Right to remain

Confusion over graduate visas threatens to undermine the government’s message to international students

A couple of weeks ago, Kevin Foster, minister for future borders and immigration, made it clear that some international students who did not return to the UK by April might lose their eligibility for the Graduate Immigration Route. We were the only outlet to give it some (albeit brief) coverage at the time but, after seeing a letter sent by the universities minister to her Labour shadow this week, we feel it deserves another glance.

The much-trumpeted route, which was announced in 2019 and grants international students the right to remain in the UK for two years after completing their studies, is roundly seen as a good thing by most in higher education. In 2012, then home secretary Theresa May abolished the previous visa that allowed graduates to remain—much to the chagrin of universities—so the establishment of the Graduate Immigration Route was very welcome.