Skip to main content

Government rejects calls for greater flexibility in post-study visa rules in Scotland

28 October 2016

The Scottish Affairs Committee have published the UK Government's response to the post-study work schemes report.

Chair of the Committee, Pete Wishart expressed disappointment that vocal support from representatives of academia, business, industry, trade unions and the Scottish Government had had no noticeable impact on the direction of policy.
 
The Committee's report highlighted the negative impact of the closure of the Tier 1 (Post-Study Work) visa in 2012, making Scotland less attractive for overseas students and removing employers' easy access to a pool of highly-skilled workers.

The Committee set out a number of ways in which the UK Government could improve post-study work options for international students attending Scottish universities, and recommended that the Migration Advisory Commission review the current route for skilled non-EU students to stay in the UK to work for a set period of time.

Chair's comments

Committee chair Pete Wishart commented:

"It is extremely disappointing that the UK Government has rejected the many considered recommendations we made about improving post-study work schemes for international students attending Scottish universities. Our report and recommendations were based on extensive dialogue with business groups, the higher education sector and immigration lawyers, and would have provided for a more flexible system which better met the particular needs of Scotland. Despite the almost universal support for improving post-study work schemes in Scotland, we are still to see these factors have any influence on the direction of policy.

We note that the Government is now trialling a new Tier 4 visa for some post-graduate students, but we very much regret that the methodology the Government has used means that no Scottish university has been included in this pilot, particularly given the findings of our Report.

We reiterate our call for the UK Government to engage constructively with Scottish higher education institutions on this issue. The Government must also speak to employers about the struggles they have in recruiting for key sectors. They must work with their Scottish counterparts to explore formal schemes that would allow those who come here to study to stay and contribute to the economy. The calls from Scotland are overwhelming, it is time for the UK Government to listen."

Further information

Image: iStockphoto