Special treatment for overseas students, including postgraduates, who come to the UK to study science, technology, engineering and mathematics wouldn’t fit with the government’s overall approach of simplifying immigration policy, a minister has said.
Answering questions from the House of Lords Science and Technology Committee at a hearing for its inquiry into international STEM students, immigration minister James Brokenshire said “the home secretary has been very clear on seeking to simplify the immigration process rather than to add different levels of complexity into it”.
At the hearing on 18 March, he also said there could be a case for ministers to look at the system for PhD students and the period of time they are given to find work if they wish to stay in the UK after the completion of their projects. “I will continue to reflect on these issues carefully,” Brokenshire said, before warning against “complicating the system”.
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