Should the rules on foreign student visas be tightened further? (Image: Getty)
There is growing fury over the university graduate visa being considered a “backdoor” immigration route due to foreign students being able to stay in the UK for two years after they finish their degree - reagrdless of how they are spending their time in Britain.
The Migration Advisory Committee rejected calls this week to abolish the entry route, with its report finding there is no evidence that it is being “abused” or “undermining” the integrity of degrees.
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The government, which requested the review, said it was considering the findings and would respond "in due course". It introduced tougher rules for international students this year which it said aimed to help "slash migration".
Universities are increasingly dependent on international students, who pay higher fees than those from the UK. They are concerned further restrictions could put off applicants and leave universities without that funding.
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However, foreign students said they were told “outright lies” by third-party agents, who were “mis-selling the UK as an immigration destination as opposed to an education destination”, according to the report.
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Take-up of the visas is largely concentrated among four nationalities - India, Nigeria, China and Pakistan - which account for 70 percent of graduate visas, with India accounting for more than 40 percent of this total.
Former Immigration Minister Robert Jenrick said: “A university place should be for study. But the graduate route is a backdoor for foreign students to do low-wage work.
“The huge increases are concentrated in lower ranked unis, with a sharp drop in Russell Group attendance. So this route isn’t attracting top talent either.
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Mr Jenrick added: “We urgently need to unwind the sector’s growing dependency on foreign students. The graduate route should be scrapped and we must fundamentally rethink our International Education Strategy.
“If these universities are selling good quality education to students, they have nothing to fear by the graduate route being scrapped. However, if their business model is premised on the ability to work in the UK with no minimum salary requirements, then that needs to change.”
Prof Brian Bell, who chairs the Migration Advisory Committee, told the BBC the visa attracted international students who wanted to earn back some of the money they have spent on fees or get work experience.
He said universities were underfunded and less income from international student fees would mean course closures for both international and domestic students, with STEM subjects hit the hardest.
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