The Future of Student Visas

Executive summary Getting immigration under control must be the first and main priority of any new government. The problem now lies not merely in illegal immigration, which the current government has liked to make a big show of tackling, but the legal routes to entry that have allowed the immigrant population to explode and become […]

Student immigration to the UK

Key points Introduction 1. The UK’s higher education product is a major export and an important component of soft power. It is important to have a viable study visa route into the UK. However, it is also important to keep numbers at reasonable levels and prevent a repetition of the wide-ranging abuse that has occurred […]

Student immigration to the UK

Key points Introduction 1. The UK’s higher education product is a major export and an important component of soft power. It is important to have a viable study visa route into the UK. However, it is also important to keep numbers at reasonable levels and prevent a repetition of the wide-ranging abuse that has occurred […]

Risks of reviving the defective post-study work route

Summary 1. Until this year, non-EU students (who account for seven in ten overseas students in higher education[1]) have been restricted to a job search of up to six months after graduation before switching into a skilled work visa – the grant of which required a job offer, a minimum salary level and a resident […]

MW407 : Summary of the Tier 5 (Youth Mobility) Scheme | Migration Watch UK

1. Tier 5 is for those allowed to work in the UK for a limited period of time to satisfy primarily non-economic objectives. It is split into two routes – Youth Mobility and Temporary Workers. The Youth Mobility visa was introduced in November 2008 to replace the Working Holiday visa and allows participants to live […]

MW387 : The Vanishing Students from Outside the EU | Migration Watch UK

Summary 1. Much attention has been paid to the apparent failure of the government to reduce non-EU migration. However, it would seem that this is very largely due to the significant number of students who have remained in the UK, legally or otherwise. 2. Non-EU net migration has averaged 172,000 in the last ten years, […]