UK re-introduces 2-year-work visa for international students
Boris Johnson, the UK Prime Minister, has announced the return of the two-year post-study work visa for international students.
The new immigration route announced on Wednesday will mean graduates in any subject will once again be able to stay in the UK for two years to find work after they graduate.
Currently, most international students reading bachelor’s and master’s degrees can stay and work for only four months.
The new immigration route will be available to international students who have successfully completed a course in any subject at undergraduate level or higher level at a Higher Education Provider which has a proven track record in upholding immigration checks and other rules on studying in the UK.
Students will need to have Tier 4 leave at the point the route is introduced. This includes students who start courses in 2020/21 at undergraduate level or above.
The new route enables eligible students to work or look for work, at any skill level, for two years after they graduate before needing to convert to another visa or having to leave the country.
In 2011 Theresa May, when home secretary, abolished the two-year post-study work visa that had made Britain an attractive place for international students, saying it was ‘too generous’. That led to a sharp drop in students going to Britain.
The move reverses a decision made in 2012 by then-Home Secretary Theresa May that forced overseas students to leave four months after finishing a degree.
Prime Minister Boris Johnson said the change would see students "unlock their potential" and begin careers in the UK.
But campaign group Migration Watch called it a "retrograde" step.
The change will apply to students who start courses at undergraduate level or above from next year onwards.
They must be studying at an institution with a track record in upholding immigration checks.
The government's announcement coincides with the launch of a £200m genetics project at the UK Biobank, a charity and health resource that contains information and samples from 500,000 people.
The UK Biobank collected DNA samples and health questionnaire information from 500,000 British volunteers over several years and is now open to researchers from anywhere in the world who want to use those resources to develop new treatments for diseases.
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