International students to the UK no longer have to rush to find a job straight after graduation, they now have up to two years after graduating from a British university to find a job in the country.
This new policy will overturn Theresa May’s restrictive immigration policy after she said as home secretary that the two-year post-study work visa was “too generous.” As it stands, graduates with bachelors or master’s degrees are allowed to look for work for only four months.
Jo Johnson, who resigned as universities minister last week, campaigned for post-study visas to be extended, and in April he tabled an amendment to the immigration bill calling for two-year work visas.
Under the new policy, the visas would have no cap on numbers and would allow graduates to apply for jobs regardless of their skills or the subject they studied.
UK universities have welcomed this decision with open arms. This policy is set to take place next year, stating that all international graduates could qualify for a two-year period to work in the UK, increasing their chances of finding long-term employment after studying.
