UK Planning to Kick Out Foreign Students With Low Grades

United Kingdom is considering imposing restrictions on foreign students staying in the country for two years on graduate visas if they fail to achieve the necessary high grades during their studies, according to a top government official.

According to The Telegraph, the United Kingdom Migration Advisory Committee has been asked by the Home Secretary, James Cleverly, ‘to review the graduate visa as part of a five-point plan to reduce net migration by 300,000 from its record-high levels.’

The report added that more than 98,000 foreign students were granted two-year UK visas following their graduation, witnessing a 74% increase compared to the previous year.

Furthermore, the number of applicants who were denied the two-year graduate visa after the completion of their initial course was barely 0.7 percent.

Officials have expressed concerns that the graduate visa is being misused to enter low-skilled employment or to stay in the country without any obligation to secure a job.

Talking about the matter, the chairman of the MAC, Professor Brian Bell stated that ‘there is no requirement to get particular grades in your university course or anything like that.’

He added that the question they want to review in the graduate route is whether it makes sense to implement a rule that makes it necessary for students to get a certain grade or a certain kind of achievement in their course.

Moreover, the committee would also be deliberating over whether to impose strict rules, requiring foreign students to go to particular universities or complete specific courses in order to stay in the UK.

However, he clarified that there are no restrictions at the moment, adding that individuals can just sit around and do absolutely nothing in the UK for two years if they have the money.

“You can also take a minimum wage job or you can take a very highly paid job,” he said.

It should be noted that when the two-year visa was introduced during Boris Johnson’s tenure, the MAC strongly opposed it and suggested a six-month extension after graduation where students would be expected to get a job, or leave the country.

Moreover, Professor Bell described the visa as an attractive selling point to bring in students that could boost university finances. However, he revealed that the MAC is assessing whether to limit it to highly skilled graduate workers only.