Suella Braverman plans to cut Post-Study Visa Duration

Suella Braverman and the Department of Education are at odds over her proposal to reduce the amount of time that international students can stay in the UK after finishing their course.

Under Braverman’s proposal, it is believed that the new Graduate Visa route will reduce the time for international students to find employment.

The current student visa gives international graduates the opportunity to remain in the country to look for a job and acquire experience for up to two years without the necessity of a concrete job offer.

A proposal to “reform” the Graduate Visa pathway has reportedly been developed by the Home Secretary.

According to reports, new visa rules will require students to get a work visa by finding skilled employment or leave the UK after six months.

It has been reported that the UK Department for Education (DfE) is seeking to oppose the reforms because they believe it would reduce the UK’s appeal to overseas students.

According to a government source who supports Suella Braverman’s proposal, students taking short courses at “less respectable universities” are increasingly using the Graduate Visa.

The source believes “it’s being used as a backdoor immigration route”.

The DfE contends that the two-year Graduate Visa, sometimes known as the UK’s post-study offer, was comparable to most of Britain’s top rivals, except the US, which only offered a one-year visa.

The Office for National Statistics (ONS) revealed that Indians surpassed Chinese students as the largest cohort in 2022.

Additionally, Indians dominated the new Graduate Visa route – which was launched in July 2021 – receiving 41% of all issued visas.

According to reports, Prime Minister Rishi Sunak ordered the Home Office and the DfE to submit plans for lowering the number of international students coming to the UK.

Suella Braverman’s proposal is one of many that were developed in response.

As per data released in recent weeks, 680,000 international students are studying in the UK in 2023 so far.

A goal of 600,000 students by 2030 was part of the government’s 2019 Higher Education Strategy, and it was achieved in 2022.

A government official said: “Our points-based system is designed to be flexible according to the UK’s needs, including attracting top-class talent from across the world to contribute to the UK’s excellent academic reputation and to help keep our universities competitive on the world stage.

“We keep all our immigration policies under constant review to ensure they best serve the country and reflect the public’s priorities.”