The UK has reduced the duration of its Graduate Route visas from two years down to 18 months. This adjustment has now impacted Nigerian students residing in the nation.
It forms a part of an extensive crackdown on what the UK has termed ‘systemic misuse and mission diversion’ in international education, asylum, and family immigration.
This declaration is included in a wider Immigration White Paper unveiled on Monday. ‘Migration must be regulated and in accordance. Our reforms will close loopholes and eliminate abuse throughout the system,’ the Home Office proclaimed on its website.
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‘The Graduate Route — which previously granted two years of post-study work permissions — will now be limited to just 18 months, with a more stringent pathway to work visas and diminished rights for dependants.
‘The Graduate Route has failed to achieve its initial goals. ‘It has turned into a loophole for unsponsored employment and a lure for exploitation,’ the document indicated. Only institutions that meet ‘enhanced compliance criteria’ will be eligible to maintain international recruitment licenses.
Universities with low progression-to-work statistics or that partake in deceptive recruitment practices will face penalties.