumni Union (NISAU) UK, which has been lobbying in favour of the post-study visa.

Among other measures planned, financial maintenance requirements will be raised, so international students will have to prove their financial self-sufficiency. The government said it is already reviewing English language assessments with the objective of standardising independent assessments, ensuring all international students are equipped with the skills to understand their course materials – or they shouldn’t expect a place at a UK university.

Restrictions on remote delivery will also ensure all overseas students are predominantly undertaking face-to-face courses, the Home Office said.

The latest set of proposals form part of the Sunak-led government’s overall plan to cut legal migration, which it says would mean 300,000 who arrived last year would be unable to do so under its tougher new rules.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

Britain’s Prime Minister Rishi Sunak.
| Photo Credit: Reuters

“Prime Minister Rishi Sunak is considering restrictions to the U.K.’s post-study visa which allows graduates to stay on and work for up to two years after their degree course as part of efforts to curb soaring legal migration figures despite strong opposition from some of his Ministers,” a report claimed on May 19.

According to ‘The Observer’ newspaper, Mr. Sunak is facing a Cabinet revolt over plans to scrap the Graduate Route scheme, the definitive factor for choosing U.K. universities among Indian students who have topped the tally of these post-study visas since it was launched in 2021.

Downing Street is said to be considering “further restricting or even ending” the route despite the independent Migration Advisory Committee (MAC) declaring it was not being abused and that it should continue as it helps U.K. universities make up for financial losses on the domestic front.

“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,” claims the newspaper, quoting sources close to Ministers who oppose scrapping the visa.

Mr. Sunak’s Education Secretary, Gillian Keegan, Chancellor Jeremy Hunt and Foreign Secretary David Cameron are among those in the Cabinet said to be leading a revolt over the issue. It comes as university and business chiefs have warned that any curtailment of the post-study offer would make the U.K. less attractive to overseas students, including Indians.

“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, Chief Policy and Campaigns Officer for the Confederation of British Industry (CBI).

“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.

Universities UK (UUK), the leading representative body for UK universities, has also called upon the government to end the “toxic” uncertainty caused by the government’s decision to review the visa route.

“We hope and expect that the government now listens to the advice they have been given and provides categorical reassurance that the Graduate visa is here to stay,” said UUK chief executive Vivienne Stern.

MAC Chair Professor Brian Bell, who concluded the rapid review into the scheme earlier this week, has said that “our evidence suggests that it’s the Indian students that will be most affected by any restriction on the Graduate Route”.

The influential committee which advises the U.K. government on migration found that Indians accounted for 89,200 visas between 2021 and 2023 or 42% of the overall grants, and the visa was stated as the “overwhelming decision point” for their choice of a higher education destination.

“The uncertainty caused by the review has been chaotic. We urge the government to accept the MAC’s findings and ensure the Graduate Route remains a stable and permanent fixture in the U.K.’s immigration system,” said Vignesh Karthik from the National Indian Students and Alumni Union (NISAU) UK.

In a general election year, expected in the coming months, the Sunak-led government sees curbing high legal and illegal migration figures as a priority area and with the latest set of quarterly immigration statistics due next week, further clampdowns are on the horizon.