Indian students organisation in the UK relieved over retention of graduate route for post-study work

The National Indian Students and Alumni Union UK ( NISAU ), an apex organisation in the UK representing students, alumni, and young professionals of Indian origin, has welcomed the UK government’s decision to retain the graduate route for international students in its white paper on immigration announced on Monday. The graduate route is open to international students in the UK who have completed a course of study in the country at the bachelor’s degree level or above. Students on the graduate route are currently allowed to work or look for work after their studies for a maximum period of two years, or three years for doctoral students. The immigration policy white paper proposes to reduce the graduate route to 18 months.

“We deeply welcome the UK government’s decision to retain the graduate route — a critical element of the UK’s global education offer. While we are saddened by the six-month reduction, alternatives under consideration would have been significantly worse,” Sanam Arora, founder & chair, NISAU, said. She added that the most important task now is to ensure the implementation of changes is urgent, fair, clearly communicated, and student-first. “We are pleased to see recognition of our long-standing calls for better alignment between immigration and skills, and we strongly support the push for greater transparency and accountability in education agent practices, for which we have laid out very clear asks,” Arora said.

NISAU has worked extensively over the past decade — and particularly intensively in the last year — with policymakers across all major political parties, including many now in government, to advocate for the continuation of the graduate route, a press release from the organisation said.
“International students are a distinct, high-contribution, temporary category of migration. They fund their own education, power innovation in universities, sustain local economies, and build enduring bilateral ties between the UK and countries around the world,” the NISAU press release said.

The organisation has expressed concern about the impact of the new rule on Indian students, the largest users of the graduate route. “For 70% of Indian students, a strong post-study work offer is the single most important factor in deciding where to study abroad. The ability to gain significant international work experience is critical. Our statement to the Migration Advisory Committee was duly noted in last year’s review of the graduate route,” the press release added.

NISAU has also welcomed the UK government’s policy initiative towards stricter rules for education agents. “We recommend a sector-wide cap on agent commission to ensure that student interests are prioritised over volume incentives and mandatory publication by universities of agent appointment processes and the fees paid to each agent, after every intake,” the press release said. NISAU is upbeat about the strengthening of the global talent, innovator founder, and high potential individual routes of immigration.