Both the Liberal Democrats and Labour plan to reinstate a post-study work visa for international students if they are elected in the UK’s general election in May, senior MPs said in a debate yesterday.
Speaking at the THE HE Hustings jointly hosted by Times Higher Education, Universities UK, the Higher Education Policy Institute and The Open University, Shadow Education Minister Liam Byrne and the Liberal Democrat MP Julian Huppert also reiterated their parties’ commitment to removing students from net migration figures.
Labour’s Liam Byrne and the Liberal Democrats’ Julian Huppert reiterated their parties’ commitment to removing students from net migration figures
Shadow Minister for Universities, Science and Skills Liam Byrne, who was responsible for the introduction of the original post-study work visa under the previous Labour government, said that he wanted to see its re-introduction in some form, but that the conditions would not necessarily be the same.
His promise to remove students from net migration figures was met with applause by higher education stakeholders attending the debate, and was seconded by Huppert, who insisted their inclusion in the figures – and therefore in the current coalition’s target cap on net migration – is “absurd”.
Byrne also said that the UK needs “a cash-backed initiative to rehabilitate UK higher education with international student audiences”.
Minister for Universities, Science and Cities Greg Clark said he wants to see the UK become the “world’s leading destination for overseas students” but did not commit to either the reinstatement of the post-study work visa or the removal of international students from migration figures under Conservative leadership.
He noted that international student figures were up in the last year and insisted that he had been “assiduous” in reassuring Indian and Pakistani students that they are welcome in the UK.
However, his assurances were met with scepticism among the audience, while Byrne said that recent Times of India headlines on announcements such as Home Secretary Theresa May’s suggestion to force foreign graduates to return home before applying for a work visa demonstrate the UK’s reputation has suffered “huge damage” among prospective international students.
