Japa: UK Reverses Plan To Cut Student Visa Duration

Under mounting pressure from senior cabinet members, UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak has yielded regarding proposed alterations to the Student Visa scheme.

Rishi Sunak had earlier planned on shortening or scrapping the period of time foreign students could stay in the country after completing their studies.

GWG.ng reports that due to the concerns raised by Foreign Secretary Lord Cameron, Chancellor Jeremy Hunt, Education Secretary Gillian Keegan, and Home Secretary James Cleverly, the period would remain valid.

This is against the agreement of former Home Secretary Suella Braverman and former immigration minister Robert Jenrick who on Tuesday referred to the graduate visa route as “a back door for foreign students to do low-wage work”.

Nevertheless, further steps will be taken, including the reinforcement of regulations within the British Degree Courses Market and the implementation of mandatory English proficiency tests for select international students, aligning with the most recent net migration statistics.

Since November, the UK government has been rolling out initiatives to control legal migration, prompted by findings from the Office of National Statistics revealing a net migration figure of 745,000 in 2022.

Among the actions taken are restrictions on foreign students bringing dependents and raising the income threshold for visa eligibility.

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