Respond to Government proposals to reduce student immigration

The new coalition Government in the UK is seeking to reduce net migration to the UK and has proposed a number of measures which will affect the permission of international students and graduates to work in the UK . These measaures include a proposal to close the Post Study Work visa (PSW) scheme which has been very popular with international students and graduates. Institutions AND individuals are being offered an opportunity to raise concerns by responding to the proposals as part of a consultation process which ends on 31st of January 2011.

You can read about the proposed changes and submit your response at:

http://www.ukba.homeoffice.gov.uk/sitecontent/documents/policyandlaw/consultations/students/

It would be advisable to submit a complete proforma response even if you have to say don’t know to some questions. Otherwise there may be a danger of your views not being taken into consideration. I have included some background information on some of the careers-related questions below:

Key background information regarding the current rules around student immigration

For Q9: What changes do you think we should make to the Tier 1 Post Study Work route?
Currently the Tier 1 Post Study Work route enables an international student to apply to work in the UK after their studies for up to 2 years. The Government proposes to close the Tier 1 Post Study Work route completely but also invites views on any transitional arrangements or on restricting it in some form e.g. to those with a higher degree such as a PhD.
It is also worth noting that in November the Government announced changes to Tier 1 General and Tier 2 Skilled Worker which also limit the routes by which international graduates can remain in the UK to work and also the numbers who could do so. From 1 April the Tier 1 General route will be abolished and there will be an overall reduction in the number of non EEA nationals who will be able to apply to come to the UK to work under the Tier 2 Sponsored Skilled worker category. Here is a link to information on those proposed changes: http://www.ukba.homeoffice.gov.uk/sitecontent/newsfragments/35-t1-t2-annual-limits

In your response you might consider the following points:

• Should current students who are due to graduate in 2011 be allowed to apply for PSW as they were actively encouraged to come to the UK with a promise of a right to work on graduation?
• Would you have chosen to invest in the UK if you knew there was not going to be access to PSW?

For Q10: Do you think that we should restrict further the amount of work students should be allowed to undertake while studying?
Currently non-EEA students on degree level courses are allowed to work 20 hours per week during term time and unlimited hours during vacation. The definition of "term time" is dependent on individual institutions.

The Government proposes that Students should only be allowed to work on campus during the week and to work ‘as many hours as they wish’ for any external employer at weekends and during vacation periods. We are not clear whether the UKBA really intends international students to work unlimited hours at weekends during term time!

In your response you may want to think about the following questions:

• How practical would it be for students only to work on campus during the week and off campus at weekends both from a student and an employer perspective?
• Should any students be encouraged to work unlimited hours at the weekends?
• What does 'on campus' mean? Does it mean you can only work for the University? Or does it include private companies that operate on campus, eg? John Smith bookshop?