Call for reintroduction of post-study work visa by Universities UK

September 04, 2018

Commenting, Alp Mehmet, Vice Chairman of Migration Watch UK, said:

There is absolutely no reason why international students should be allowed to stay on even to stack shelves in a supermarket. The last time this was investigated by the government in 2010 only 25% of those on such visas were known to be in skilled work.

Note to Editors

• As Universities UK acknowledges. the UK remains one of the most popular destinations in the world for international students (second only to the US).
• The number of international applicants for study visas at UK universities has risen by 18% since the year ending June 2012 (from 154,200 to 182,200 in the year ending June 2018).
• A 2010 UK Border Agency operational assessment revealed that a larger proportion of Tier 1 (post-study work) visa holders (29%) were in unskilled jobs such as shop assistants than were known to be in skilled jobs (25%). It was ‘unclear’ what type of work had been obtained by the remaining 46%.
• Read our paper: ‘International Students and Post Study Work - Do employers need them?’, 2015.