UK to allow foreign students to stay for two years after graduation to find work

[snoop1130]

UK to allow foreign students to stay for two years after graduation to find work

 

FILE PHOTO: Warwick University graduates on the day of their graduation ceremony in Warwick, Britain July 17, 2017. REUTERS/Russell Boyce

 

LONDON (Reuters) - International students will be able to stay in Britain looking for work for up to two years after they graduate under new rules announced by the government on Wednesday.

 

Under current rules, introduced by former prime minister Theresa May when she was interior minister, students are only allowed to stay for four months after they finish their degree.

 

“The important contribution international students make to our country and universities is both cultural and economic. Their presence benefits Britain,” Education Secretary Gavin Williamson said in a statement.

 

“Our universities thrive on being open global institutions. Introducing the graduate route ensures our prestigious higher education sector will continue to attract the best talent from around the world to global Britain.”

 

The government said the new graduate route would enable students to work, or look for work, at any skill level. They could then switched to a skilled work visa if they found a job that met the requirements.

 

There will not be a cap on the number of students who can apply for the graduate route, it said. There are about 450,000 international students a year studying in Britain.

 

It will apply to those who start an undergraduate level or above course from next year in any subject at “a trusted UK university or higher education provider which has a proven track record in upholding immigration checks”.

 

“About time. Should have reversed this silly policy years ago. Britain should always be open to the best talent from across the world,” finance minister Sajid Javid said on Twitter.

 

But with concerns over levels of immigration a key driver behind Britain’s 2016 vote to leave the European Union, the move was not universally welcomed.

 

Migration Watch, which campaigns for less immigration, said it was a “retrograde step” which would lead to foreign students staying in Britain to carry out low-skilled jobs.

 

“The government only seems to come up with ideas for how to increase immigration,” it said on Twitter.

 

“Our universities are attracting a record number of overseas students. There is no need to devalue a study visa by turning it into a backdoor route for working here.”

 

-- © Copyright Reuters 2019-09-11

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[7by7]

Can the government now undo some of May's other rulings from when she was Home Secretary?

 

I can think of some places to start, for example:

• the iniquitous financial requirement for family migrants of British citizens,
• family application fees being set at 5, 6 even 8 times the cost of processing and
• the overseas fees having to be paid in USD at an exchange rate very favourable to HMG thus increasing this already exorbitant fee by as much as 5%. 

[Baerboxer]

Quite right to appeal one of May's stupid decisions.

 

But why aren't the government commenting on why the existing laws applying to free movement in the EU, regarding having a job and sufficient funds so as not to be a burden on the new country moving to, aren't seemingly being rigorously enforced and have never apparently been?

 

Could it be that the "hordes of unemployed EU citizens sponging on the generous UK benefits system" is actually an urban myth? A myth exploited by some politicians for their own agendas?

 

And might it be that leaving the EU won't do diddly squat about all those non EU economic migrants, many of whom entered illegally to start with. 

 

Politicians have deliberately mislead the electorate on immigration for years for their own political agendas. And because it's easier to pass the blame to something from outside, many people accept it.

 

The policing of immigrants in the UK by the Home Office leaves a lot to be desired.

[placnx]

After May became Home Secretary she suddenly put out an edict requiring quite high level English for people (maybe meaning Pakistanis) to get a visa to study English in the UK. As a result of this Catch-22 many language schools were undermined. I don't know what happened after that, since I gave up the idea of helping a Tibetan exit Tibet (temporarily) this way.

 

This is a good assessment of May's record as Home Secretary:

https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2016/jul/18/what-does-theresa-mays-record-as-home-secretary-tell-us

Regarding education immigration, scroll down to

Boris is proposing adding 20000 policemen. May reduced policing by 30000:

https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2019/07/05/theresa-may-disastrous-home-secretary-prime-minister-policing/

 

When the Referendum decided "leave", I was appalled  by the idea of May as PM, realizing that it would be a monumental nightmare dictated by Madame Catch-22, i.e. May!!!

 

If Boris had been PM back then, perhaps the EU and Ireland would have been unable to pass responsibility back and forth in order to prevent a solution to the Irish border, since there would have been adequate time to work out a solution. Instead we had a dilatory minuet between May and her remainer cohort on the one hand and, on the other, EU actors determined to sabotage the outcome for the first defector from the U.S.E. project [U.S.E. = United States of Europe] 

 

If needed I will further explain the bad faith game that Ireland and EU played in order to entangle the UK in this horror which the EU may one day fairly soon sorely regret.

[Chomper Higgot]

18 hours ago, 7by7 said:

Can the government now undo some of May's other rulings from when she was Home Secretary?

 

I can think of some places to start, for example:

• the iniquitous financial requirement for family migrants of British citizens,
• family application fees being set at 5, 6 even 8 times the cost of processing and
• the overseas fees having to be paid in USD at an exchange rate very favourable to HMG thus increasing this already exorbitant fee by as much as 5%. 

The Government are not at all concerned over the impact of their regulations on expats and their families.

 

They are addressing the concerns of the lucrative university sector and the need for immigrant workers in the aftermath of Brexit (if it happens).

[BritManToo]

27 minutes ago, placnx said:

the first defector from the U.S.E. project [U.S.E. = United States of Europe] 

I prefer USSE = United Socialist State of Europe.