Image: Alexnevzorov [CC BY-SA 3.0], via Wikimedia Commons
Donelan confirms go-ahead for graduate visa but UUK calls for more information on digital starts
Universities are urging the government to reassure international students enrolling online with a UK university next year will not disqualify them from the two-year post-study work visa.
Vice-chancellors’ body Universities UK called on the government to give prospective international students confidence they will still be eligible for the graduate visa, warning that the UK “risks losing them to overseas competitors” without more clarity.
UUK’s comments came after universities minister Michelle Donelan told the British Council’s Going Global conference the two-year post-study work visa will come into force in summer 2021. During the 5 June webinar, she added that immigration rules will be “as flexible as they can be” to make sure students “do not have to jump through hoops to come here” this autumn.
“I want to be utterly clear…students who start UK courses from this autumn onwards will be able to benefit from [the graduate visa] and we look forward to them doing so,” she said.
Donelan also announced the appointment of outgoing University of Exeter vice-chancellor Steve Smith as its international education champion, tasked with boosting the number of international students in the UK. The government wants to recruit 600,000 international students per year by 2030 as part of its international education strategy.
UUK warned that many international students are “indecisive about their study plans” for next year, as the coronavirus pandemic means many will have to start their studies online. An expected drop in the number of international students enrolling with UK universities from September could see institutions lose millions of pounds.
UUK president Julia Buckingham said international students must be given assurances that starting their degree online “will not penalise them now or in the future,” stressing the visa application window should be extended from three to six months allowing students more time to apply.
Buckingham said the rules allowing students with Tier 4 study visas to study partially online should be extended to allow for the blended approach being planned by universities. “We have a short window to convince undecided applicants that they can plan with confidence to study in the UK this autumn. This needs action by government as well as universities,” she added.