UK government shrinks Graduate Route to 18 months; ‘regrettable’ says Indian student, alumni group

NEW DELHI: In a major policy decision, the United Kindgom (UK) government has shortened the Graduate Route visa period to 18 months. British Prime Minister Keir Starmer unveiled the Immigration White Paper today. Now, for international students, including those from India, the period of their post-study work visa route to stay in the country after completing a degree will shrink from 24 to 18 months.

Noting an increase in the number of students staying in the UK after studies, to almost 2,50,000 in 2024, the government said, “We have also seen a series of problems involving misuse and exploitation of student visas, where visas are used as an entry point for living and working in the UK without any intention to complete the course, and increasing numbers of asylum claims from students at the end of their course, even though nothing substantive has changed in their home country while they have been in the UK.” Students account for the largest proportion, at almost half (47%) of all asylum claims from visa holders.

Besides, several graduates are not moving into the graduate level roles for which the Graduate visa route was created, the UK government noted, and said, “for all these reasons we are setting out reforms which recognise the benefits that international students bring to the UK, help to share out these benefits, but which raise standards and compliance to prevent visa misuse and strengthen the requirements to work and contribute for those graduates who stay on after their courses have been completed.”

Also read ‘I cried every day’: Study-abroad student considered leaving the UK but staying changed his life

Indian students want better UK visa implementation

Though regretting the reduction of the period to 18 months, the National Indian Students and Alumni Union (NISAU) welcomed the government’s decision to retain the policy.

Demanding a careful, clear, and collaborative approach to the implementation of the visa policy, the student group said, “The National Indian Students and Alumni Union UK (NISAU) welcomes the Government’s decision to retain the Graduate Route and acknowledges the significant engagement that has taken place with stakeholders across the sector. NISAU has worked extensively over the past decade — and particularly intensively in the last year — with policymakers across all major political parties, including many now in government, to advocate for the continuation of this vital route.”

Citing reasons as to why the UK Graduate Route visa is important for the country’s growth, NISAU argued that not only foreign students bring innovation in UK’s universities and sustain local economies but also create ties between the UK and other countries. “They should be celebrated. They should not be treated through the same policy lens as other forms of migration. Doing so risks undermining one of the UK’s most globally admired assets: its higher education sector,” it said.

Supporting universities, which produce the high-skilled workforce, and the students choosing them should be the UK’s priority, the association thinks. It referred specifically to engineering and medicine courses which are booming, thanks to the fees paid by the students. It went on to explain that international students create employment opportunities not in contrast to the nationals but in their support.

“We reiterate — international students must be taken out of the net migration targets for purposes of robust policymaking,” NISAU asserted.

Also read Oxford to Harvard: How the world’s richest universities built billion-dollar academic empires

UK Graduate Route Visa: Clarity on who’s affected and how

“We deeply appreciate that the Government has listened to sector-wide concern and opted to retain the Graduate Route. The reduction to 18 months is regrettable, but it is far preferable to the more radical changes that had reportedly been under consideration,” the alumni group stated.

The post-study work visa policy has been under review to ‘prevent abuse and protect the integrity and quality of higher education in the UK’. A move that could impact Indian students in the UK who made 42 per cent of the 176,000 students granted a Graduate Route visa.

NISAU demanded immediate clarity on who’s affected and how by the decision and urged the UK government to act swiftly in order to avoid panic amongst students during this period which is peak recruitment season. The group has itself started evidence-based communications and expressed an interest in working with the government to guide students.

“We are concerned about the impact on Indian students — the largest users of the Graduate Route. For 70% of Indian students, a strong post-study work offer is the single most important factor in deciding where to study abroad. The ability to gain significant international work experience is critical. Our statement to the Migration Advisory Committee was duly noted in last year’s review of the Graduate Route — Work is not the same as work experience,” the students reflected.

Regulation of education agents

NISAU advocated for ‘tighter’ regulation of education agents asking about the penalisation process for misconduct, method for universities to share information transparently on breach, channels for students to report wrongdoing easily and safely.

The Indian student union recommend the following actions to ensure transparency and integrity:

• A sector-wide cap on agent commission to ensure that student interests are prioritised over volume incentives.
• Mandatory publication of agent appointment processes and the fees paid to each agent, after every intake, by universities
• Immediate monitoring of potential oligopolistic behaviours in the agent market.

Career support services, employability

Pointing out to the mushrooming of social media ‘career coaches’ that charge hefty fees from students, in the absence of structured university-led career support services, NISAU offered to join hands for providing employability support to graduates.

The group further asked the UK government to define ‘graduate-level employment’, engage with industry, universities, and student voices to ensure fairness, and avoid inadvertently disqualifying legitimate roles that reflect the evolving, interdisciplinary nature of today’s workforce.

“We welcome this opportunity to help shape the implementation of these reforms in a way that protects the UK’s global reputation, strengthens the student experience, and unlocks the full potential of international education,” NISAU further stated.