The Graduate Visa allows international students to stay in the UK for two to three years and to stay in the UK to work or search for work after leaving university.

On a Graduate Visa, students can work in any job role or look for work in any sector.

When the government first introduced the current Graduate Visa route in 2019, Priti Patel, who was the Home Secretary at the time said: “The new Graduate Route will mean talented international students, whether in science and maths or technology and engineering, can study in the UK and then gain valuable work experience as they go on to build successful careers.

“It demonstrates our global outlook and will ensure that we continue to attract the best and brightest.”

The scheme, which welcomes international students to stay and work in the country after the successful completion of their studies, was celebrated by businesses, students and universities when it was first announced in 2019. 

At that point the UK saw a spike in the number of international students coming to the country, with a whopping 605,130 students arriving to study in the UK in 2020-2021 – which surpassed the 600,000 target ten years earlier than the scheme had anticipated. 

Since the Graduate Route was finally established in 2021, a total of 175,872 Graduate Visas have been granted.

In addition, research by the Association of Graduate Careers Advisory Services (AGCAS) in their 2023 report International Graduate Routes: Narratives from the UK job market, conducted among 345 international graduates found that 72% of Graduate Visa holders were in graduate-level employment.

Why is the Graduate Visa under threat? 

In December of last year, the government announced that they intended to review the Graduate Visa scheme after Home Secretary James Cleverly called for a “rapid review”, alleging that the system was “undermining the integrity and quality” of the UK Higher Education system.

In his letter commissioning the Migration Advisory Committee (MAC) to review the Graduate Visa by 14 May, Mr Cleverly said: “We recognise that UK universities’ reputation for quality could easily be put at risk if evidence emerges of immigration abuse or visa exploitation which are not tackled.

“We want to ensure the Graduate Route is not being abused. In particular, that some of the demand for study visas is not being driven more by a desire for immigration rather than education.”

Mr Cleverly’s announcement has sent universities into turmoil over fears that uncertainty over the Graduate Visa will lead to a sharp decrease in international student numbers

A survey by Universities UK (UUK) found that international student applications dropped by 40% this year. With tightened visa policies, international students who pay nearly twice as much as home students could be dissuaded from choosing the UK as a study destination due to uncertainty. 

At the same time, international students already studying in the UK, who chose UK universities with the promise of two years to work or look for jobs, have been sent into a panic. 

Expressing their concern about the “accelerated timeline” of the review, UUK commented: “Having publicly recommitted to the Graduate Route on its current terms in May 2023, any further changes would be extremely damaging to our reputation as a welcoming destination for international students, and risks undermining a UK success story that generates more than £20 billion a year in export earnings for the economy.”

A report by student recruitment firm AECC found that the policies are already affecting demand towards the UK as a study destination, with 40% of respondents saying that they are concerned about policy changes. 

Financial impact on universities 

Universities are expected to be hit hard if the scheme is altered with admission numbers already falling.

Jake Foster, chief commercial officer of AECC, told Times Higher Education that further changes to visa policies could lead to the “total collapse” of the educational sector which is reliant on international student tuition. 

He said: “Changes to the graduate visa policy affecting international students could cause irreversible harm to the UK’s higher education system.

“Modifications to graduate visa rules could result in thousands of job losses and force prominent UK institutions to drastically reduce their size or shut down.”

The review of the Graduate Visa scheme is part of a series of visa changes made to cut net immigration.

Starting this year, overseas care workers and senior care workers can no longer bring dependants to the UK. Last December, the Home Office also announced that the salary threshold for a Skilled Worker Visa would be raised by 48%, bringing the minimum salary requirement from £26,200 to £38,700.