UK to continue graduate visa route, plans clampdown on rogue hiring agents 

Tougher compliance standards for institutions recruiting students from overseas will be introduced.

The UK government has announced proposals to restrict “misuse” of study visas but has decided to continue with the graduate route and keeping it “under review” for now.

Earlier, the Migration Advisory Committee (MAC) set up by the British government found that the level of abuse in the UK’s graduate visa programme is very low. The Graduate Route allows international students to remain in the UK for up to two years (three years for PhD graduates) after completing their course, with opportunities to find work.

The fresh proposals would regulate the recruitment of international students, cracking down on rogue recruitment agents who encourage people to apply to British universities by mandating universities to sign up to a stringent framework for agents.

Tougher compliance standards for institutions recruiting students from overseas will be introduced. Those who accept international students who then fail to pass visa checks, enrol or complete their courses, will risk losing their sponsor licence.

The announcement comes as the latest statistics published by the Office for National Statistics (ONS) show net migration has dropped by 10 percent since 2022. However, these figures do not take into account changes made by the government which are expected to bring migration down further.

The latest figures since the changes came into effect show a 25 percent drop in visa applications. The Office for Budget Responsibility has previously forecast that net migration will halve from its 2022 peak in the next 12 months.

“We have taken decisive and necessary action to deliver the largest cut in legal migration in our country’s history. Applications are already falling sharply, down by almost a quarter on key routes in the first four months of this year compared to last, with the full impact of our package still to be seen,” said Home Secretary, James Cleverly.

The reforms form part of the government’s overall plan to cut legal migration, which would mean 3 lakh people who arrived last year would be unable to do so under the new rules.

“We believe the measures recommended will dissuade sub-agents from exploiting the student visa and GIR as a gateway to immigration while also holding the universities responsible for the agents they work with and the students they recruit,” said Suneet Singh Kochar, CEO and co-founder of Fateh Education, an international higher education consultant.