By Vanessa Potter
Following the UK Government announcing changes to visa rules, it is no surprise that we are getting lots of questions from students interested in studying in the UK.
For most applicants to the UK, the changes will have very little impact. If you want to study in the UK and are not planning to take your dependents and are expecting to complete your course in full before returning to India or looking for work in the UK – there is no change.
The popular Graduate Visa Route is still available to you when you complete your studies.
Another key issue to remember is that the changes in relation to dependants and working after your studies will only apply to those students starting courses from January 1, 2024. If you are applying to start your course in autumn 2023 there will be no effect on you.
The UK Government and UK universities remain committed to welcoming the brightest and best from India to our universities so there are continue to be plenty of opportunities available to Indian students.
Universities in the UK were concerned about the changes as they value the contribution of international students to their university community and want to ensure they still recruit talented students. They continue to look for constructive dialogue with the UK Government to protect their strong links with countries like India and support applicants to understand the changes. If you have any questions contact the UK university you are interested in and speak to them directly.
The UK Government announced the changes were coming in May 2023 and then on 17 July it made a statement on changes to the student route which can be found online [Statement of Changes to Immigration Rules 17 July 2023].
The main changes are:
- International students will no longer have the right to bring dependents from January 1, 2024 unless they are on postgraduate courses currently designated as ‘research programmes’.
- International students will no longer have the right to switch out of the student route into work routes – such as skilled workers and other sponsored work visas – before their studies have been completed.
The UK Government has emphasised that these changes “preserve the ability for dependants already in the UK to extend their stay, and for international students on taught postgraduate courses beginning before 1 January 2024 to bring dependants”.
They also keep existing exemptions for dependants of government-sponsored students and for dependent children who are born in the UK.
So what about the changes to switching routes? The UK Government is emphasising that this is about encouraging students to complete their courses before switching to another visa route – which of course is the primary aim of a student visa.
That means students on courses at degree level or above will be able to apply before course completion to switch to sponsored work routes, as long as they do not start their new employment before their course completion. Meanwhile, there is more flexibility for PhD students who will be able to switch after 24 months study.
A key question for many postgraduate students will be which courses are designated research programmes. This term covers PhDs or other doctoral qualifications, or a research-based higher degree with this defined in the UK Government’s statement as a “postgraduate programme comprising a research component (including a requirement to produce original work) that is larger than any accompanying taught component when measured by student effort”. Universities are still talking to the Government about how the new system will work, but if you have any questions about what postgraduate courses might count as research programmes the best thing to do is to speak to the University you are interested in applying to.
The UK Government hopes the changes will ensure that Universities only receive legitimate applications and stop inappropriate applications, including some from education agents/consultants, who UK ministers think may be supporting applications from people interested in working in the UK rather than studying.
It also hopes the flexibility around students on research programmes will encourage research-focused applications amongst Indian students.
Despite all these changes, the UK Government remains keen to welcome international students and has restated its commitment to hosting 600,000 overseas international students each year by 2030.
There is also now clarity around no change being made on the Graduate Visa Route, which was a big point of concern for students.The Graduate Visa Route is still available and gives graduates permission to stay in the UK for at least two years after successfully completing a bachelor’s degree or Masters course in the UK. If you have a PHD or other doctoral qualification, this period is extended to three years. The continuing availability of this route reinforces the UK government’s focus on attracting students with potential.
The author is global vice president, University of Essex.