Home Secretary Priti Patel recently announced  a change in the UK’s student immigration policy. The new policy allows students who begin their studies in an accredited undergraduate or graduate program, from 2020/21 and beyond, to stay in the UK after they graduate for up to 2 years on a post-study work visa. Home Secretary Patel’s stated goal is to expand the number of skilled international students working in the UK after their studies end, however, the policy arbitrarily excludes students who are currently studying or are set to graduate in 2019/2020.

Unfortunately, this leaves tens of thousands of current students (or those still under a student visa but recently graduated) with very few options; either they have to leave the UK within months of graduation, or find an employer who is willing to apply for a tier 2 visa for them. These students have been contributing to the UK’s economy, diversity, innovation, and social cohesion, but many feel that their contributions are not appreciated because they are being treated differently than students who start their studies in 2020 potentially. 

According to the Higher Education Policy Institute international students contribute over £22 billion to the UK economy, greatly exceeding the cost of housing these students (under £3 billion). International students are often entrepreneurs, work in highly sought after specializations that the UK government has stated they need to attract (IT security, Machine learning etc), develop new technology, and have countless other positive impacts, but without the ability to stay in the UK after their studies, many of these students will take their talents elsewhere. This is especially disappointing as many of the students who intend to work in the UK, consider it to be their home.

Crucially, we are not arguing for a change in policy, the UK government has already stated that they will be allowing students who graduate from universities in the UK to be able to stay and work in the UK post graduation. Instead, we are asking for the policy to be expanded to current students so they are not left behind, forcing them to go through a dramatically more laborious process than students who by chance happened to start university in the UK later than them.

We ask that the UK Home Office consider the anxiety that their arbitrary policy has caused for students who are graduating in 2019/2020, and the significant loss to the UK that will occur if these skilled job seekers are not afforded the same opportunities as other students.