International students would be more likely to study in the UK if they were allowed to stay and work for three years instead of two, a survey suggests.
Foreign students have been able to stay and work in the UK for two years after completing their course from 2019, when the government reinstated the two-year work visa after studies after years of pressure from universities.
Vivienne Stern, director of Universities UK International, said the chancellors wanted the government to review whether two-year visa forms were “a barrier to hiring international graduates” and ensure the UK had a “post-graduate job offer”. competitive. “
The change would bring the UK closer to the Australian approach, which offers foreign graduates a post-study work visa of up to four years, depending on their course and level of study. In 2018, Australia surpassed the UK as the second most popular destination for international students after the US.
A survey of 100,000 international students by QS education analysts showed that two-thirds would be more likely to consider studying in the UK if the post-study work visa were extended.
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The two-year visa was revoked by then-Home Secretary Theresa May in 2012 in an attempt to curb immigration. However, the survey suggested that less than one-fifth of students would plan to stay beyond the age of three.
Instead of reducing immigration, universities warned that the abolition of the post-study work visa in 2012 had hampered the recruitment of international students. Since it was reinstated, institutions say they have been able to reach the goal of recruiting 600,000 international students a year a decade earlier.
In addition to providing a significant revenue stream for UK universities, a recent survey estimated that international students benefit the UK economy by £ 26 billion each year.
The report urges the government to review policies and restrictions “to help stimulate further growth in the post-pandemic sector and position Britain after Brexit as an equally welcoming destination for international students as its main competitors” .
An extension would be especially appealing to Indian students, with almost three-quarters (73%) saying three years would make them much more likely to consider the UK. The number of Indian students who chose to study in the UK has fallen sharply since the abolition of the two-year post-study work visa in 2012, and has quadrupled since it was reinstated.
Allowing more Indian students to study in British institutions is a priority for the Indian government, and higher education is expected to take a prominent place in an upcoming UK ministerial visit to India on June 6 to discuss an agreement commercial.
An Interior Ministry spokesman said job offers after cross-country studies were not “directly comparable and we believe ours achieves the right balance”.
She said: “Those on the postgraduate route can stay in the UK and look for work at any skill level for a period of two years, or three years for those with a PhD, and switch to routes skilled work if they find a suitable job. ”