London
A proposed UK government review of the Graduate Route visa allowing overseas students a two-year post-study work option dominated by Indian students will analyze whether it is operating in the best interests of Britain by retaining high-skilled talent, a new independent report into migration indicated on Wednesday.
The Migration Advisory Committee (MAC), which advises the UK government on its visa policies, said that it is awaiting a formal Home Office commission following an announcement in Parliament last week by Home Secretary James Cleverly that the Graduate Route would be reviewed “to prevent abuse and protect the integrity and quality of UK higher education”.
Since it was enforced by former home secretary Priti Patel in July 2021, 42 percent of the 176,000 students granted a Graduate Route visa were Indian nationals – which means any changes to this category will have a significant impact on Indians.
“I wouldn’t like to get into exactly what they (Home Office) are going to ask us to look at but there are a range of options there,” MAC Chair Professor Brian Bell told reporters in a virtual media briefing.
“At the moment, essentially, there’s no restriction on what you can do (under the Graduate Route); if you’ve got the money, you can just sit around and do nothing in the UK for two years. You could restrict it to certain types of jobs or certain types of activities that you would choose and also limit it in terms of what universities you went to, and what courses you did if you wanted to limit it… I’m not saying that would be something that the committee would recommend, but it will be something we will certainly consider in an overall review,” he said.
