International director of Universities UK, Vivienne Stern believes government should bring back work visas for foreign students, allowing them to work for up to two years after graduation.
In doing so, she believes that the UK will benefit from international students as they are a vital element in composing the British economy and education. In contrast, the UK have flat-lined with the number of international students compared to competitors such as the US and Australia. Having a post-study visa is an appealing way to attract international students to the UK.
Not only that, Sir Steve Smith (Vice-chancellor of the University of Exeter) believes that this visa in the midst of post-Brexit decisions, will strengthen UK’s welcoming image regardless of Brexit. He states that it will be an important source during the post-Brexit era.
However, this may be hard to convince the Prime Minister as it was Theresa May who played a role in initially removing this visa back in 2012. She argued that a large amount of students failed to return to their respective countries, which she believed to be a back door to immigration. However, Smith retaliates this with new evidence showing that in 2018, 97% of students left once their visas expired.
#Peace.Love.Post-StudyVisas
