Immigrant students from Nigeria and other countries are reportedly perceived to be facing a high-risk of deportation from the UK after completion of their studies following a new plan by the country’s Home Secretary Suella Braverman.
According to reports, those travelling to study in Britain are to stay on for two years after completing their courses, but Ms Braverman is moving to cut that to just six months, after which they have to have a skilled job that makes them eligible for a work visa, or exit the UK.
However, the Department for Education is said to be resisting Ms Braverman’s plan, a development which is perceived as the latest twist in a long-running row over foreign student numbers.
Braverman has committed to cut immigration and ‘substantially reduce’ the number of unskilled foreign workers coming to Britain, from 239,000 to the ‘tens of thousands’.
As part of that, she wants to reduce the number of international students who can apply for a graduate post-study work visa, which allows any student who has passed their degree to remain and work in the UK for at least two years.
But education officials fear this will make the UK less attractive to foreign students, who pay far more than UK students for their courses and are a major source of income for universities