Despite their hopes of creating a better life in the UK, some international students are being left financially and emotionally crippled by changes to the Graduate Visa.
The two-year long visa has provided many international students with an extra layer of stability that is attractive to UK employers. However, other students, who have already paid all of the upfront costs, have had to return to their home country owing to the UK’s job crisis.
The visa allows international graduates to stay in the UK for up to two years after completing their studies. But in order to stay in the UK after these two years, graduates are then expected to find an employer who can afford to sponsor a Skilled Worker Visa.
After graduating from her Masters in Digital Heritage in 2022, Eliza Joy Hibionada has been able to create a new life for herself in the UK.
Eliza originally came to the UK to study a Masters in International Relations at the University of Glasgow in 2015 when the international students were given only six months to find a job that would sponsor their work visa. She had to go back to her home in America after being unable to find a job within the six month period.
After studying for her second Masters at the University of York in 2021, Eliza was able to stay in the country this time. The government had extended the Graduate Visa to last two years.
She said: “What got me the job a lot sooner was the Graduate Visa. When I was interviewing for jobs, they were concerned about how I was going to stay in the UK past my student visa. I told them about the Graduate Visa and that’s why I got the job.
“If I didn’t have it, or if it was non-existent, I think I probably would’ve gone home.”
The extended Graduate Visa offers extra stability for both students and employers. She said: “Security is really a massive factor in decision-making for employers to accept you.”
Alongside higher course fees, when applying for the Graduate Visa, international students face a variety of upfront costs. In addition to the £822 application fee, international students are expected to pay a healthcare surcharge, which can range from £1,000 to £3,000 depending on how long a student is planning to stay in the UK.
What many UK residents don’t realise is that international students are responsible for a lot of NHS funding. According to Universities UK’s analysis of new data, only 3% of the British public realise the economic contribution that international students make to the NHS through the surcharge every year.
These fees have slowly been increasing over the last few years making it more difficult for international students to apply for a visa. Eliza added: “It was already difficult to find a job to sponsor you because the fees are massive but now that they’ve increased it even more, it’s now even more difficult to find a sponsor.”
Aside from the financial benefits that international students bring to the UK, they also open up opportunities for people to share their culture. The rich variety of multicultural societies that universities are home to allow students to become more open-minded.
Eliza said: “It provides diversity. I think a community can only grow when it’s a melting pot because the greatest minds come from all over the world. It’s not just coming from one country.
“Culturally, it’s different here than it is in America or from here, versus China or India, so we can definitely help and teach each other because it’s also about broadening our horizons and opening our minds to other perspectives.
“Whether we like to admit it or not, the world is changing and the world is evolving. We cannot stay back in the 1800s or 1900s and that single narrow-minded way of thinking things.
“Sharing cultures not only helps us grow as individuals but as a community as well.”
A lot of university societies are run by international students and revolve around sharing culture. With fewer international students considering studying in the UK, the social side of university life could be damaged.
Hesandi Jayasekara, a graduate from Sri Lanka, explained the importance of having cultural societies and how interacting with international students is enriching for everyone involved.
She said: “Discouraging international students from coming to the UK, it’s going to mostly impact the community because I know a lot of people who come to other countries to build their community and also people from that country, they love meeting people from other countries.”
The Labour MP for Sheffield Central, Paul Blomfield, has been vocal about his support for university students in the area and across the UK. When asked about what restricting access to the Graduate Visa says about the current government, he said: “They’re sending out a message and it is not a reflection of where our universities are or where our communities are – that they’re not welcome in the country. And that’s absolutely not the case.”
Mr Blomfield expressed how by being welcoming to international students, the UK not only is enriched culturally, but it helps to solidify our relationships with cities around the world.
The Government’s plans to make it harder for international students to stay in the UK after studying will not only discourage them from applying to university but will affect those currently in the UK.
When asked about how possibly removing the Graduate Visa would affect people, Eliza said: “I think it’s a disservice to all of the international students. We’re helping the economy. We’re helping put money into the country, may it be through jobs, through something as simple as buying groceries or buying a car.
The country is being funded by international students. So getting rid of the Graduate Visa would just be a massive disservice to all the students that are here.”
However, unlike Eliza’s success story, other students have not been so lucky.
Despite paying all of the upfront costs for a Graduate Visa, Hesandi had to go back to Sri Lanka after struggling to find a job.
She said: “I do have a Graduate Visa but when I tell employers, they won’t really consider you over a local student because they don’t want to sponsor your visa afterwards.
“It was definitely not sustainable for me to stay in the UK because there was no opportunity to actually have a proper job.”
Originally, Hesandi was going to stay in the UK for two years on the visa and work to be able to fund a Masters course. However, with visas costing more for students and employers, this option is no longer viable. Many students, including Hesandi, are now considering other countries to complete their studies.
Hesandi added: “A lot of the international students are from Asian countries and they only come to the UK because they think they have an opportunity to stay.
“There are other countries who give that opportunity so why would students not go there instead?”
