International students hit hard by visa changes

In an attempt to attract only the most talented international students and to curb immigration figures, the UK Border Agency announced a host of reforms which will make it tougher for non-EU students to stay and work in the United Kingdom after the end of their degree.

On March 22, the Home Secretary announced significant changes to the Tier-4 student visa point-based system and completely scrapped the post-study work scheme in response to alleged ‘widespread abuse of the system’. The post-study work visa, which allows university students to remain in the UK for two years after graduating, will no longer be acknowledged after April 2012.

For Warwick’s international students graduating in 2011/12 and on this will certainly be a hard-hitting immigration reform as they will be forced to apply directly for the Tier-2 work permit – a visa extremely difficult to obtain. To get this work permit, non-EU finalists will have to have a job offer in hand before they graduate. To make matters worse, the job offer will have to conform to specific salary, age and qualification requirements.

Scrapping the post-study work visa, while the most relevant and devastating, is only one of a plethora of changes introduced by the UK Border Agency. Others include a major cut to the number of Tier-4 student visas issued, introduction of English exams for some schools and a requirement to show clear academic progression when applying for another course. Also, with the exception of those doing a PhD course no shorter than 12 months, students will not be allowed to bring dependents with them to the United Kingdom.

“Thank God I am graduating this year,” confesses final year Economics student Amiko Kavkasidze, “but I wish all the luck to future graduates – they will need it. Knowing that I had two years to find work after my degree made it much easier to focus on my studies and because of it, the work application process was significantly less stressful”. His is the last graduating class which will have the opportunity to benefit from the post-study work scheme.

The only visible silver lining for Warwick’s sizable international student body is the government’s decision to abolish the ‘resident labour market test’. This means that EU and UK applicants will not get prioritised in the application process.

However, according to government sources, the reforms adopted by the UK Border Agency were considerably less stringent than originally intended. This is due, in large, to the lobbying efforts of top-tier business and universities including Warwick. Most reforms will be implemented within 12-18 months from the announcement.