UK to open education sector for overseas students

Tribune News Service

New Delhi, March 4

The UK will open the ‘Graduate Route’ for applications from July 1.

The Graduate Route is for international students who, after completing a degree at undergraduate level or above in the UK, will be able to work or look for work after their studies for a maximum of two years (three years for PhD students).

This will help allow the brightest and the best students from India to continue to contribute to the UK post-study, said a UK High Commission news release.

The UK has also extended the Covid concessions for students unable to travel to the UK. Students who started their studies in autumn 2020 will now need to be in the UK by June 2021. Students who were to start their studies in January/February will be required to be in the UK by September 27.

Indian students are already one of the largest international groups studying in the UK. According to the most recent statistics, 53,000 student visas were issued to students from India. This was nearly a quarter of all student visas issued.

The Graduate Route will be unsponsored, meaning applicants will not need a job offer to apply for the route. There will be neither minimum salary requirements nor caps on numbers.

To be eligible, international students must have completed a UK degree at bachelor’s degree-level or above, or an eligible professional qualification at a higher education provider, with a track record of compliance with the UK Government’s immigration requirements.

The new Graduate Route will help make the UK’s education sector a money spinner with plans to increase the number of international students in higher education in the UK to six lakh by 2030.

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