The UK is an attractive destination for Indian students; with around 1.5 million Indian-descent students, the country has a strong economy. This has been possible only through the introduction of the UK Graduate Visa route.
The UK Graduate Visa route has assisted the UK in welcoming 605,130 international students in the 2020–21 academic year, beating its 600,000 objective ten years earlier than expected.
Undergraduate and postgraduate students have two years after finishing their studies to work or look for work, whereas doctorate students have three years.
In response to the growing number of international students, Home Secretary Suella Braverman attempted to shorten the two-year UK Graduate Visa route to six months in January. This allows students to get a skilled job.
The best thing about the UK graduate visa is that students do not need to have a pre-existing job offer to apply, giving them the liberty to work and transfer employment based on their salary or skill level, or to be self-employed.
Further, students are also allowed to take part-time English language classes or evening classes.
According to a new report from the Association for Graduate Careers and Advisory Services (AGCAS), 72% of individuals employed via the UK Graduate Visa route were in graduate-level employment, with the most selected sectors for employment being business, IT, engineering, and education.
Moreover, a recent announcement shows that international students enrolled in UK-taught master’s programmes will be restricted from bringing family members as dependents.
Under new criteria announced by home secretary Suella Braverman, only students on postgraduate courses now defined as research programmes, including PhD students, would be permitted to bring dependents.
To prevent visa misconduct, international students will be banned from switching from the student visa route to the work visa route until their studies are completed.
