Visa for international graduates should remain, according to report

A report has found no significant evidence that a post-study visa for international students is being "abused".

The Migration Advisory Committee (MAC) stated that the visa is a significant draw for students to the UK and should continue.

If this visa were to be discontinued, universities would face a loss of income from international students' fees and might have to cut courses, the MAC indicated.

The government, which commissioned the review, said it was considering the findings and would respond "in due course".

This year, the government introduced stricter regulations for international students, claiming these measures were intended to help "reduce migration".

Universities are increasingly reliant on international students, who pay higher tuition fees than domestic students.

There are concerns that additional restrictions could deter applicants, leaving universities without crucial funding.

The visa, introduced in 2021 as part of a strategy to attract the "brightest and best" students globally, does not require applicants to have a job or a specific salary to qualify.

Last year, 114,000 graduate-route visas were issued to international students, along with 30,000 for their dependents, the report noted.

Professor Brian Bell, chair of the MAC, told the BBC that the visa attracts international students who wish to recoup some of their tuition costs or gain work experience.

He mentioned that universities are underfunded, and a decrease in income from international student fees could result in the closure of courses for both international and domestic students.

STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics) subjects, particularly at lower-ranked universities outside London and the South East, would suffer the most, he said.

Professor Bell noted that the government's International Education Strategy, which aims for 600,000 international students annually in the UK, does not appear to have widespread support within the government.

He added that new regulations limiting the number of dependents allowed to accompany international students significantly affected student numbers.

When asked if the government might be disinclined to alter the graduate route visa if numbers were already decreasing, Professor Bell said, "The hard work has already been done in some sense."

He was uncertain if the government intended to change the visa but noted that any changes would require addressing higher education funding.

The government has not suggested it is considering abolishing the visa, but Home Secretary James Cleverly asked the MAC to review whether it was being "abused".

The MAC found no substantial evidence of abuse.

Mr Cleverly also asked the MAC to examine the types of jobs those on the graduate route take up, suggesting that most who transitioned from the graduate visa to a skilled-worker visa entered care work, which was "clearly not what the government intended."

However, the MAC reported that this data was inaccurate, with about 20% entering care work.

Approximately half of the first cohort of graduate visa holders transitioned to skilled-work visas, mostly in skilled roles.

Universities UK, representing over 140 institutions, welcomed the report and urged the government to confirm the visa's continuation.

Vivienne Stern, its chief executive, said, "We understand the political pressure to reduce migration," but recent restrictions had already had a "significant effect."

International students can no longer bring family members unless they are on research courses or have government-funded scholarships, a change expected to reduce the number of students coming to the UK this year, according to the report.

"Going further would be a serious mistake," Ms Stern warned.

Professor Jane Harrington, vice chancellor of the University of Greenwich and chair of the University Alliance, said the MAC was "right to highlight the damage [the restrictions], and the freeze on home-student tuition fees, is doing to UK higher education".

The report also expressed concern that agents recruiting international students might be "mis-selling UK higher education".